Laboratory Operations Associate I

Fate Therapeutics Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 36,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Equity

Benefits package

Job summary

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. seeks a hands-on Laboratory Operations professional to support facilities, technical operations, and R&D teams with lab operations and equipment management.

This 100% on-site role is based at our San Diego headquarters and reports to the Manager of Equipment Engineering. Your responsibilities include coordinating calibrations, maintenance, and relocations; maintaining equipment inventories; and ensuring SOP compliance and GDP documentation across R&D and manufacturing

Qualifications

• 1+ year of laboratory operations and equipment maintenance experience in biotech/pharma.
• Associate's degree preferred.
• Exposure to Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) preferred.
• Mechanical knowledge of equipment and tools with experience with biosafety cabinets, incubators, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers, and other lab gear.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a point of contact supporting a high volume of R&D, Technical Operations, and Manufacturing end-user facility requests.
• Plan short- and long-term lab activities, coordinate calibration, maintenance, and relocation.
• Execute lab ops requests, calibrations, and work orders, ensuring on-time completion.
• Maintain equipment lists and enroll new equipment in calibration/maintenance schedules.
• Implement policies and procedures for equipment and lab activities.
• Track assets, records, and documents in required databases.
• Assist with calibration and maintenance including pipettes, biosafety cabinets, incubators with proper documentation.
• Oversee vendors and ensure tasks are performed compliantly with SOPs.
• Support maintenance of facilities' working standards across manufacturing and labs.
• Interact with departments to resolve lab ops, calibration, or equipment issues.
• Maintain safe work environment and PPE compliance.
• Maintain accurate equipment records and systems.
• Work independently with sound judgment on methods and tools.
• Collaborate with third-party vendors for service adherence to policies.

Skills

Lab operations

Equipment maintenance

Calibration

CMMS

Vendor management

GMP GDP documentation

Education

Associate's degree

Tools

CMMS

Calibration tools

Job description

Fate Therapeutics is seeking a talented and highly motivated Laboratory Operations professional to work with our Facilities, Technical Operations, and R&D teams to provide hands‑on laboratory operations services, and equipment management services. The successful candidate will support the Facilities Department with laboratory operations activities, including equipment installation, calibration, maintenance, and redeployment, lab alarms and security systems, vendor management and guidance, and communication with R&D and Technical Operations, including Manufacturing end users while complying with SOPs and applying GDP (Good Documentation Practices). This is a full‑time position reporting to the Manager, Equipment Engineering and is a 100% on‑site position located at our corporate headquarters in San Diego, California.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a point of contact and support a high volume of R&D, Technical Operations, and Manufacturing end user facilities requests, ensuring day‑to‑day lab activities run effectively.
• Anticipate and plan for short‑term and long‑term lab activities, including solving space requirements within and across teams and labs, supporting cross‑team workflows, and coordinating equipment calibration, maintenance, and relocation.
• Execute assigned lab operations requests, calibrations, and Work Orders (WOs), and/or ensure they are completed on schedule.
• Maintain equipment lists and enroll new equipment into calibration and maintenance schedules.
• Implement and deploy policies, procedures, and protocols for equipment and other lab activities.
• Work within required databases and management systems to track and update assets, records, and documents.
• Participate in calibration and maintenance activities including those for pipets, biological safety cabinets, incubators, etc. with accurate and timely documentation following Company SOPs.
• Oversee and escort vendors following Company SOPs and completing tasks in a compliant manner, ensuring that the necessary documentation is completed accurately.
• Support the maintenance of all Facilities working standards (manufacturing, utilities and labs).
• Interact with other departments and personnel to resolve any lab operations, calibration or equipment issues.
• Maintain a safe work environment, including following all safety SOPs and wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as required.
• Maintain accurate record keeping of equipment and systems.
• Work independently and make sound judgments regarding work methods and tools.
• Work with third party Vendors while performing services on equipment to ensure that all are following Company policies.

Qualifications

• 1+ years of laboratory operations and equipment maintenance related experience in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry.
• Associate's degree preferred.
• Exposure to Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) preferred.
• Mechanical knowledge of equipment and tools, including their design, operation, repair, and maintenance with experiencing supporting equipment such as biosafety cabinets, incubators, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers, and other general laboratory equipment preferred.
• Requires the use of basic math skills and the ability to use technical calibration equipment.
• Proficient problem-solving abilities along with being detail oriented.
• Excellent cross functional communication skills with the ability to manage and prioritize high volumes of R&D and Manufacturing end user facilities requests.
• Good written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self‑motivated, flexible, able to prioritize, multitask, and work in a fast paced & dynamic environment.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

• 100% on‑site work at corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA.
• Must be able to lift, carry, push and/or pull 50 pounds of equipment or supplies.
• Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.

Compensation

• The salary offer will be based on a variety of factors, including level, experience, qualifications, internal equity, and location.
• Fate offers a competitive employment package that includes an annual bonus, equity, and a generous benefits package.
• The anticipated hourly range for this role is $26.00 - $30.00.

The preceding job description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. Additional and incidental duties related to the primary duties may be required from time to time.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Privacy Notice

To learn about how Fate collects and uses job application information, please visit Fate's online Privacy Notice .

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.

Fate Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing a pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cellular immunotherapies to patients. Using its proprietary iPSC product platform, the Company has established a leadership position in creating multiplexed-engineered master iPSC lines and in the manufacture and clinical development of off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived cell products. The Company’s pipeline includes iPSC-derived T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell product candidates, which are selectively designed, incorporate novel synthetic controls of cell function, and are intended to deliver multiple therapeutic mechanisms to patients. Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit www.fatetherapeutics.com .

Recruitment Fraud Alert

Recently, we have been made aware of unauthorized individuals falsely presenting themselves as Fate Therapeutics employees or recruiters as part of online scams or phishing attempts. Impersonators may use the Fate Therapeutics name and logo, as well as employee names and job titles, to gain a job seeker’s personal or banking information or to request payment as a condition of being considered for a position at the company. Fate Therapeutics and its employees are not involved in these scams.

Here are a few things to be aware of to help identify recruitment fraud:

• Our Talent Acquisition team only corresponds from our @fatetherapeutics.com domain.
• At no stage in our hiring process will we require payment or ask you to make deposits in your bank account.
• We will only ask for personal information when applying for a position via our Careers page or thereafter.
• At no stage during our hiring process will we ask you to click a link to begin a one‑way video interview.
• We do not use Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, or other third‑party messaging platforms to recruit candidates or conduct interviews.

Please exercise caution. If something feels off about your interactions, we encourage you to contact us at [email protected] to confirm the authenticity of the message. Your security is important to us, and we appreciate your vigilance.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.