Lab Manager

Company Description Harken Research is an ISO17025 accredited testing laboratory located in Los Angeles with two core business units: consumer product testing and pharmaceutical contract research. Within the consumer product testing unit dietary supplements, food, and cosmetics are the focus – with additional testing services catering to other industries. Our strengths are our ability to offer customized testing and problem solving to address client needs; excellent customer service; and quick turnaround times. Summary We are seeking an experienced Lab Manager to lead the day-to-day management and operational execution of our analytical laboratory. This is primarily a people-management and laboratory-operations leadership role , rather than a bench scientist or method-development position. The Lab Manager will directly manage a team of analytical scientists, establish clear expectations and accountability, oversee training and performance, coordinate laboratory workflow across analytical groups, and ensure instruments, equipment, vendors, and laboratory infrastructure are effectively managed. The successful candidate must be comfortable spending significant time on the laboratory floor, communicating directly with employees, addressing performance issues, removing operational bottlenecks, and ensuring laboratory priorities are executed. Deep expertise in every analytical technique is not required. Harken has experienced scientific leadership available for advanced technical troubleshooting and method development. The Lab Manager's primary responsibility is ensuring that the people, equipment, training, and daily operations of the laboratory function effectively. Duties People Management & Leadership People management is a primary responsibility of this position. The Lab Manager will: Directly supervise analytical scientists across multiple laboratory groups. Maintain a strong day-to-day presence in the laboratory. Set clear expectations for productivity, quality, communication, and accountability. Meet regularly with scientists to review priorities, workload, performance, and obstacles. Monitor individual and team productivity and address performance issues promptly. Conduct performance reviews and employee development discussions. Provide direct, constructive feedback when expectations are not being met. Coach and develop scientists at different experience levels. Address interpersonal conflicts and communication issues professionally and promptly. Recognize high performers and identify opportunities for increased responsibility and advancement. Work closely with senior leadership on significant performance, staffing, or personnel issues. Build a laboratory culture emphasizing accountability, urgency, teamwork, quality, and continuous improvement. The successful candidate must be comfortable having difficult conversations when necessary while maintaining professionalism, fairness, and employee morale. Daily Laboratory Operations & Workflow The Lab Manager will own day-to-day operational execution within the analytical laboratory. Responsibilities include: Review laboratory workload and priorities each day. Identify urgent, rush, and overdue testing. Establish and communicate clear daily priorities. Ensure scientists understand expected timelines and deliverables. Monitor workflow and identify potential bottlenecks before they affect turnaround time. Reallocate resources when priorities change or operational problems arise. Coordinate analytical workload across laboratory groups. Ensure adequate communication between scientists and other laboratory departments. Work closely with the Intake Supervisor to coordinate workflow between intake, extraction, and analytical teams. Help resolve operational issues between departments. Ensure adequate analytical capacity is available to meet client turnaround commitments. Escalate significant technical, staffing, or capacity issues to the Lab Director or senior leadership as appropriate. The Lab Manager owns the effective daily execution of laboratory operations. Instrument Management & Operational Readiness The Lab Manager is responsible for ensuring laboratory instrumentation remains operational, properly maintained, and adequately supported. Responsibilities include: Coordinate troubleshooting and repair of instrument problems. Determine whether instrument issues can be addressed internally or require outside service. Coordinate vendor technical support and service visits. Schedule and track preventative maintenance. Monitor instrument downtime and recurring reliability issues. Ensure repairs and maintenance are completed promptly. Coordinate installation and commissioning of new laboratory equipment. Coordinate laboratory space, electrical requirements, ventilation, gases, plumbing, network connections, and other infrastructure required for new equipment. Ensure required accessories, consumables, regulators, tubing, furniture, carts, and related items are available before installation. Perform IQ/OQ/PQ activities for new and existing laboratory equipment. Ensure equipment qualification and maintenance documentation is completed appropriately. Maintain visibility into instrument capacity and identify future equipment needs. The Lab Manager does not need to personally repair every instrument but is responsible for ensuring problems are resolved. Laboratory Equipment & Infrastructure Projects The Lab Manager will lead or coordinate laboratory improvement and equipment projects, including: Researching and selecting new laboratory equipment. Obtaining and evaluating vendor quotations. Coordinating equipment purchases with senior leadership. Managing equipment delivery, installation, qualification, and implementation. Coordinating laboratory utility and infrastructure projects. Managing laboratory water purification systems and associated vendors. Coordinating laboratory gases and related infrastructure. Supporting laboratory expansions, equipment moves, and workspace changes. Ensuring projects progress from initial planning through successful implementation. LIMS Implementation & Laboratory Systems The Lab Manager will play a key operational role in the implementation and ongoing use of Harken Research's new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). Responsibilities include: Work closely with senior leadership, Quality, Customer Service, and the LIMS implementation team during system rollout. Help translate existing laboratory workflows into effective LIMS processes. Participate in testing and refinement of laboratory workflows prior to full implementation. Identify workflow problems, inefficiencies, or gaps during implementation and help develop practical solutions. Coordinate training of scientists and laboratory personnel on use of the LIMS. Provide hands-on support to scientists during the transition to the new system. Ensure laboratory personnel consistently and correctly use the LIMS after implementation. Monitor adoption and address training gaps or workflow issues. Develop or coordinate LIMS-related training materials and work instructions as needed. Help establish standardized laboratory practices within the LIMS for sample tracking, testing workflow, results, documentation, and related laboratory activities. Work with Quality to ensure LIMS workflows and documentation support ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. Support future LIMS improvements, workflow automation, and operational-efficiency initiatives. Training & Staff Development The Lab Manager will be responsible for the operational execution of laboratory training. Responsibilities include: Coordinate onboarding and training of new analytical scientists. Maintain training plans and matrices. Ensure employees complete required training within established timelines. Coordinate instrument and method training with appropriate senior scientists. Identify training gaps and arrange retraining when necessary. Ensure employees demonstrate appropriate competency before performing work independently. Work closely with Quality to ensure training documentation meets ISO 17025 requirements. Develop cross-training plans to improve laboratory flexibility and coverage. Support continuing development and advancement of laboratory personnel. Laboratory Safety The Lab Manager will help ensure a safe and organized laboratory environment. Responsibilities include: Reinforce laboratory safety policies and procedures. Ensure employees receive appropriate safety training. Identify and address unsafe laboratory practices. Coordinate corrective actions when safety issues are identified. Ensure appropriate PPE and safety equipment are available. Help maintain organized, clean, and professional laboratory workspaces. Coordinate with appropriate internal and external resources regarding laboratory safety requirements. Scientific & Technical Support The Lab Manager should possess sufficient analytical chemistry experience to understand laboratory operations, communicate effectively with scientists, and participate in troubleshooting. Responsibilities may include: Assist scientists with routine troubleshooting. Ensure technical problems are investigated systematically. Help determine when issues should be escalated to senior scientific leadership. Ensure appropriate documentation of troubleshooting and corrective actions. Facilitate collaboration between scientists when technical problems arise. The Lab Manager is not expected to be the laboratory's highest-level technical expert or personally master every analytical method. Senior scientific leadership is available for complex method development, advanced troubleshooting, and specialized scientific questions. Customer Service & Priority Requests When high-priority client requests affect laboratory operations: Customer Service may escalate requests to the Lab Manager. The Lab Manager will evaluate operational feasibility. Determine available laboratory capacity. Reallocate resources when appropriate. Communicate realistic completion expectations. Protect existing turnaround commitments while accommodating priority work whenever practical. Required Qualifications Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related scientific field. Minimum 7 years of professional analytical laboratory experience. Minimum 3 years of direct laboratory personnel management or supervisory experience. Demonstrated experience managing scientists, chemists, or technical laboratory personnel. Strong working knowledge of analytical laboratory operations. Experience with chromatographic and/or mass spectrometry techniques. HPLC experience strongly preferred. Experience working in a regulated or quality-controlled laboratory environment. ISO/IEC 17025 experience strongly preferred. Experience coordinating instrument maintenance, repairs, service vendors, or equipment installations. Experience with equipment qualification, including IQ/OQ/PQ, strongly preferred. Experience implementing, administering, or training laboratory personnel on a LIMS or other laboratory software system strongly preferred. Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills. Leadership & Interpersonal Skills Success in this position requires strong people-management skills. The ideal candidate will demonstrate: Ability to establish clear expectations and hold employees accountable. Willingness to address underperformance directly rather than allowing problems to continue. Strong face-to-face communication skills. Ability to provide constructive feedback professionally. Experience coaching and developing scientists and technical personnel. Ability to manage different personalities and working styles. Strong diplomacy and emotional intelligence. Ability to balance empathy with operational requirements. Ability to increase urgency and throughput during high-volume periods without creating unnecessary disruption. Strong conflict-resolution skills. Ability to delegate effectively and follow up on assigned responsibilities. Sound judgment regarding when to coach, when to intervene, and when to escalate. Ability to maintain authority without unnecessary micromanagement. Calm, organized decision-making under pressure. Strong sense of ownership and follow-through. What This Role Is People manager. Leader of daily laboratory execution. Operational owner of analytical laboratory workflow. Owner of instrument readiness and operational continuity. Coordinator of equipment and laboratory infrastructure projects. Operational leader for LIMS adoption, scientist training, and laboratory workflow implementation. Leader of laboratory training and staff development. Bridge between analytical scientists and other laboratory departments. Driver of accountability, urgency, organization, and continuous improvement. What This Role Is Not A purely administrative position. A full-time bench chemist. A dedicated method-development scientist. The laboratory's sole technical expert. A passive scheduling position. Ideal Background Strong candidates may come from: High-throughput analytical testing laboratories. Third-party contract testing laboratories. Dietary supplement or food testing laboratories. Pharmaceutical or biotechnology analytical laboratories. Environmental or other high-throughput commercial testing laboratories. QC laboratories operating under regulated quality systems. We particularly value candidates who combine strong people-management ability with practical analytical laboratory experience. Compensation & Benefits $90,000 – $130,000/year (depending on experience) Health, dental, and vision insurance Paid holidays and PTO 401k with company match Opportunity for advancement To Apply Please submit your resume along with a brief written response addressing the following: Describe the largest laboratory team you have directly managed, including the number and types of employees who reported to you. Describe a situation in which an employee you managed was not meeting expectations. What specifically did you do, what conversations did you have, and what was the outcome? Provide an example of how you improved laboratory throughput, productivity, or turnaround time. Describe your experience managing instrument downtime, repairs, preventative maintenance, vendor service, or new equipment installations. Describe your experience performing or coordinating IQ/OQ/PQ activities. Describe your experience implementing a LIMS or other laboratory software system and training laboratory personnel to use it. Briefly describe your hands-on experience with analytical instrumentation, including HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, ICP-MS, or other relevant platforms. Job Type: Full-time Pay: $90,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year Benefits: 401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Health insurance Paid time off Vision insurance Experience: HPLC: 5 years (Preferred) Ability to Commute: Pasadena, CA 91105 (Required) Ability to Relocate: Pasadena, CA 91105: Relocate before starting work (Required) Work Location: In person