Senior Systems Engineer - Systems Architecture

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity?

At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.

Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

Summary:

The Senior Systems Engineer – Systems Architecture will be responsible for providing leadership to cross-functional teams to develop industry-leading DNA sequencing instruments for clinical applications in an exciting, fast-paced environment.  The foundation of all activities for this role is a broad, solid grasp of multiple areas of engineering, physics and molecular biology, and the ability to climb new learning curves quickly.  Primary responsibilities include development of system models/budgets, contributing to system & sub-system architecture decisions, managing specifications and requirements, and developing test strategies for critical parameter understanding and verification. A successful candidate will possess strong organizational and communication skills to facilitate successful product development across consumables, hardware, firmware, software, and chemistry teams.

No two members of the Systems Architecture Group have taken the same path to the team and we highly encourage otherwise qualified candidates without traditional bio-technology backgrounds to apply.

Job Activities:

• Develop system models that guide design decisions.  These can include system tolerance budgets, SNR models, performance models, COGS models, etc. Provide mentorship to sub-system engineers in the development of models that guide lower level design decisions.
• Support architecture definition by working across sub-system design teams to align overlapping design requirements /constraints and drive teams in developing concepts, evaluating risks, and efficiently concluding on a design path.
• Lead teams through complex root-cause analysis in which there are many possible root causes that involve various areas of physics.  Mentor others on systematic best practices for problem solving (8D method, fish-bone diagrams, etc.).
• Build the information foundation for successful architecture activity.  Create and maintain system requirements, specifications, and functional workflows.  Examples include biochemistry workflows, hardware timing diagrams, and assembly process workflows.
• Develop, manage, execute test strategies for Critical Parameter Management which identify the sensitivities and acceptable operating ranges for input parameters relative to output metrics. Leverage Design of Experiments for efficient coverage of complex parameter space.
• Own the seams between teams, especially including the definition and documentation of interfaces between consumables, hardware, firmware and software.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Engineering, Physics, Biophysics or related master’s degree with 5+ years of experience or Ph.D. with 0 -3 years of experience in consumables, instrumentation, or product development.
• Strong analytical background, with record of using system models to drive decisions.  
• Demonstrated track record of rapidly climbing steep learning curves.  Enthusiasm for tackling tough problems on an aggressive schedule.
• Experience with definition, setup, characterization, and testing of complex systems, including design of experiments, reliability life tests, and root cause analysis.
• Experience and fluency in scientific computing and simulation, such as Python, MATLAB, or R
• Strong communication and presentation skills (ability to distill complex technical information into product decisions and business recommendations).

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Technically proficient in disciplines including optics, microfluidics, heat transfer, precision motion, and electronics.
• Fluency in the methods and vocabulary of nucleic acid analytical techniques, genetic sequencing and molecular biology.
• Experience with Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR) modeling
• Experience with data analysis and statistical methods.