Research Engineer III - Materials Discovery Research Insititute

We have an exciting opportunity for a Research Engineer III at UL Research Institutes, Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI) based in our Skokie, Illinois, facilities. The Research Engineer III role will translate manual procedures into reliable and scalable automated workflows involving liquid and powder dispensing, synthesis, heating, filtration, sample preparation, robotic transfer, and analytical characterization. They will also support the integration of instruments and robotic systems and develop software tools and data pipelines that improve experimental traceability, data quality, and interpretation.

About Ulse

Working across multidisciplinary teams, the engineer will help advance high-throughput materials discovery in support of Materials Discovery mission to develop innovative materials for renewable energy, environmental sustainability, human health, and public safety.

At UL Research Institutes (ULRI), we expand the boundaries of safety science to create a more secure and sustainable world.

For more than a century, we have studied the unintended consequences of innovation, designed solutions to mitigate risk and shared our findings with academia, scientists, manufacturers, and policymakers across industries.

We identify critical safety and sustainability issues, asking the tough questions because we believe a safer world begins with knowledge.

Build a safer, more secure, and sustainable future with us.

Join us and work with our Materials Discovery Research Institute team who conduct the research required to produce that knowledge and put into practice.

The Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI) works to develop and deploy new materials with the potential to address current global safety challenges.

Pursuing materials that will help produce transformational safety breakthroughs, MDRI harnesses the power of advanced computing and high-throughput experimental methods to create innovative materials that will produce resilience for a sustainable future and protect individual and societal health.

We focus on today’s critical challenges, working to create new and better materials that will support renewable energy and environmental sustainability.

Among our top priorities is research into materials capable of carbon capture and energy storage, with an eye toward reducing the adverse impacts of humanity’s reliance upon fossil fuel resources and enabling a transition to renewable energy sources.

Above all, our research builds on our commitment to a safer, more sustainable future.

What you’ll experience working at UL Research Institutes: We have pursued our mission of working for a safer, more secure, and sustainable world for nearly 130 years, embedding conscientious stewardship into everything we do.

Our people make us special.

You’ll work with a diverse team of experts respected for their independence and transparency and build a network, because our approach is collaborative.

We collaborate across disciplines, organizations, and geographies to build the global scientific response that today’s global challenges require.

Every day is different for us here.

We see what’s on the horizon and use our expertise to build the foundations of a safer future.

You’ll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding as part of a team working to advance the public good.

collaboration, respect, integrity, and beneficence.

By living our values, we inspire the trust essential to fulfilling our mission and foster the partnerships that enable us to pursue a beneficent future in which we all can thrive.

UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement are nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing safety science research through the discovery and application of scientific knowledge.

We conduct rigorous independent research and analyze safety data, convene experts worldwide to address risks, share knowledge through safety education and public outreach initiatives, and develop standards to guide safe commercialization of evolving technologies.

We foster communities of safety, from grassroots initiatives for neighborhoods to summits of world leaders.

Our organization employs collaborative and scientific approaches with partners and stakeholders to drive innovation and progress toward improving safety, security, and sustainability, ultimately enhancing societal well-being.

To learn more, visit our websites UL.org and ULSE.org.

Responsibilities

• As the Research Engineer III, you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you: Develop, optimize, validate, and execute automated robotic system and high-throughput experimentation workflows to support accelerated materials discovery.
• Translate manual laboratory procedures into scalable automated workflows involving synthesis, sample preparation, robotic materials handling, and characterization.
• Operate, maintain, calibrate, and troubleshoot laboratory automation platforms, robotic systems, and analytical instrumentation, including mechanical components, sensors, and robotic end-effectors, ensuring safe, reliable, and reproducible operation.
• Design and conduct tests to validate robotic hardware, automated sample handling, and equipment integration while evaluating and interpreting experimental results to improve workflow performance and reproducibility.
• Integrate automated synthesis workflows with laboratory instrumentation, robotic systems, hardware interfaces, and characterization techniques, including XRD, XRF, SEM, spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and gas adsorption.
• Develop SOPs, validation protocols, maintenance procedures, and technical documentation to support laboratory operations and best practices.
• Collaborate with and provide technical guidance to scientists, engineers, data scientists, and external partners to advance automation-enabled materials discovery initiatives.
• Contribute to technical reports, publications, presentations, grant proposals, and intellectual property.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes: Strong knowledge of robotics, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, automation engineering, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to design, build, integrate, and troubleshoot robotic and automated laboratory systems.
• Experience with automated equipment integration, high-throughput experimentation, or laboratory robotics.
• Understanding of liquid and powder handling, filtration, sample preparation, robotic tooling, mechanical interfaces, and experimental reproducibility.
• Working proficiency in Python or another scientific programming language.
• Experience with robotic hardware, sensors, control systems, and equipment troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with APIs, JSON, SQL, Git, LIMS, ELN, or instrument-integration technologies is preferred.
• Ability to connect scientific requirements with practical automation, hardware, software, and data solutions.
• Strong technical ownership, organization, documentation, and project-management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams

• Professional education and experience requirements for the role include: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field with a minimum of two years of relevant professional experience post-degree, or; Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering or a closely related field with a minimum of four years of relevant professional post-degree, or Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering or a closely related field with a minimum of eight years of relevant professional post-degree experience.
• Hands-on experience in experimental robotics research is required.
• Experience using programming or scientific data-analysis tools in a laboratory setting is required.

Pay

$89,602.01-$123,202.76 Pay Type: Salary

Benefits

• We learn, work, and grow together through targeted development, reward, and recognition programs.
• Values.
• All employees at UL Research Institutes are eligible for bonus compensation.
• We offer comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans and a generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay.
• Moreover, we invest an additional 4% into your retirement saving fund after your first year of continuous employment.
• Depending on your role, you may be able to discuss flexible working arrangements with your manager.
• We also provide employees with paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days.