Lab Platform Technical Lead
Prague - Czech Republic
Job Summary
Job Description
We run the enterprise SaaS platforms APIs and data integrations that our research organisation depends on every day. You will be the technical owner of one of them: the Signals Research Suite the electronic lab notebook platform used by scientists across several divisions worldwide.
This is a hands-on configuration integration and platform engineering role not a ticket queue. You will own the technical roadmap run the release pipeline drive the vendor feature backlog automate the manual work away and decide where the platform goes next.
Our platform happens to serve laboratory and experiment-management workflows so you will learn that domain here and you will learn Signals itself here. We do not expect you to arrive with either. What we do expect is that you have owned a production platform before and know how to make one better.
Reports to the Product Technical Lead.
What You Will Do
Own the platform
Act as technical owner for the Signals Research Suite and the integrations around it
Own the configuration customisation and development of the suites modules to meet evolving research and business needs
Translate scientific workflow requirements into platform configuration (templates experiments workflows ADTs) and into integrations with other systems
Own and prioritise the enhancement backlog and contribute to the target-state architecture and technical roadmap for the platform
Run releases and production
Manage the full SDLC: requirement gathering and analysis solution design and configuration development and scripting collaboration with testing and UAT teams deployment via the Configuration Transfer Tool or equivalent production release and hypercare
Lead investigation and resolution of production incidents across application API data identity and network layers
Drive structured root-cause analysis and corrective actions to closure; improve monitoring alerting runbooks and operational metrics so the next incident is shorter or does not happen
Apply ITSM practices across Incident Request Problem Change Knowledge and Release Management
Engineer and integrate
Build and maintain integrations between Signals internal enterprise services SaaS and cloud applications and legacy systems using APIs and middleware
Debug data-consistency and integration failures across APIs event flows and identity boundaries
Use cloud services and enterprise networking knowledge to diagnose and harden platform reliability
Support deployments go-live readiness rollback planning and post-deployment stabilisation
Automate and use AI well
Automate repetitive operational work triage configuration comparison checks reporting provisioning with scripting and approved tooling
Drive AI initiatives that enhance scientific workflows for business users
Build internal AI-powered tools (e.g. a technical RAG chatbot) that accelerate team onboarding troubleshooting and self-service how-to guidance
Use AI-assisted tooling for log analysis incident triage investigation and knowledge capture and validate its output against real platform evidence before acting on it
Set technical direction
Serve as technical liaison with Revvity (the vendor) for escalations defects feature requests enhancements upgrades and release coordination
Prioritise technical work with the Product Owner and communicate risk impact and options to technical and non-technical audiences alike
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Product Owner Product Technical Lead Quality Unit infrastructure and support
Mentor less experienced engineers and contribute to engineering standards and documentation
Work in a global distributed Agile team following product model practices
Work in a regulated environment
Follow established validation change-control and documentation practices our platforms are audit-sensitive and we will train you on what that means in practice
Document configurations processes and troubleshooting guides to support knowledge sharing and compliance requirements
Identify security access and data-protection risks early and bring in security and architecture partners
What You Bring
4 years engineering operating configuring or owning production software platforms SaaS solutions or enterprise systems
Real production incident experience: you have been on the sharp end of an outage led the investigation and closed the loop afterwards
Strong understanding of the complete SDLC from requirements through production release and hypercare
Solid debugging skills across the stack application API data identity and network with a structured approach to root-cause analysis
Working knowledge of a major cloud platform (AWS Azure or GCP) and of enterprise networking fundamentals (DNS TLS firewalls proxies connectivity patterns)
Scripting or development ability (Python or similar) for automation and working knowledge of API and integration patterns including RESTful services
Practical use of AI-assisted tools in engineering or operations work with sound judgement about their output
Self-driven and proactive: demonstrated ability to identify opportunities propose solutions and execute independently rather than waiting to be asked
Clear written and spoken English and the ability to work with distributed teams across Europe the US and India
Bachelors degree in Computer Science Engineering Information Systems or a life sciences field (biology chemistry biotechnology bioinformatics biomedical engineering or similar) or equivalent practical experience. We welcome scientists who moved into engineering
Nice to Have (Not Required)
We will teach you the platform and the domain. Any of the following is a bonus none is a filter:
Experience with an ELN or LIMS platform and in particular the Signals One Research Suite and its modules (Notebook VitroVivo Inventa CD Synergy) or the Signals Notebook REST API
Other scientific informatics platforms LIMS ELN sample management or specific products such as Benchling or ZONTAL
Familiarity with scientific data standards (SDF HELM chemical structures) or with laboratory workflows such as stoichiometry assay data or sample management
Observability tooling (Dynatrace Grafana Datadog Splunk CloudWatch or similar)
Infrastructure as code CI/CD pipelines (GitHub GitHub Actions) or containers
Additional languages and libraries: SQL C# PowerShell Bash Pandas Streamlit
Experience in a regulated GxP or otherwise audit-sensitive environment including 21 CFR Part 11 / Annex 11
Experience with AI/LLM technologies RAG architectures or building AI-powered internal tools
Experience with Agile/Scrum delivery; ITIL v4 Foundation Six Sigma Green Belt or similar certification
Life sciences pharma research or manufacturing IT background
Advanced degree
What Success Looks Like
In the first 6 months you will:
Co-deliver 2 Signals software releases to production alongside the existing team
Map current configuration validation and deployment processes end to end and identify improvement opportunities across them
Own and prioritise the Signals enhancement backlog aligning vendor feature requests with business needs and release timelines
Establish yourself as the primary technical liaison with Revvity for feature coordination escalations and release planning
In the first 12 months you will:
Deliver Signals software releases to production independently
Drive 2-3 vendor feature enhancements from requirement through production release coordinating across Revvity QA and business stakeholders
Implement automated configuration promotion reducing manual effort and deployment risk
Build and maintain a living enhancement roadmap that gives the Product Technical Lead and Product Owner clear visibility into pipeline status
Establish reusable automation (scripts pipelines dashboards) that reduces repetitive operational work across the team
Deliver an AI-powered knowledge tool (e.g. a chatbot) that enables team self-service for technical how-to questions
Why This Role
End-to-end ownership of a platform that directly enables drug discovery and development
A technical practice you get to shape not inherit fully formed
Genuine mandate to automate and to apply AI tooling to platform and operations work
Prague-based team working closely with US and India engineering
What We Offer
Exciting work in a great team global projects international environment
Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally
Pension and health (Canadian Medical) contributions
Internal reward system plus referral program
5 weeks annual leave 5 sick days 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities 12 weeks of parental contribution
Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers sport culture health travel etc.) Multisport card Vodafone Raiffeisen Bank and Foodora discount programs
Up-to-date laptop and iPhone parking in the garage showers refreshments
Competitive salary incentive pay and many more
Ready to take up the challenge Apply now!
Know anybody who might be interested Refer this job!
The date shown below is the earliest possible closing date for this posting. However we sometimes extend the job posting period as needed so please feel free to apply anytime you see the Apply button may also reach out to the recruiter directly via Skills:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cloud Computing IT Networking Production Troubleshooting RESTful APIs Scripting Software as a Service (SaaS) Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Technical LeadershipPreferred Skills:
CI/CD Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) GxPs Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) Pharmaceutical Industry Scrum (Agile)Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
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Merck & Co. Inc. Rahway NJ USA also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC Rahway NJ USA does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place introductions are position specific. Please no phone calls or emails.
Employee Status:
RegularRelocation:
No relocationVISA Sponsorship:
YesTravel Requirements:
10%Flexible Work Arrangements:
HybridShift:
Not IndicatedValid Driving License:
NoHazardous Material(s):
N/AJob Posting End Date:
08/27/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFOREthe listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
About Company
Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA is known as “Merck” in the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. We are known as “MSD” in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America & Asia Pacific. We are a global biopharmaceutical leader with a diverse portfolio of prescription medicine ... View more