Laboratory Supervisor, Lab Management

A Day in the Life

Receiving & Accessioning

• Lead daily receiving and accessioning operations, including specimen receipt, inspection, reconciliation, accessioning, data entry, labeling, documentation, sample routing, storage and handoff to downstream laboratory teams.
• Ensure specimens are received and processed accurately and in accordance with study requirements, established procedures, quality standards and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain sample integrity, chain of custody, traceability and accurate documentation throughout the pre-analytical process.
• Monitor workload, turnaround time, productivity, quality metrics and staffing; adjust resources and priorities based on incoming sample volume and business needs.
• Troubleshoot specimen discrepancies, missing or conflicting documentation, system issues and other pre-analytical exceptions, ensuring timely escalation and resolution.
• Partner with Client Services, Project Management, Quality and laboratory teams to resolve sample-related issues and prevent recurrence.
• Drive improvements that reduce accessioning errors, improve turnaround time, standardize workflows and increase operational efficiency.

Materials Management & Inventory

• Oversee laboratory materials management and inventory control to ensure critical supplies and consumables are available to support laboratory operations.
• Monitor inventory levels, reorder points, usage trends, expiration dates and material availability to minimize shortages, waste and operational disruptions.
• Partner with Supply Chain, laboratory teams and vendors to address material constraints and support changing testing volumes and study requirements.
• Ensure materials are received, stored, tracked and maintained according to applicable procedures and quality requirements.

Equipment Management, Cold Storage & Capacity Planning

• Oversee laboratory equipment and cold storage operations, including refrigerators, freezers and other temperature-controlled units used to store clinical specimens, reagents and laboratory materials.
• Ensure equipment and cold storage units are maintained in an appropriate state of readiness, including preventive maintenance, service coordination, utilization monitoring and required documentation.
• Respond to escalated cold storage alarms and equipment failures during and outside normal business hours.
• Assess operational risk, coordinate troubleshooting and service support, and ensure timely action is taken to protect sample and material integrity.
• Support after-hours events through remote assessment and coordination, escalation to appropriate personnel or service providers, and onsite response when necessary.
• Ensure alarm response, escalation, backup storage, emergency response and business continuity procedures are established, maintained and followed.
• Coordinate sample or material relocation when required and ensure excursions, corrective actions and associated documentation are managed in accordance with the Quality Management System.
• Monitor equipment utilization, storage capacity and laboratory demand to identify constraints, operational risks and future capacity needs.

People Leadership & Operational Excellence

• Directly manage and develop employees across Lab Management functions through clear expectations, coaching, feedback, performance management and professional development.
• Manage staffing, scheduling, workload allocation, timekeeping, training and competency; participate in recruiting, interviewing, selection and onboarding.
• Build a culture of accountability, quality, collaboration, continuous improvement and strong customer service.
• Establish and monitor operational metrics and communicate performance, risks, priorities and resource needs to leadership.
• Provide hands-on operational leadership when needed to maintain workflow and resolve escalated issues.
• Lead or participate in Practical Process Improvement (PPI) initiatives focused on quality, efficiency, capacity, cost and customer experience.

Quality & Compliance

• Ensure departmental activities are performed and documented according to approved procedures, the Quality Management System (QMS), Good Documentation Practices (GDP) and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Support compliance with applicable clinical laboratory requirements, including CAP, CLIA, OSHA and other relevant quality or regulatory standards.
• Participate in internal and external audits, inspections, investigations, corrective and preventive actions and quality management activities.
• Develop, review and maintain procedures, work instructions, training materials and other controlled documentation applicable to Lab Management activities.

Keys to Success

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Medical Laboratory Science, Biological Sciences or a related scientific discipline required; Master's degree preferred.
• 3+ years of laboratory operations experience required, with direct experience in specimen receiving, accessioning, sample processing, or pre-analytical laboratory operations strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of accessioning workflows, specimen handling requirements, sample traceability, documentation and resolution of specimen discrepancies required.
• Previous experience supervising or leading employees required; direct people-management experience in a clinical or regulated laboratory environment strongly preferred.
• Experience in a clinical laboratory, clinical trials laboratory, diagnostic laboratory or other regulated laboratory environment preferred.
• Experience with high-volume or time-sensitive laboratory operations and LIMS/LIS or electronic sample tracking strongly preferred.
• Experience with laboratory inventory/materials management, equipment management and temperature-controlled storage operations preferred.
• Experience working within a QMS and knowledge of CAP, CLIA, GDP, OSHA and other applicable regulatory requirements preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of receiving and accessioning operations, including specimen receipt, reconciliation, accessioning, documentation, traceability, sample routing and exception management.
• Strong people leadership skills with the ability to coach, develop, engage and hold teams accountable.
• Ability to manage multiple operational workstreams while maintaining focus on quality, accuracy, turnaround time and customer commitments.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills with the ability to troubleshoot sample, system, equipment and workflow issues.
• Ability to use operational metrics and data to evaluate performance, identify constraints and make informed staffing and capacity decisions.
• Excellent organizational, prioritization, written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across laboratory, technical, quality and business functions and with external service providers.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and familiarity with laboratory information and inventory management systems.

Working Conditions and Environment

Work is performed in laboratory and office environments and may involve exposure to human specimens, biological materials, chemicals, laboratory instrumentation and cold-storage environments. Personal protective equipment must be worn as required by laboratory procedures and safety policies. Availability to respond to escalated equipment and cold storage alarms outside normal business hours, including evenings, weekends and holidays, is required as needed. The role may require periods of standing, walking and computer work, as well as occasional lifting or movement of laboratory supplies and equipment. Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and time-sensitive clinical trial deliverables.