Scientific Lead - Global Sample Management

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations across all sample management functions, including compound registration, plate preparation, neat/weigh operations, liquid handling, and sample delivery to internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary operational point of contact for Indianapolis-based discovery scientists, triaging requests, managing priorities, and ensuring turnaround commitments are met.
• Own site throughput, queue status, and processing time metrics, escalating capacity constraints and service disruptions to leadership with clear data and recommended actions.
• Maintain readiness across instrumentation and automation platforms, coordinating maintenance, troubleshooting, and vendor engagement as needed.
• Provide direct day-to-day leadership for the site team, including scheduling, task assignment, performance feedback, onboarding, and development planning to build capability across core GSM competencies.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with leadership on workforce planning, capacity forecasting, and succession considerations for key roles.
• Ensure data integrity, quality, and compliance across LIMS and related systems by maintaining accurate material records, supporting compliance expectations, and strengthening traceability through standardized workflows.
• Drive process improvement by identifying bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and risk points, and implementing workflow, automation, or robotics enhancements in collaboration with global sample management and cross-functional partners.
• Document and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for critical LCC processes and ensure the team is trained to current standards.
• Engage with medicinal chemistry, biology, and computational teams to understand evolving sample management needs and proactively align GSM capabilities.
• Collaborate across the sample management network to share best practices, enable sample transfers, support network-level capacity balancing, and represent Indianapolis operations in project discussions with clarity and confidence.
• Contribute to strategy and execution of the expansion of operations into new modalities.

Requirements

• PhD in chemical, biological, or engineering sciences, or a STEM field AND 2+ years of hands-on laboratory experience in compound management, sample management, or a closely related discipline;
• or BS/MS in chemical, biological, or engineering sciences, or a STEM field AND 5+ years of hands-on laboratory experience in compound management, sample management, or a closely related discipline.

Qualifications

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously in a high-throughput environment.
• Deep knowledge of high-throughput screening workflows and plate-based assay preparation at scale.
• Demonstrated aptitude for agility in sustaining throughput commitments during staffing gaps, demand spikes, and system transitions.
• Exceptional communication skills—written and verbal—with the ability to translate operational data into clear summaries for scientific and leadership audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work across multidisciplinary teams and build effective working relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Experience generating assay-ready plates for high-throughput screening across geographies.
• Experience with automation platforms common to compound management (Beckman Echo, Tecan, High Res Biosystems, Hamilton, Azenta) and associated control software (Cellario, Fluent Control or equivalent).
• Experience supporting or managing CRO logistics for sample shipment and external compound delivery.
• Exposure to multi-modality sample types (small molecules, peptides, biologics, oligonucleotides, or ADCs) and associated handling and tracking requirements.
• Working knowledge of programming, data tools, or modern AI tools (Python, Excel, Claude, for example) used in a laboratory operations context.
• Exposure to high-throughput screening or biochemical assay operations, with an understanding of how sample quality and format impact assay outcomes.
• Prior experience in a regulated or GxP-adjacent environment with awareness of data integrity and compliance expectations.