Principal Materials Engineer II

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love. That’s what makes us Roche.

At Roche, we are working to make next-generation sequencing simple and accessible enough for routine use. By accelerating clinical research, streamlining workflows, and expanding assay menus, we are broadening access to genomic data and lowering barriers to adoption. From robust sample isolation and preparation tools to novel sequencing technology and advanced bioinformatics, we are developing differentiated, highly integrated end-to-end solutions for next-generation sequencing, resulting in a sample in, result out workflow.

Our Systems Technology group, a part of Roche Sequencing Solutions, is focused on creating and advancing technologies to significantly enhance DNA sequencing workflows, push system performance, and promote sustainability. The Principal Materials Engineer II (Materials Engineer) role is a new position within our team. The key responsibilities will be to lead research and early development initiatives focused on creating new consumables pertinent to our next-generation DNA sequencing and molecular diagnostics workflows.

The Materials Engineer’s efforts will encompass various aspects related to consumables that may come into contact with our samples and reagents and/or support different chemical processes.

• You will conduct activities related to sourcing, synthesizing, purifying, bonding, cleaning, functionalizing, passivating, characterizing, and analyzing materials such as ceramics, elastomers, polymers, composites, and metals.

• You will develop methods to detect and effectively remove plasticizers, mold-release agents, reaction byproducts, catalysts, and/or contaminants from a variety of materials

• You will create robust and scalable methods to bond a variety of similar and dissimilar materials

• You will identify sources and mechanisms of performance degradation through the development and utilization of appropriate assays and analytical techniques

• You will develop fast, efficient and sustainable processes for generating robust surface coatings to ensure optimal wettability and reaction compatibility while also minimizing adsorption of enzymes, DNA and other key components

• You will develop and optimize methods for fabricating milli-, micro- and nanoscale features, vias, electrodes and films using a variety of manufacturing techniques and tools

• You will characterize the quality and impact of various manufacturing methods on system performance

• You will collaborate with scientists, engineers and product managers to create requirements, specifications and test plans/protocols

• You will analyze, write reports and present results

This is an on-site position based in Santa Clara, CA.
Relocation benefits are not being offered for this role.

Who You Are:
(Required)

• You have a BS in Material Science, Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry or other closely-related field

• You have 10+ years of complex materials-related research and development experience within the life sciences industry

• You have a demonstrated understanding of materials science, chemistry and engineering fundamentals

• You have demonstrated proficiency in surface activation, functionalization and/or passivation chemistry and related techniques 

• You have expertise developing and conducting assays to detect contaminants, quantify non-specific adsorption, measure the effectiveness of coatings and assess material-chemical compatibility

• You have experience with a variety of analytical tools/methods such as FTIR and EDS

• You have demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to communicate