Research Scientist, Special Projects

About the role

Innovators wanted! Are you an entrepreneur? A builder? A dreamer? This role is part of an Amazon Special Projects team that takes the company's Think Big leadership principle. We focus on creating entirely new products and services with a goal of positively impacting the lives of our customers. No industries or subject areas are out of bounds. If you're interested in innovating at scale to address big challenges in the world, this is the team for you.

Here at Amazon, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. We have thirteen employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We are constantly learning through programs that are local, regional, and global. Amazon's culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 16 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Our team highly values work-life balance, mentorship and career growth. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects and offer training that will challenge you to become your best.

Key job responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy automated laboratory workflows on liquid-handling platforms, from initial concept through validation and production release.
• Partner directly with scientists and stakeholders to gather requirements, understand experimental goals, and translate ambiguous or loosely defined needs into robust, scalable automation solutions.
• Perform data quality control (QC), document results, and clearly communicate outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Develop and integrate instrument, software, and data systems, supporting end-to-end implementation of automated workflows.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and escalate equipment malfunctions, resolving common errors and minimizing workflow downtime.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience in a customer-facing role, engaging with customer executives, technologists or partners to solve business problems with advanced technologies
• Experience understanding needs of business and end customers and translating them into right solutions
• Experience handling ambiguous or undefined challenges through strong problem solving abilities
• Experience with automation, testing, or monitoring framework development
• Experience in written and verbal communication skills to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
• Bachelor's degree in a life science discipline with 10+ years of industry experience, OR a Master's degree with 6+ years of industry experience in the life sciences

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and developing integration systems (e.g. integrating instruments, software, and data systems) along with end-to-end implementation
• Hands-on experience with liquid handling platforms
• Familiarity with automated method development, scripting, and instrument scheduling for high-throughput workflows
• Background in a scientific discipline with an understanding of the assays being automated

Additional information

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If the country/region you're applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Pay and benefits

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave.

USA, WA, Seattle - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually