Senior Staff 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.

Responsibilities:

• Lead or contribute to architecture of the next generation sequencing and automation platforms through analytical methods. Create and maintain foundational performance models, budgets, and diagrams that describe functional workflows, such as biochemistry workflows, hardware timing diagrams, assembly process workflows.
• Lead both internal development teams and external design and manufacturing partners in design and process best practices.
• Develop system models to guide design decisions, including system tolerance budgets, performance models, COGS models. Provide mentorship to subsystem engineers in the design decision process using analytical methods.
• Lead or support architecture definition by collaborating with optical, mechanical, electrical, and computational subsystem design teams to align on design requirements, constraints, and interfaces. Guide teams in concept development, risk evaluation, and engineering tradeoffs to efficiently converge on a design path.
• Develop, manage, execute test strategies for Critical Parameter Management using parameter diagrams to identify sensitivities and acceptable operating ranges for input parameters relative to output metrics. Leverage Design of Experiments for efficient coverage of complex parameter space.  Ensure clarity in all design specifications.
• Lead the requirements and integration of software, firmware, and hardware to ensure system performance.
• Own the seams between teams, especially the interfaces between consumables, chemistry, and hardware.  Culture the ecosystem mindset in practice.
• Lead complex root-cause analysis involving various interactions between physics and chemistry. Apply systematic best practices for problem solving with the 8D method and fish-bone diagrams.

Requirements:

• Typically requires a minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years of experience; or equivalent experience.

• Engineering or Physics M.S. or Ph.D. with 10+ years of industrial experience in biotech product development

• Demonstrated track record of rapidly climbing steep learning curves. Enthusiasm for tackling tough problems on the critical path of an aggressive schedule.

• Strong analytical capability with record of using system models to drive decisions.  

• Strong communication and presentation skills: Ability to distill complex technical information into product decisions and business recommendations.

• Strong organizational skillset with record of leading a technical team: Capable of breaking a complex problem into manageable pieces, divide and conquer.

• Demonstrated experience with characterization and testing of complex systems, including design of experiments and root cause analysis.

• Proven performance in minimum one full product development learning cycle from concept to commercial launch.

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The estimated base salary range for the Senior Staff Engineer - Systems Architecture role based in the United States of America is: $138,800 - $208,200. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process, the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. Compensation decisions are dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, an individual’s qualifications, location where the role is to be performed, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Additionally, all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work, including access to genomics sequencing, family planning, health/dental/vision, retirement benefits, and paid time off.

At Illumina, we strive to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace by cultivating an environment in which everyone contributes to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina