Laboratory Manager

Ascend Wellness Holdings (CSE: AAWH.U / OTCQX:AAWH); Monroe (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascend Wellness Holdings oversees a licensed cannabis processing, extraction, and testing laboratory in Monroe, OH. The Laboratory Manager will lead technicians, ensure safety, quality control, and regulatory compliance while optimizing production workflows in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires hands-on expertise in cannabis extraction and analytical testing, strict SOP adherence, and strong equipment maintenance, inventory management, and METRC record-keeping to support compliant

Qualifications

• 3+ years hands-on cannabis extraction experience
• 3+ years in supervisory/lead technician role
• Experience maintaining and troubleshooting complex lab/extraction equipment
• Must be at least 21 and able to pass state background check
• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent hands-on cannabis industry experience

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day extraction, processing, and/or testing operations to meet production goals safely and efficiently
• Monitor inventories and coordinate with vendors to control costs
• Maintain real-time records in METRC and reconcile with physical counts
• Track operational metrics and identify bottlenecks for continuous improvement
• Lead training, onboarding, scheduling, and performance evaluations of lab staff

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Attention to detail

Adaptability

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Engineering or related field

Tools

METRC

LIMS

ERP systems

Seed-to-Sale software

Job description

Job Summary

The Laboratory Manager oversees all day-to-day operations of a licensed cannabis processing, extraction, and/or testing laboratory, ensuring the highest standards of safety, quality control, throughput, and state and federal regulatory compliance. This role combines hands-on technical expertise in cannabis extraction, post-processing, and analytical testing with strong team leadership—managing technicians and optimizing production workflows, maintaining complex processing and analytical equipment, and upholding rigorous Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) aligned with state cannabis program requirements.

Location and Pay

Location: On site. Monroe, OH

Pay: $80,000 - $85,000

Operations & Workflow Management

• Oversee day-to-day extraction, processing, and/or testing operations to ensure production schedules and throughput goals are met safely and efficiently
• Monitor inventories of cannabis raw material, solvents, reagents, and consumables; coordinate with licensed vendors and distributors to manage procurement and control costs
• Maintain accurate, real-time records within the state seed-to-sale tracking system (METRC) and reconcile inventory against physical counts
• Track and analyze operational metrics (e.g., turnaround times, extraction yields, potency consistency, error rates) using tracking tools and spreadsheets
• Identify bottlenecks in laboratory and processing workflows and implement continuous improvement strategies

Team Leadership & Personnel Development

• Lead, train, and mentor laboratory and processing staff, ensuring thorough onboarding for new technical Lab team members
• Prepare work schedules, assign daily tasks, and monitor individual and team productivity
• Conduct regular performance evaluations, provide constructive feedback, and foster a collaborative, accountability-driven lab culture

Equipment Maintenance & Technical Oversight

• Supervise the operation, calibration, cleaning, and preventative maintenance of extraction and lab equipment (e.g., CO2/hydrocarbon/ethanol extraction systems, rotary evaporators, vacuum ovens, distillation systems, chromatography and other analytical instruments)
• Troubleshoot technical issues and equipment malfunctions promptly to minimize operational downtime
• Maintain comprehensive maintenance logs, equipment SOPs, and service records

Quality Control (QC) & Regulatory Compliance

• Enforce strict adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), state cannabis Division of Cannabis Control/program regulations, and internal SOPs
• Manage Quality Control (QC) protocols, auditing batch records, Certificates of Analysis (COAs), and testing data (potency, pesticides, residual solvents, microbials) for accuracy and compliance prior to final release
• Lead investigation of Out-of-Specification (OOS) results, failed batches, non-conformances, or deviations, establishing corrective and preventative actions (CAPA), including product holds, recalls, or destruction per state requirements
• Serve as primary point of contact for state regulatory inspections and audits, ensuring all documentation is inspection-ready

Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

• Serve as a primary champion for workplace safety, ensuring all team members follow chemical hygiene plans (including flammable solvent handling), PPE requirements, and hazardous and cannabis waste disposal rules
• Participate actively in workplace safety, helping drive safety audits, risk assessments, and incident investigations
• Maintain up-to-date Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and ensure compliance with OSHA and relevant state environmental and cannabis-specific safety standards

Competencies

• Leadership & Communication: Ability to delegate effectively, resolve team conflicts, and communicate complex technical concepts clearly
• Problem-Solving: Strong diagnostic skills for addressing process deviations and mechanical equipment issues
• Attention to Detail: Uncompromising commitment to precision, record-keeping, and safety standards
• Adaptability: Capability to prioritize tasks effectively in a fast-paced, evolving regulatory environment
• Strong proficiency in data analysis and tracking tools (e.g., Excel, LIMS, ERP systems, or seed-to-sale software such as METRC)

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, ELIGIBILITY And TRAINING

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in a cannabis extraction required.
• 3+ years in a supervisory, lead technician, or team management role required.
• Demonstrated experience maintaining and troubleshooting complex laboratory and extraction equipment and instruments
• Must be at least 21 years of age and able to pass a state-required cannabis industry background check and obtain any applicable state work permit/badge
• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Engineering, or related field preferred; equivalent hands-on cannabis industry experience will be considered

Physical Requirements

• Sitting
• Occasionally
• Lifting
• Continuously
• 10 lbs. or less
• Occasionally
• Walking
• Continuously
• 11 to 25 lbs.
• Frequently
• Bending Over
• Continuously
• 26 to 50 lbs.
• Occasionally
• Crawling
• Occasionally
• 51 to 75 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Climbing
• Occasionally
• 76 to 100 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Reaching Overhead
• Occasionally
• Over 100 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Crouching
• Frequently
• Carrying
• Kneeling
• Frequently
• 10 lbs. or less
• Continuously
• Balancing
• Occasionally
• 11 to 25 lbs.
• Frequently
• Pushing or pulling
• Frequently
• 26 to 50 lbs.
• Occasionally
• Talking
• Continuously
• 51 to 75 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Repetitive use of hands/arms
• Continuously
• 76 to 100 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Repetitive use of legs
• Continuously
• Over 100 lbs.
• Not Applicable
• Grasping
• Continuously
• Hearing
• Continuously
• Eye/Hand Coordination
• Not Applicable
• Visual Acuity
• Continuously
• Fine Manipulation
• Frequently
• Subject to Noise
• Continuously

Company Overview

Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) is a vertically integrated cannabis cultivator, processor and provisioning center operator with assets in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We seek to foster a robust and inclusive cannabis industry through a premium, unmatched customer-focused retail experience. We are looking to build a world-class team that will help carry out our mission of helping to shape the future of cannabis as a leading healthcare solution. We are committed to improving the quality of our patients’ lives by offering unrivaled quality, consistency and meticulously curated products that satisfy our customers unique, individual needs. When it comes to customer service experience, our dispensaries will set a new standard of excellence, emphasizing health and wellness by a highly knowledgeable team. A team that is committed to our values, our people, and our communities; we are looking for people who are inspired by our vision and stay dedicated to our mission as we continuously expand.

EEO STATEMENT

Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. ("AWH") and its subsidiaries is an equal opportunity employer and celebrate the population of differences and does not discriminate in its hiring / hiring practices, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.