Lab Governance & Operations Leader

Milliken & Company; Spartanburg (SC); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Milliken & Company is seeking a Manager of Laboratory Governance & Operations to own the governance system, standards, and operating mechanisms across R&D laboratories. The role focuses on safe, compliant, efficient, and innovation-ready labs, using dashboards, procedures, and data analysis to drive improvements.

The ideal candidate will possess a STEM degree and 7+ years in lab or manufacturing environments, with a proven ability to lead initiatives, implement strategies, and coordinate

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline.
• 7+ years in a lab or manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing complex safety, quality, or R&D standards.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Develop and implement strategies that meet business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain laboratory governance documents, standards, templates, SOPs, and policy materials.
• Review laboratory procedures against standards to identify gaps.
• Facilitate governance reviews, document findings, and track corrective actions.
• Create decision matrices, risk assessments, and governance documentation used by lab teams.
• Conduct compliance reviews and track remediation from audits.
• Collect evidence for internal and external audits.
• Maintain compliance records, dashboards, and audit tracking systems.
• Maintain lab operating systems, governance processes, and performance tracking tools.
• Evaluate workflows for standardization and simplification.
• Coordinate implementation of process improvements.
• Monitor adherence to SOPs and governance requirements.
• Maintain lab infrastructure inventories and capital project records.
• Analyze facility needs and prioritize improvements.
• Prepare business cases for infrastructure investments.
• Collect, validate, analyze, and report lab performance data.
• Develop dashboards and scorecards for visibility into operations.
• Identify trends and root causes behind safety, compliance, and operational issues.
• Coordinate activities across R&D, Safety, Facilities, Finance, and Quality.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in STEM

Job description

Milliken & Company is seeking a Manager of Laboratory Governance & Operations to own the governance system, standards, and operating mechanisms across R&D laboratories. The role focuses on safe, compliant, efficient, and innovation-ready labs, using dashboards, procedures, and data analysis to drive improvements.

The ideal candidate will possess a STEM degree and 7+ years in lab or manufacturing environments, with a proven ability to lead initiatives, implement strategies, and coordinate