Laboratory Manager

Commonwealth Science and Technology; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Commonwealth Science and Technology in Boston seeks an experienced laboratory operations leader to supervise day-to-day lab activities, biobanking workflows, and compliance programs. You will manage biospecimen handling, SOPs, and inventory while coordinating with clinical teams and collaborators.

The role requires a strong background in biology, 10+ years in biological labs, and proven supervision of staff, with focus on accuracy and documentation using LIMS.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in biology, biomedical sciences, molecular biology, or a related scientific discipline is required.
• 10+ years of experience in a biological or biomedical research laboratory with supervisory experience.
• Hands-on experience with human biospecimens or clinical samples and biobanking workflows.
• Experience developing and maintaining laboratory SOPs and standardized workflows.
• Familiarity with inventory management, equipment maintenance, and compliance programs.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily laboratory operations, including SOP development and workflow optimization.
• Monitor budget, inventory, equipment maintenance, and safety/compliance.
• Manage biospecimen receipt, accessioning, processing, storage, and shipment.
• Ensure accurate documentation and chain-of-custody using LIMS or tracking systems.
• Coordinate with clinical teams and external collaborators on biospecimen workflows.
• Supervise and develop research staff; conduct performance reviews and training.
• Maintain thorough sample inventories and generate reports for projects and trials.
• Support research activities including NGS library prep, PCR, and tissue culture.
• Collaborate with PI on research initiatives and biobanking operations.

Skills

Laboratory Management

SOP Development

Biobanking

Team Supervision

Regulatory Compliance

Inventory Control

Sample Tracking

LIMS Proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in biology or related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

LIMS

Job description

• Oversee daily laboratory operations, including SOP development, workflow optimization, budget monitoring, inventory management, equipment maintenance, and laboratory safety and compliance.
• Manage laboratory supplies and research materials, including antibodies, enzymes, proteins, plasmids, DNA, and other biological reagents.
• Oversee human biospecimen and biobanking operations, including the receipt, accessioning, processing, labeling, storage, tracking, retrieval, and shipment of blood, bone marrow, and other clinical samples.
• Ensure proper sample documentation, chain of custody, inventory management, and accurate record keeping using laboratory information management systems (LIMS) or other tracking software.
• Coordinate with clinical research teams, investigators, and external collaborators to ensure biospecimen workflows comply with study protocols, consent requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Maintain comprehensive sample inventories and generate sample reports to support research projects, clinical trials, and institutional and external biobanking collaborations.
• Manage research agreements, grant and contract deliverables, sample transfers, and the development and implementation of laboratory workflows.
• Support scientific research activities, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation, PCR, Western blotting, flow cytometry, and tissue culture.
• Oversee mouse colony management, breeding, and genotyping, as needed.
• Manage laboratory records, research materials, protocols, SOPs, and data generated from research activities in collaboration with data management teams.
• Recruit, train, supervise, mentor, and evaluate research technicians and staff scientists, including assigning responsibilities and conducting annual performance reviews.
• Ensure laboratory personnel complete required institutional, NIH, and sponsor training and comply with applicable laboratory policies and procedures.
• Identify and implement improvements to laboratory operations, biobanking workflows, sample management systems, and research processes.
• Collaborate with the Principal Investigator (PI) on research initiatives, external collaborations, and laboratory administration.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in biology, biomedical sciences, molecular biology, or a related scientific discipline required; Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in a biological or biomedical research laboratory, including at least 2 years of laboratory management or supervisory experience.
• Hands-on experience working with human biological samples or clinical biospecimens, including blood, bone marrow, or other human tissue samples.
• Direct experience with biobanking, including sample accessioning, processing, storage, inventory management, tracking, and documentation.
• Experience maintaining accurate biospecimen records, sample traceability, and chain-of-custody documentation.
• Experience developing and maintaining laboratory SOPs, protocols, and standardized workflows.
• Familiarity with laboratory operations, equipment maintenance, inventory management, safety, compliance, and record keeping.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise laboratory personnel, manage competing priorities, and coordinate research deliverables.