Manager, Laboratory Operations & Technical Affairs
Acorn Biolabs · Irvine, CA · 1 mo ago
On-siteManagementFull-time
We need to output HTML fragment with sections: h3 for headings like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We must include only sections with real specific content. The posting includes: Company Overview, The Opportunity (role description), What You'll Do (responsibilities), What We're Looking For (requirements/qualifications/skills), How You'll Make An Impact (maybe impact), Why Join Acorn (benefits/culture). No explicit Pay or Schedule. So we should not create Pay or Schedule sections. Benefits: maybe "Why Join Acorn" includes culture/values, not explicit benefits like health insurance. Could treat as Benefits? The instruction: include a section ONLY when posting has real, specific content for it. "Why Join Acorn" includes values, culture, maybe not explicit benefits like health, 401k. Might be considered Benefits? It's more about culture. Could treat as "About the company" but we have no heading for that. Could use "About the role" maybe not needed because job title already shown. The instruction: do NOT repeat the job title as a heading. So we can have sections like Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits. We need to map content.
We have:
- About the role: maybe from "The Opportunity" paragraph describing role. Could be "About the role". Provide that paragraph.
- Responsibilities: from "What You'll Do" sections (multiple subheadings). Could combine into a single Responsibilities section with ul list.
- Requirements/Qualifications/Skills: from "What We're Looking For" includes leadership, technical, adaptability, collaboration. Could split into Requirements (leadership experience), Qualifications (technical), Skills (communication). But we need to avoid thin sections. Maybe combine into one "Requirements" section with ul list.
- Benefits: from "Why Join Acorn" includes values, culture. Could be Benefits section with ul list of values.
We must not include boilerplate like EEO etc. Not present.
We must preserve ALL substantive information; do not invent or summarize away detail. So we need to keep details, not just bullet points summarizing. But we can convert paragraphs into ul items? The instruction: Use
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits, and
for prose. So we can keep prose in
and lists in
- . For responsibilities, we have many sentences; we could keep as
- for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. The responsibilities are a list of duties; we could make each duty a
- . That would be a list. That seems appropriate.
Similarly for requirements/qualifications/skills: we can list each bullet.
For benefits: list each value.
We must not lose any detail. So we need to capture each sentence as a list item, preserving the content.
Let's extract responsibilities from "What You'll Do". It has headings: Laboratory Operations & Team Leadership, Leading Through Growth, Ambiguity & Change, Process Improvement & Operational Excellence, Quality Control & Compliance, Product Development & Scientific Innovation, Cross-Functional Leadership. Under each heading there are sentences describing duties. We'll turn each sentence into a list item.
We need to be careful not to miss any.
Let's copy the text:
Laboratory Operations & Team Leadership
Oversee and manage daily laboratory production and operations, including sample processing, analysis, manufacturing, quality control, cryopreservation, packaging, and distribution of client samples.
Lead, support, and develop Lab Technicians as direct reports, creating a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and operational excellence.
Manage staff scheduling and resource allocation to ensure appropriate laboratory coverage and efficient execution of daily priorities.
Set clear expectations and priorities for the laboratory team and ensure work is completed accurately, efficiently, and on time.
Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and support to Lab Technicians to help them build technical capabilities and grow in their careers.
Partner with senior lab leadership and People Operations on performance management, goal setting, development planning, and annual performance reviews.
Recognize strong performance and address performance or conduct concerns proactively and consistently.
Build team capability through cross-training, continued education, and thoughtful delegation of responsibilities.
Foster a positive team environment where employees feel supported, challenged, and accountable for their contributions.
Leading Through Growth, Ambiguity & Change
Provide steady and effective leadership in a fast-growing environment where processes, priorities, and organizational needs may evolve quickly.
Translate changing business and operational priorities into clear direction and actionable plans for the laboratory team.
Create structure, clarity, and accountability when processes or ownership are not yet clearly defined.
Help the team navigate changes to processes, systems, staffing, priorities, and organizational structure while maintaining engagement and performance.
Identify potential operational challenges before they become larger issues and proactively develop solutions.
Make sound, timely decisions while balancing competing priorities, including product quality, operational efficiency, employee capacity, and customer experience.
Serve as a calm and constructive leader during periods of uncertainty, modeling adaptability, transparency, and resilience.
Encourage a culture where employees are comfortable asking questions, identifying problems, and proposing better ways of working.
Process Improvement & Operational Excellence
Continuously evaluate laboratory workflows, systems, and processes to identify opportunities for greater efficiency, consistency, scalability, and quality.
Assist senior lab leadership in writing, reviewing, and improving SOPs and other operational documentation.
Coordinate the training and implementation of new and updated SOPs and ensure ongoing adherence.
Ensure continued technical education and training across the operations team.
Partner closely with Commercial and Operations Client Solutions teams to understand business and customer needs and identify opportunities to improve the overall client experience.
Work cross-functionally to develop solutions that balance operational efficiency with product quality and customer satisfaction.
Partner with the Operations Manager on procurement and planning for laboratory supplies, equipment, and other operational needs.
Ensure appropriate upkeep, functionality, and readiness of laboratory equipment and facilities.
Ensure adherence to applicable health and safety requirements and laboratory best practices.
Quality Control & Compliance
Partner closely with the Quality Manager to maintain and continuously improve laboratory quality standards.
Analyze and approve quality control results accurately and in a timely manner.
Monitor activities across laboratory processes to ensure adherence to established quality standards and applicable regulatory requirements.
Assist with regular audits of client laboratory records, facilities, and the Quality Management System (QMS).
Partner with the Quality Manager and senior laboratory leadership to investigate and address deviations, non-conformances, and corrective actions.
Execute and implement preventive action plans as necessary.
Communicate process changes, audit findings, quality concerns, and corrective actions to senior leadership in a timely and effective manner.
Assist senior laboratory leadership with writing and/or conducting validations and verifications as needed.
Prepare and/or present laboratory data and quality metrics during quarterly quality meetings.
Champion adherence to the QMS across the laboratory and identify opportunities to strengthen quality systems, documentation, and processes.
Reinforce a culture where quality, accuracy, safety, and integrity are non-negotiable.
Product Development & Scientific Innovation
Support the Product Development & Improvement (PDI/R&D) team in advancing innovation in the fields of hair follicular and stem cell research.
Participate in weekly PDI team meetings and contribute meaningfully to scientific and strategic discussions.
Actively participate in science teams’ strategic planning, experiment analysis, and reporting.
Partner cross-functionally to translate scientific and technical insights into practical improvements to products, processes, and laboratory operations.
Encourage a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and continuous improvement within the laboratory team.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Build strong working relationships across Operations, Commercial, Client Solutions, Quality, PDI/R&D, and other internal teams.
Serve as a technical and operational resource for cross-functional partners.
Communicate laboratory priorities, capacity, challenges, and opportunities clearly to stakeholders and senior leadership.
Help connect technical decisions to broader business, operational, and customer objectives.
Collaborate effectively across teams with different priorities, perspectives, and areas of expertise.
Now "What We're Looking For" sections:
Leadership & People Management
Demonstrated experience directly managing and developing employees, ideally within a laboratory, biotechnology, life sciences, healthcare, or similarly regulated environment.
Strong coaching and feedback skills with the ability to develop employees with different experience levels and learning styles.
Ability to establish clear expectations, hold people accountable, and address performance issues constructively.
Experience supporting performance reviews, development planning, and employee growth.
A collaborative leadership style that builds trust while maintaining high standards.
Technical & Operational
Strong laboratory operations experience with an understanding of sample processing, analysis, manufacturing, quality control, cryopreservation, and/or related laboratory workflows.
Experience with SOPs, quality systems, audits, deviations, corrective/preventive actions, validations, and/or verifications.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality, safety, and compliance.
Demonstrated ability to identify inefficiencies and implement practical process improvements.
Adaptability & Strategic Thinking
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment with changing priorities.
Demonstrated ability to lead effectively through ambiguity and organizational change.
Able to create clarity and structure without needing every answer or process to be fully defined.
Strong judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance immediate operational needs with longer-term improvements.
Naturally curious and willing to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and find better ways of working.
Collaboration & Communication
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and the ability to influence without relying solely on authority.
A team-first mindset and a genuine interest in helping others succeed.
Now "How You'll Make An Impact" maybe could be a section but not required headings list includes About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Impact could be considered part of Responsibilities or maybe we could include as a separate section like "Impact". But not in allowed headings list? The instruction says use
for section headings (e.g. About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule). It says e.g., not exclusive. So we could add other headings if needed, but better to stick to those. Impact could be part of Responsibilities or maybe we could omit as it's somewhat repetitive. However we must preserve ALL substantive information; we cannot omit impact details. So we need to include them somewhere. Could add a section "Impact" as an h3, even though not in the example list, but it's allowed as a heading? The instruction: "use
for section headings (e.g. About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule)." It implies those are examples; we can use other headings if needed. Safer to include an "Impact" section. Similarly "Why Join Acorn" could be Benefits or Culture. We'll make Benefits section. Now we need to ensure we don't include any boilerplate like EEO etc. Not present. Now produce HTML fragment:
About the role
... paragraph from The Opportunity ...
ThenResponsibilities
- ... each duty ...
Requirements
- ... each requirement ...
Benefits
- ... each value from Why Join Acorn ...
Impact
- ... each impact statement from How You'll Make An Impact ...
prose, but they said use