Director/Sr. Director of Laboratory Operations

Director/Sr. Director of Laboratory Operations

Work Location: Montgomery County, Maryland

Summary:

Lead and scale laboratory operations with a focus on genomics and metagenomics workflows. Oversee operational excellence in sample processing, sequencing, quality systems, staffing, vendor management, and continuous improvement. Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure efficient, compliant, and high-quality laboratory execution.

Responsibilities:

• Direct all aspects of laboratory operations, including sample intake, nucleic acid extraction, library preparation, sequencing, and data transfer to analytical teams.
• Recruit, mentor, and manage laboratory staff, fostering a high-performance culture and supporting professional development.
• Develop and implement staffing strategies to support business growth and new assay launches.
• Design and optimize scalable workflows for high-throughput genomics and metagenomics, driving process improvements to enhance efficiency and data quality.
• Oversee laboratory quality systems, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and maintaining robust documentation and SOPs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support assay development, validation, and commercialization, and participate in product planning discussions.
• Manage laboratory budgets, vendor relationships, and procurement processes to ensure cost-effective operations and reliable supply chains.
• Support audits, inspections, and quality assessments, ensuring adherence to biosafety, quality, and data integrity standards.

Qualifications:

• PhD, MS, or BS in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Genomics, Bioengineering, or a related life sciences field.
• 8–12+ years of progressive laboratory experience, including at least 3–5 years in laboratory leadership or operations management.
• Extensive hands-on experience with NGS workflows (Illumina and/or other platforms), metagenomics, and molecular biology techniques.
• Demonstrated success in scaling laboratory operations in commercial, clinical, or high-growth biotech settings.
• Strong knowledge of laboratory quality systems, compliance, and documentation practices.
• Proven ability to lead teams, manage competing priorities, and deliver results in fast-paced environments.
• Experience with clinical, public health, biodefense, or regulated laboratory environments is a plus.
• Familiarity with LIMS, automation platforms, and high-throughput laboratory infrastructure preferred.
• Experience collaborating with bioinformatics or computational biology teams is advantageous.
• Background in supporting customer-facing or revenue-generating laboratory services is desirable.
• Strong operational excellence, systems thinking, and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Excellent people leadership, talent development, and cross-functional collaboration abilities.
• Clear communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Published Category: Manufacturing & Technical Operations