Laboratory Operations Manager

Abstract Bio; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Abstract Bio is seeking a Lab Manager to own the lab operations, instruments, reagents, space and the people who keep them running. You will bridge R&D and production, stepping in as a technician when needed, and you will build AI-native systems to automate repetitive tasks.

You have 3+ years running a molecular biology lab that ships, with hands-on PCR, cloning and NGS prep, plus experience with LIMS. You will hire and lead technicians as we scale, and ensure safety and compliance across the

Qualifications

• 3+ years running a molecular biology lab, with hands-on depth in a production or core setting.
• Experience running a lab that ships and shipping-ready protocols.
• AI-native mindset: daily use of AI and building small lab tools.

Responsibilities

• Run the lab like a factory floor, owning instruments, reagents, consumables, safety and space.
• Keep the lab ahead of the science with ready-to-run protocols and bench space.
• Step in at the bench for synthesis, assembly, QC and sequencing prep as needed.
• Build an AI-native lab by recording systems, logs and ordering in a way AI can query and automate tasks.
• Own traceability for reagents and instruments to enable fast kill/keep decisions.
• Hire and lead the lab team as we scale 10x.
• Maintain safety and compliance with audit readiness.

Skills

Lab management

Molecular biology

PCR

NGS prep

Automation

LIMS

Education

BSc or MSc

Tools

Opentrons

Hamilton

Tecan

Job description

We read every application ourselves and reply within a week.

TLDR

We are building the biological inputs factory that will unlock AI for biology, starting from DNA, the first building block of every biomolecule. Demand for our first DNA product outran our capacity within months of launch, and we are now scaling 10x. As our Lab Manager, you will own the lab itself: the instruments, the reagents, the space, the systems and the people who keep them running. You serve both R&D and production, and you keep the lab moving as fast as the science changes. The best candidate has run a wet lab that ships, can step in as a technician when a hand is missing, and is AI-native: they already use AI daily and build small tools to make the lab run itself. Your role will evolve with time; you should be excited by that and step up when needed. THIS IS NOT A 9 TO 5.

Story and mission

The Bessemer process made steel cheap and set off the Second Industrial Revolution. AI is now doing the same to biological design, and cloud labs and robots are doing it to testing. That pushes the bottleneck to the build step: the physical inputs. Every protein and every RNA starts as DNA, and DNA is still expensive. With current suppliers, the DNA to test one therapeutic antibody design costs around $100 per data point; a good antibody needs thousands of them, and a good antibody model needs millions. Abstract Bio is building the factory for those inputs, starting from DNA, the first building block.

We brought a DNA product, 4-10x cheaper than incumbents, to market within 6 months of founding the company. With a team of three and word of mouth alone, demand quickly outran our capacity, so we are now building for true scale. This means a 10x larger production platform, adding long and plasmid DNA, and starting the first R&D on RNA and proteins.

A factory that scales 10x is a lab that runs 10x more instruments, protocols, reagents and people without 10x more chaos. That is the job of the Lab Manager. Our North Star is to be the biological inputs factory that gives scientists any biomolecule, on demand: the missing part of the stack that will unlock AI for biology.

We are turning DNA into a commodity, and a commodity wins on cost and reliability. Reliability starts in the lab: the right reagent lot in the right freezer, the instrument calibrated before the run, the consumable in stock before anyone asks. The Lab Manager owns all of that.

You sit between R&D and production and serve both. Our Scientists in R&D decide what the factory will make next year; our production team runs the factory today. You make sure the lab can keep up with both: when a method evolves, the instruments, reagents, layouts and supplies evolve with it, and when production needs to scale, the lab is ready before the orders arrive. You are also the first person to pick up a pipette when a shift is short, a rush order lands or a run needs rescuing at 9pm. You will be a technician whenever the lab needs one.

You are AI-native. Our lab is built so that software can read it and AI agents can act in it. You will not run the lab on spreadsheets and sticky notes; you will run it on systems that AI can query, and you will build the tools, scripts and agents that take the repetitive work off your own plate and the team's: reagent ordering, inventory tracking, instrument logs, scheduling, incident write-ups. You report to the founders, and as we scale you will hire and lead the technicians and lab operations team.

This is a company-defining role. We will give you the autonomy to build the lab the way you believe it should run, a budget for the systems to do it, and the room to grow into the Head of Lab Operations for a multi-site factory.

What you will do

• Run the lab like a factory floor. Own instruments, reagents, consumables, safety and space, so no run is lost to a missing reagent or a broken instrument.
• Keep the lab ahead of the science. Have the instruments, reagents and bench space ready before a new protocol runs for the first time.
• Step in at the bench. Run synthesis, assembly, QC and sequencing prep when a shift is short or a run needs rescuing.
• Build the AI-native lab. Put inventory, instrument logs, maintenance and ordering into systems AI can query, then automate the repetitive work on top.
• Own traceability. Every reagent lot and instrument has a history, so a failed run can rule the lab in or out in minutes.
• Hire and lead the lab team. Recruit, train and schedule technicians as we scale 10x.
• Keep us safe and compliant. Own EHS and be audit-ready on any given day.

What you will need to succeed

• You have run a lab that ships. You have 3+ years running a molecular biology, core or production lab, and a BSc or MSc or equivalent hands-on depth.
• You are a strong technician. You run PCR, assembly, cloning, QC, plate work and NGS prep cleanly, and get a new SOP right on the first try.
• You are AI-native. You use AI daily, are at home with a LIMS and a terminal, and would rather automate a task than repeat it.
• You are obsessively organised. A missing lot number is a bug.
• You lead by doing. Your team follows your standards because they see you hold yourself to them.
• You move fast and stay calm. You build the simple version this week, keep your head when a freezer fails, and write things down so nobody asks twice.

Nice-to-haves

• You have run automation. Hands-on time with liquid handlers (Opentrons, Hamilton, Tecan), acoustic dispensers or plate robotics, and you have written or edited the methods that drive them.
• You have lived in a sequencing lab. You have prepped and run Illumina or Nanopore libraries at scale and know what a bad run looks like before the data comes back.
• You have built a LIMS, not just used one. You have set up or heavily configured a sample tracking system, written the schema, and connected it to instruments or ordering, or you have scripted your way around one.
• You have shipped product under a quality system. Experience in an ISO or similar production environment, or with customer audits and supplier qualification.
• You can multiply yourself. You know technicians and lab ops people who would follow you to the right opportunity, especially if you are the one sounding the horn.