Senior Platform Engineer in London

Automata is transforming the way labs work with open, integrated automation. Our mission is to unlock the potential of labs and the potential of the people who work in them. At Automata, we're on a mission to transform how scientists work by making automation accessible to every lab in the world. We believe that by giving labs the power to automate, we can unlock discoveries that will shape the future of life sciences—from diagnostics and drug discovery to synthetic biology. Our LINQ platform combines hardware and software to streamline workflows, making lab automation fast, flexible, and affordable. This means our customers can focus on groundbreaking research, while we take care of the rest.

Why Work at Automata?

• Impact: Your work will directly contribute to advancements in science and medicine, supporting labs around the globe as they push boundaries in research and innovation.
• Innovation: You’ll be part of a team solving complex problems using cutting‑edge technology.
• Growth: We invest in our people through hands‑on experience, professional development, and collaborative projects.
• Community: Join a diverse, passionate team that values collaboration.

We are looking for a Senior Platform Engineer to help build, scale, and operate the foundational infrastructure powering Automata’s LINQ platform. You will play a critical role in designing and maintaining robust, secure, and compliant systems that support deployments across cloud and on‑premise (including bare‑metal environments).

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Designing, building and operating Kubernetes platforms across AWS and bare‑metal environments.
• Managing and optimizing PostgreSQL databases, ensuring performance, resilience, and data integrity.
• Developing and maintaining Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Pulumi, Crossplane, or similar).
• Implementing and managing GitOps workflows (ArgoCD) for consistent and repeatable deployments.
• Supporting Windows OS provisioning and hybrid infrastructure environments.
• Building and improving observability systems (OpenTelemetry, metrics, tracing, logging).
• Contributing to network architecture and operations, including physical networking (Juniper/Mist).
• Supporting deployments in regulated environments (ISO27001, SOC2, GxP).
• Collaborating with field and customer teams on on‑site deployments and troubleshooting.
• Developing automation and internal tooling using Python, Go, Rust, or .NET.
• Participating in building orchestration workflows using tools like Temporal.
• Helping define and maintain golden paths for developers to improve productivity and reliability.
• Contributing to documentation, onboarding materials, and operational runbooks.

What it takes:

• 5+ years of experience in platform engineering, SRE, or infrastructure roles.
• Strong experience with Kubernetes in production, including bare‑metal clusters.
• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS) and hybrid deployments.
• Experience managing databases (PostgreSQL) / DBA‑level knowledge preferred.
• Familiarity with GitOps and modern IaC practices.
• Experience with observability tooling and distributed systems debugging.
• Understanding of networking fundamentals, including physical infrastructure.
• Experience working in regulated environments or with compliance frameworks.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language (Python, Go, Rust, or .NET).
• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross‑functionally.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites when needed.
• Experience with automation/AI‑assisted development workflows (e.g., Claude Code).

Nice to haves:

• Experience with Juniper/Mist networking.
• Exposure to Temporal or similar workflow orchestration systems.
• Background in supporting life sciences or GxP environments.

Why You’ll Want to Join Us:

• You want to operate at the edge of your capability where expectations are high and impact is real.
• You’re motivated by ownership and autonomy—not hierarchy or process.
• You want to build and scale something meaningful; our product directly saves lives.
• You’re currently under‑leveraged, moving faster than your environment allows.
• You want to work with people who are equally driven, pragmatic, and focused on outcomes.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status is strictly prohibited.