Lab Operations Specialist I

Planet Pharma; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 100,565,000 - 114,616,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Pharma in Philadelphia, PA seeks a Lab Equipment & Maintenance Specialist to manage inventory, evaluate critical lab systems, and coordinate calibration and preventive maintenance across multiple facilities.

You will work with technicians, IT, and leadership to ensure equipment reliability, safety compliance, and efficient operations, including vendor coordination and on-site oversight of external service visits.

Qualifications

• A.S. or B.S. in Life Sciences or Facilities Management with management/technical emphasis.
• Minimum 1 year of pharmaceutical, life sciences, or biotech experience in an academic or industry setting.
• Minimum 2 years of experience implementing maintenance and repair programs in an R&D facility.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail, clarity, accuracy, and conciseness.

Responsibilities

• Maintain equipment inventory and keep information accurate and updated.
• Evaluate fixed lab equipment to ensure proper operation.
• Manage vendor service contracts and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Coordinate calibration and certification timelines across laboratories.
• Escalate and coordinate equipment repairs with service providers.
• Review cold storage monitoring to minimize freezer failures.
• Assist in emergency planning and lab safety procedures.
• Chaperone external technicians and enforce company policies onsite.
• Oversee delivery logistics for packages, gas deliveries, and equipment installs.
• Support procurement of lab consumables as needed.
• Troubleshoot general lab operation issues.
• Maintain procedures for compliant lab operations.
• Work with lab safety officer to ensure PPE availability.

Skills

Maintenance planning

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Problem solving

Education

AS or BS in Life Sciences or Facilities Management

Job description

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain equipment inventory, ensuring the information is accurate and updated promptly.
• Regularly evaluate fixed lab equipment (fume hoods, exhaust fans, biosafety cabinet, etc) are functioning properly.
• Manage all laboratory vendor service contracts ensuring that preventative maintenance visits are executed on schedule
• Manage and coordinate timelines across laboratories for certifications and calibrations on critical equipment
• Help resolve and/or coordinate equipment repair visit between the service provider and the laboratory team.
• Review cold storage monitoring software to minimize the risk of freezer failure. Escalate issues internally and troubleshoot as needed.
• Participate in laboratory emergency planning/management – e.g. power outages and infrastructure projects
• Work with all parties involved (technicians, users, IT, and leadership) to ensure that both the equipment and operational needs are met.
• Chaperone technicians from external suppliers and ensure they are adhering to company policies while onsite.
• Oversee delivery logistics by coordinating the receipt of packages, gas deliveries, or installation of laboratory equipment.
• Support the procurement of laboratory consumables and supplies as needed.
• Perform general troubleshooting of laboratory operation issues as they arise.
• Support the development and maintenance of procedures to ensure compliant lab operations.
• Work with lab safety officer to manage the safety systems/compliance and ensure the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is current and available.
• Provide miscellaneous laboratory maintenance tasks as needed e.g. supply stocking, eye wash/safety shower flushing, removal of waste, etc

Required Qualifications:

• A.S. or B.S. in Life Sciences or Facilities Management with management/technical emphasis.
• Minimum 1 year of pharmaceutical, life sciences, or biotech experience in an academic or industry setting.
• Minimum 2 years of experience implementing maintenance and repair programs in a Research & Development (R&D) facility.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively with member of cross-functional team
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to solve problems while anticipating the downstream impacts
• Highly organized with a strong attention to detail, clarity, accuracy, and conciseness.

Additional Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with project management activities and vendor management preferred
• Experience working within an R&D team while establishing and enforcing best practices in laboratory operations preferred
• Experience training/teaching new employees specific relevant technical and conceptual skills is a plus
• Experience with lab supplies procurement

Pay ranges between 35-40/hr based on experience