Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity in Cambridge

Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity in Cambridge

Cambridge Full-Time 63000 - 77000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead the design and roadmap for identity management across Lila, enhancing security and automation.
  • Company: Join Lila Sciences, a pioneering company at the forefront of AI and scientific innovation.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, equity options, flexible time off, and comprehensive health benefits.
  • Other info: Be part of a mission-driven team tackling humanity's greatest challenges with cutting-edge technology.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in a dynamic environment while shaping the future of identity systems.
  • Qualifications: Deep experience in IT systems engineering and identity management is essential.

The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.

Your Impact at LILA

Lila is hiring a Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity to own the architecture and roadmap for identity and access management across the company.

This is a senior individual-contributor role with company-wide scope, focused on how employees, services, and AI agents authenticate, receive access, and operate securely.

You’ll join the IT & Security team and partner closely with Security, People, Engineering, and Lab Operations.

You’ll modernize Lila’s identity foundation across cloud IAM, SSO, Saa S administration, machine identity, and identity governance while mentoring engineers and raising the bar for identity engineering practice.

This role is especially important as Lila scales its workforce, physical footprint, autonomous labs, and AI-native operating model.

The right person will make identity systems more secure, automated, auditable, and easier for employees to use.

  • What You'll Be Building
  • Own the architecture and roadmap for Lila’s identity platform across Okta, Entra ID, AWS IAM, GCP IAM, SSO, and directory services.
  • Drive Lila’s Zero Trust roadmap, including phishing-resistant MFA, continuous access evaluation, device trust, and endpoint integration.
  • Build a machine identity and AI-agent identity program for service accounts, API keys, workload identities, OAuth/OIDC grants, MCP servers, and autonomous lab systems.
  • Design identity governance capabilities, including access certification, entitlement reviews, and automated joiner, mover, and leaver workflows.
  • Set standards for Saa S identity integrations across Google Workspace, Slack, Atlassian, Microsoft 365, and the broader application portfolio.
  • Build production-grade automation using Python or Go, Terraform, workflow platforms, and AI-assisted engineering tools.
  • Partner with Security on identity threat modeling, incident response, access audits, and compliance readiness.
  • Serve as the technical escalation point for complex identity issues and mentor engineers across IT and Security.
  • Document architecture decisions, processes, and runbooks that improve identity operations at scale.
  • What You’ll Need to Succeed
  • Deep experience in IT systems engineering, infrastructure, or identity engineering, with significant ownership of identity and access management systems.
  • Strong Okta experience, including SSO, SAML, OIDC, SCIM, authorization policies, and workflow automation.
  • Experience designing and scaling IAM, Zero Trust, or identity governance programs in a complex technical environment.
  • Strong understanding of cloud IAM concepts across providers such as AWS, GCP, Entra ID, or similar platforms.
  • Ability to build and operate automation using Python or Go, APIs, event-driven workflows, and infrastructure-as-code.
  • Working knowledge of machine identity concepts, including workload identity federation, secrets management, and service account governance.
  • Strong technical judgment, troubleshooting ability, and written communication skills.
  • Track record mentoring engineers and leading cross-functional technical initiatives without relying on formal authority.
  • Bonus Points For
  • Experience in biotech, pharma, life sciences, R&D, or another regulated technical environment.
  • Familiarity with SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, Gx P, or similar compliance frameworks.
  • Experience securing lab instrumentation, robotics, Io T, scientific computing, or autonomous systems.
  • Experience designing or operating identity systems for AI agents or agentic workflows.
  • Experience with endpoint management or MDM platforms such as Jamf, Jump Cloud, or Kandji.
  • Experience building Slack apps, Slackbots, internal developer tooling, or identity self-service workflows.
  • Experience supporting M&A integration or rapid headcount scaling from an identity perspective.

Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U. S. Benefits.

Full-time U.

S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits.

Full-time employees outside the U.

S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region.

USD salary ranges apply only to U.

S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

  • Expected Base Salary Range
  • About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges.

We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI.

Rather than hard-coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy.

Learn more at www. lila. ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance.

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you don’t meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences iscommitted to equal employment opportunityregardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

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Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity in Cambridge employer: Lilasciences

Lila is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, perfect for those passionate about advancing AI safety. Located in a vibrant tech hub, employees benefit from continuous professional development opportunities, a supportive team environment, and the chance to make a meaningful impact in the field of advanced scientific capabilities. Join us to be at the forefront of cutting-edge research while enjoying a balanced work-life dynamic.

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Contact Details:

Lilasciences Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity in Cambridge

Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Lilasciences or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Lilasciences.

Tap into Online Developer Communities

Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Lilasciences.

Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles

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We think you need these skills to ace Staff IT Systems Engineer, Identity in Cambridge

IT Systems Engineering
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Okta
Single Sign-On (SSO)
SAML
OIDC
SCIM

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Lilasciences.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Lilasciences and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Lilasciences

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Lilasciences uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.