Senior Thin-film Materials Engineer (hydrophobic) Rivercell
Data generation infrastructure for AI Virtual Cell models in drug discovery.
Permanent
Paris
No remote
Salary: Not specified
Skills we're looking for
Motivational skills
Windows
Assembly
Polymer
Liquid
You'll be part of
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
Pharmaceutical / Biotech
Rivercell’s mission is to change how medicines are discovered by teaching AI to understand the human cell. Developing a single drug still takes years with an 90% failure rate in human. Predicting how cells respond to treatment before going to the lab would make it faster, and open up possibilities that are out of reach today.
That’s the promise of AI Virtual Cells: world models that learn the underlying rules of how cells respond to drugs and genetic changes, much as AlphaFold learned to predict protein structure. What holds them back is data. The vast, diverse, multimodal and time-resolved perturbational data they need doesn’t exist at scale, so we are building the infrastructure that generates it.
Our platform applies chemical and genetic perturbations to large cell populations and reads out their molecular and morphological responses at single-cell resolution, across millions of perturbation and context combinations. We then use that data to train our own world model of the cell.
Doing this takes a truly multidisciplinary team, where experts in thin films, microfluidics and instrumentation work side by side with experts in machine learning, computational biology and cell biology.
You'll be working on
We are looking for a Senior Thin-film Materials Engineer to develop the hydrophobic liquid-facing surface of Rivercell's microfluidic chip.
You will own the hydrophobic coating and the interfaces that determine wetting, adhesion, electrical stability, and compatibility with biological fluids. You will combine surface chemistry, coating development, and dynamic wetting characterization.
You will work hand-in-hand with our thin-film materials engineers, device integration lead, characterization engineer, and chip assembly team and an interdisciplinary team spanning genetic engineering, AI and software, bio-laboratory automation, optics, electronics, and biology. You will be an integral part of an ambitious and exciting French startup project from its inception.
Develop fluoropolymer and alternative hydrophobic coating processes for the microfluidic chip
Optimize coating thickness, uniformity, roughness, surface energy, contact angle, contact-angle hysteresis and other relevant properties
Engineer adhesion between hydrophobic coatings and underlying chip surfaces
Characterize static and dynamic wetting behavior under water, oil, buffers, salts, cell-culture media, and representative biological reagents
Study coating stability under repeated electrical actuation, immersion, cleaning, thermal cycling, storage, and handling
Investigate delamination, pinholes, swelling, contamination, adsorption, wetting degradation, and dielectric failure near the liquid interface
Define surface-specific process windows, quality controls, handling procedures, and acceptance criteria
Evaluate alternative surface chemistries and scalable coating methods as the device moves toward manufacturing
Opportunity to work on a cutting-edge project in the field of biotech
Opportunity to join an ambitious team and impactful startup among the first employees
Competitive salary and equity package
Exciting opportunities for personal and professional growth within the team
We're looking for
You have a PhD in materials science, interface science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field.
You have 4+ years of relevant experience in polymer or fluoropolymer coatings, surface functionalization, adhesion, wetting, or liquid–solid interfaces.
You combine strong technical judgment with a willingness to work hands-on in the laboratory and solve practical problems.
You are autonomous, committed, enthusiastic, and comfortable working with a can-do, creative, and challenging mindset.
You are rigorous in experiment design, documentation, data interpretation, and communication of uncertainty.
You have excellent communication skills and are fluent in English; professional proficiency in French is helpful but not required.
You have previous experience or knowledge in one or more of the following areas:
Surface chemistry, silanization, plasma treatment, and thin coating processes
Contact-angle measurement and dynamic wetting characterization
Thin film dielectric breakdown
Adhesion, interfacial failure, contamination control, and surface metrology
Polymers or fluoropolymers used in microfluidic, electronic, optical, or biomedical devices
Surface micropatterning and nanopatterning
Experimental design and quantitative interpretation of surface-performance data
Please let us know in your application if you specifically have experience with one or several of the following:
Teflon AF, Cytop, PTFE, fluorosilanes, or related low-surface-energy materials
Electrowetting, digital microfluidics, or liquid-facing dielectric coatings
Surface micropatterning and nanopatterning
AFM, XPS, ellipsometry, profilometry, surface-energy analysis, impedance spectroscopy or adhesion testing
Biological-media compatibility and fouling mitigation
How we hire
Throughout the recruiting process, you will meet 4 to 6 team members of Rivercell.
Introductory call (up to 30mn, videocall)
Technical interview (up to 90mn)
Performance interview (up to 90mn, in person)
Culture interview (up to 60mn, in person)