Senior Technical Support Engineer

Madrona Venture Labs; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Madrona Venture Labs in California seeks a seasoned technical support professional to act as the primary liaison between R&D, product support, and internal experimentalist teams. You will handle instrument and assay issues, triage requests in Jira, and resolve Tier 1 problems while coordinating cross-functional discussions.

With 5+ years in biotech support, you will drive data analysis support, maintain troubleshooting guides, and help implement scalable support processes and CAPA workflows to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related technical field (or equivalent).
• 5+ years in a technical support role in biotech, life sciences, or analytical instrumentation.
• Hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation and assay workflows.
• Experience using Jira or similar ticketing/issue-tracking systems for support management.
• Strong troubleshooting and structured problem-solving skills with independence.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with scientists, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple open issues simultaneously.
• Familiarity with quality management systems, complaint handling, and nonconformance processes preferred.
• Proficiency with Excel and Python for data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between R&D, Product Support, and internal experimentalist teams to ensure clear, timely communication on instrument and assay issues
• Act as first point of contact for technical inquiries from internal users, including questions about product usage, instrument performance, and assay protocols
• Triage, prioritize, and track all incoming support requests through the Jira ticketing system; ensure issues are routed to the appropriate teams and resolved within established timelines
• Resolve Tier 1 issues directly whenever possible, escalating to senior support engineers or R&D as appropriate
• Own standard assay coordination: ensure coverage for assay execution, assist with data analysis, elevate failures, and organize cross-functional discussions when needed
• Implement and maintain a formal complaint-handling process to ensure issues are logged, tracked, and escalated to the appropriate stakeholders in an organized manner
• Coordinate support activities including scheduling, prioritization, and follow-through to maximize instrument uptime and utilization
• Perform basic troubleshooting of hardware, software, fluidic, and assay-related issues; document findings clearly in Jira and internal tracking systems
• Contribute to root cause identification by capturing field and lab observations and feeding structured feedback to Engineering and Product teams
• Create and maintain troubleshooting guides, support procedures, assay coordination protocols, and knowledge base articles
• Follow complaint handling, nonconformance, and CAPA processes; ensure support activities comply with company quality system requirements
• Support the development and transition to scalable support processes including published dashboards, standardized escalation paths, and improved uptime tracking
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Applications teams to communicate recurring issues and inform product improvement
• Assist in validating fixes, service bulletins, and design changes as directed by senior engineering staff

Skills

Troubleshooting

Jira

Data analysis

Communication

Cross-functional

Organizational

Lab experience

Independent

Quality

Education

Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related technical field

Tools

Excel

Python

Jira

Job description

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between R&D, Product Support, and internal experimentalist teams to ensure clear, timely communication on instrument and assay issues
• Act as first point of contact for technical inquiries from internal users, including questions about product usage, instrument performance, and assay protocols
• Triage, prioritize, and track all incoming support requests through the Jira ticketing system; ensure issues are routed to the appropriate teams and resolved within established timelines
• Resolve Tier 1 issues directly whenever possible, escalating to senior support engineers or R&D as appropriate
• Own standard assay coordination: ensure coverage for assay execution, assist with data analysis, elevate failures, and organize cross‑functional discussions when needed
• Implement and maintain a formal complaint‑handling process to ensure issues are logged, tracked, and escalated to the appropriate stakeholders in an organized manner
• Coordinate support activities including scheduling, prioritization, and follow‑through to maximize instrument uptime and utilization
• Perform basic troubleshooting of hardware, software, fluidic, and assay‑related issues; document findings clearly in Jira and internal tracking systems
• Contribute to root cause identification by capturing field and lab observations and feeding structured feedback to Engineering and Product teams
• Create and maintain troubleshooting guides, support procedures, assay coordination protocols, and knowledge base articles
• Follow complaint handling, nonconformance, and CAPA processes; ensure support activities comply with company quality system requirements
• Support the development and transition to scalable support processes including published dashboards, standardized escalation paths, and improved uptime tracking
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Applications teams to communicate recurring issues and inform product improvement
• Assist in validating fixes, service bulletins, and design changes as directed by senior engineering staff

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or a related technical field
• 5+ years of experience in a technical support role, preferably in biotech, life sciences, or analytical instrumentation
• Hands‑on experience with laboratory instrumentation and assay workflows; familiarity with proteomics, genomics, or similar platforms is a plus
• Experience using Jira or similar ticketing and issue‑tracking systems for support management
• Strong troubleshooting and structured problem‑solving skills; ability to diagnose and resolve technical issues independently or with minimal guidance
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable interfacing with scientists, engineers, and cross‑functional stakeholders
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple open issues simultaneously in a fast‑paced environment
• Familiarity with quality management systems, complaint handling, and nonconformance processes preferred
• Proficiency with standard data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, Python, or similar); ability to assist with basic experimental data review
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively across teams; comfortable with ambiguity and evolving processes
• Willingness to be hands‑on in a lab environment and engage directly with instruments and assay execution as needed