Lab Director

Valius Sciences; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & equity

Generous refresh grants

Professional development

Job summary

Valius Sciences is seeking a Lab Director in Boston to lead the buildout and operation of our first clinical laboratory. You’ll own strategy, space selection, equipment procurement, staffing, and validation of spatial/single-cell assays (10x Genomics) for clinical care.

This is an in-person role requiring senior leadership, cross-functional collaboration with bioinformatics, and a commitment to scalable, high-quality diagnostics in a startup environment.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a relevant scientific field (PhD, MD, or MD/PhD).
• 8–10+ years of experience in clinical laboratory operations.
• Proven track record of establishing or scaling a molecular/clinical lab.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, buildout, and commissioning of the laboratory space and workflows.
• Oversee day-to-day clinical lab operations, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant processing of samples.
• Develop SOPs and training programs from scratch.
• Recruit, train, and lead a team of lab scientists and technologists.
• Collaborate with bioinformatics and translational science teams to integrate lab outputs into patient reports.

Skills

Lab leadership

Clinical operations

Molecular diagnostics

Staff development

Communication

Education

PhD/MD/MD-PhD in relevant field

Job description

At Valius, we believe that the future of cancer care will be defined by “maximalist” diagnostics: deep, comprehensive assessments of DNA, RNA, and protein designed to give patients and their care teams the best possible understanding of how their tumor works and what its vulnerabilities are.

We’re building the diagnostics and bioinformatics company to power this future, starting by applying this approach to patients with challenging cancers. In our first year, we worked with over 75 of these patients and, in many cases, identified plausible therapeutic targets which had not been discovered previously. This coming year, we’re on track to scale our patient volume significantly, all while bringing new diagnostic modalities (e.g., single-cell transcriptomics) and analytical approaches into clinical care for the very first time.

We’ve just raised a $13.5M seed round, led by 8VC and Basis Set Ventures, and are looking for people passionate about changing cancer care to join our growing team.

We're hiring a Lab Director to join our team in Boston to lead the buildout and operation of Valius’s first lab. You’ll own the strategy and day-to-day operations end-to-end, including finding the right space, procuring the relevant equipment, hiring and supervising the lab talent, and overseeing the development and validation of our spatial/single-cell transcriptomic assays (using 10x Genomics instruments).

This is a rare opportunity to build a new capability from scratch in a mission-driven, high-ownership environment.

This is an in-person role in Boston.

What you’ll do

Lab design and buildout

• Lead the design, buildout, and commissioning of Valius’s laboratory, from physical space planning through instrument installation and workflow validation
• Define lab infrastructure requirements including equipment, consumables, LIMS, and workflow automation to support clinical-grade reproducibility and scale
• Establish and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training programs from the ground up

Laboratory operations

• Direct day-to-day clinical lab operations, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant processing of patient samples and reporting of results
• Oversee development and validation of complex molecular assays, including 10x Genomics spatial/single-cell RNA sequencing
• Manage technical transfer of assays from R&D into clinical operations
• Implement metrics for assay performance, turnaround time, and quality

Team and cross-functional leadership

• Recruit, train, and lead a team of clinical laboratory scientists, supervisors, and technologists
• Collaborate closely with computational biologists and translational scientists to integrate lab outputs into patient-facing reports
• Partner with bioinformatics and operations teams to ensure data integrity and compliant reporting of high-complexity results
• Contribute to scientific and operational strategy as a senior leader within Valius

What you’ll bring

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, or MD/PhD) in a relevant scientific discipline (molecular biology, genomics, clinical laboratory science, or related field)
• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in clinical laboratory operations
• Proven track record of successfully establishing or scaling a molecular or clinical lab
• Experience overseeing the development of advanced molecular diagnostic assays such as bulk RNA sequencing, whole exome sequencing, and/or spatial/single-cell RNA sequencing using a 10x Genomics platform
• Strong ability to recruit, develop, and retain scientific staff
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex laboratory data into clear, actionable information for clinical, scientific, and executive stakeholders
• Commitment to our patient-focused mission
• Interest in working for a small, early-stage startup

What we’ll bring

• Competitive salary and equity compensation
• Generous refresh grants
• Genuine investment in your professional development