Developmental Systems Lead (Fluidics/Perfusion)

Company: Becoming
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: February 16, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description About Becoming Becoming is building Developmental Intelligence: AI for predicting how organisms change over time. Most experimental systems fail when metabolic demands become too high. We are building systems that don’t — enabling sustained, controllable biological processes over long time horizons so that development, adaptation, and failure can be observed, perturbed, and predicted. Physiology is central to this effort. Without stable, well-characterized physiological function, long-horizon prediction is impossible. The Role We are hiring a Developmental Systems Lead to own making externally sustained developmental systems run stably, repeatably, and predictably over days to weeks. This role is for someone who thinks in systems, not endpoints — someone who understands how transport, metabolism, signaling, mechanics, and homeostasis interact over time. You will lead the design and operation of systems that integrate perfusion, physiology, sensing, actuation, and closed-loop control to sustain and perturb development in ways that generate meaningful, causal data. This is a high-agency role. You will be expected to define measurements, interpret dynamics, and drive improvements in system-level function. What You’ll Own End-to-end responsibility for externally sustained developmental systems operating over days to weeks Definition of what “success” means beyond “alive,” including how stability, drift, and failure are measured over time Identification, characterization, and mitigation of long-horizon failure modes (e.g., drift, inflammation, hemolysis, interface breakdown) Design and refinement of closed-loop control strategies for complex biological systems Integration of perfusion hardware, sensors, and control software into durable platforms Decisions about when systems are sufficiently stable to perturb, compare, and learn from Close collaboration with developmental biology, hardware, and ML / modeling teams Building systems that improve with iteration, not systems that require constant manual expert intervention Who You Are You are someone who: Operates with high agency — you identify what needs to be measured and why Takes ownership of outcomes, not just data collection Brings high energy to complex, dynamic biological systems Acts with high integrity — you are honest about uncertainty, limits, and tradeoffs Communicates directly and clearly, especially when systems are not behaving as expected Is self-aware about your strengths and gaps, proactively fills them and open to feedback Thinks like a systems integrator, not a siloed specialist Is comfortable working where physiology, engineering, and modeling intersect Requirements Required Deep, hands-on experience with long-running biological or physiological systems (days, not hours) PhD or equivalent experience in physiology, engineering, or a related field Experience with several of the following: Perfusion systems involving blood or blood analogs Hemodynamics, flow, pressure, and shear — and their biological consequences Inflammation, coagulation, hemolysis, or endothelial failure in sustained systems Closed-loop control of noisy, drifting systems Real-time instrumentation and sensing in biological environments Diagnosing failure modes that emerge gradually, not catastrophically Ability to work fluently with developmental biologists and/or physiologists At least 1 year of industry or applied systems experience Strong Signals Background in perfusion, ECMO, organ support, or normothermic preservation Physiology-driven systems engineering experience Experience with complex robotics or control systems operating in irreversible environments History of systems that failed — and improved because of it Benefits Competitive salary and meaningful equity Full benefits High-trust, high-ownership environment Rapid growth in scope and responsibility

Keywords: Becoming, Pleasanton , Developmental Systems Lead (Fluidics/Perfusion), Engineering , San Francisco, California