全职 Scientist, Self-Driving Labs 工作, 薪水 up to HKD 80,000, Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab Sha Tin District, Hong Kong 公司招聘中 - Ricebowl

About us

Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab (HKQAI) is assembling the team for a Physical AI for Science venture.

HKQAI is an R&D centre jointly established by The University of Hong Kong and the California Institute of Technology, with research spanning quantum chemistry, artificial intelligence and robotics.

We are building self-driving laboratories, in which AI agents design workflows, simulation platforms evaluate candidates, robots execute experiments, and every result feeds back into the next cycle.

About the role

You will be the scientific backbone of our autonomous lab. Your role will primarily be about defining what a good experiment looks like, encode that judgment into workflows a robot can execute, and hold the system to the standard of a meticulous human scientist by working with the AI and robotics.

We are looking for someone with

• PhD in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering or a related discipline from a top institution (candidates graduating before July 2027 are also welcome to apply)
• Strong evidence of scientific excellence, whether through research at a leading academic group, publications, industrial R&D or other technical work
• Curiosity about automation and a desire to rethink how scientific experiments are performed
• Entrepreneurial temperament and learning agility will be a plus

Key responsibilities

• Design, execute and validate synthesis, formulation and characterisation workflows for materials
• Translate manual experimental protocols into structured, robot-executable procedures, including steps, parameters, constraints and exception handling
• Work with robotics engineers to integrate laboratory instruments, liquid/powder handling systems and analytical equipment into the automated platform
• Define experimental controls, QC metrics, reproducibility criteria and failure conditions for experiments that may run with minimal human supervision
• Diagnose experimental failures and distinguish between scientific, hardware, software and process-related causes
• Structure experimental outputs and metadata so results can be used directly by AI models and active-learning systems
• Develop new automated workflows as the platform expands into other domains

What we offer

• Multi-disciplinary environment to work alongside researchers across AI, chemistry, materials science and robotics
• Compensation commensurate with capabilities and experience, with flexibility for outstanding candidates
• Exceptional candidates will be offered a founding seat, in which your decisions will shape the company
• High job autonomy

Pay: $35,000.00 - $80,000.00 per month

Benefits:

• Opportunities for promotion
• Paid time off

Application Question(s):

• How many years of hands-on academic or industrial experience do you have designing and executing synthesis, formulation, or characterization workflows?
• What do you consider your most significant academic or technical achievement to date, and what was your specific contribution to its success?
• If you had to teach a robot to perform your most common daily lab protocol, what would be the hardest step to translate into a machine-executable instruction, and why?
• Are you primarily looking for a traditional scientific research role, or are you interested in the entrepreneurial path of building an early-stage venture from the ground up?

Work Location: In person