Manager, Lab Planning & Execution

Position Summary

The Manager, Lab Planning & Execution leads day-to-day lab operations and planning across Translational Medicine’s Precision Medicine, Bioanalysis & Translational Sciences, and Translational Development organizations in Lawrenceville, NJ and Cambridge, MA. This is a hands-on leadership role, managing and developing Lab Operations professionals across IHC, Molecular, Flow Cytometry, Imaging, and Bioanalysis while directly overseeing operations for designated regulated labs. The Manager is accountable for capital and budget planning, lab assets and instrumentation, workforce reporting, space planning, facility coordination, ELN oversight, and compliance and EHS readiness, while partnering closely with scientists, functional leaders, Facilities & Engineering, Procurement, Quality, Finance, and workplace services. The role may also provide project management support for assigned Bioanalysis programs. Ideal candidates bring strong ownership, accountability, and the ability to translate planning into efficient, compliant, audit-ready lab operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Lab Operations professionals accountable for day-to-day operations across IHC, Molecular, Flow Cytometry, Imaging, and Bioanalysis (LM & SM) labs, as well as Translational Development — while personally owning hands-on, day-to-day operations for one or more designated, key regulated labs (e.g., TM CLIA).
• Coordinate capital equipment planning and prioritization with PMBATS and TD teams and their leadership; provide budget inputs (CapEx) and interface with the BMS Capital Management team supporting Research; and manage purchase order creation, tracking, invoicing, and reconciliation (e.g., Ariba/SAP) across ordering, service contracts, and consumables.
• Coordinate the instrument/asset fleet for PMBATS/TD, interfacing with capital and asset-tracking systems — including working with vendors on equipment installations and decommissioning, maintaining accurate equipment inventory, IQ/OQ/PQ documentation, and calibration schedules covering both major instruments and small equipment (e.g., pipettes, fridges, freezers) — and facilitate maintenance/service contracts with CBRE or other vendors.
• Collaborate with the Compliance team to facilitate CLIA/CAP and GxP inspection readiness, ensuring equipment binders, service records, and lab documentation are complete, accurate, and audit-ready at all times.
• Own EHS-adjacent lab operations activities, including near-miss reporting, monthly safety inspections and walkthroughs, and monitoring/management of the Rees and Honeywell temperature-monitoring systems (fridge/freezer/incubator monitoring, alarm response, and compliance recordkeeping) across supported labs, plus coordination of shipping requests as needed.
• Lead site planning and laboratory move activities, including space assessments, laboratory relocations, renovations, infrastructure upgrades, and facility buildouts; partner with Facilities & Engineering, lab leadership, and end users to ensure readiness and minimize operational disruption.
• Manage laboratory and office space planning, seating assignments, badge-access requests, occupancy coordination, and related workplace logistics for supported organizations.
• Serve as the primary operational escalation point for CBRE and other facilities or equipment-service partners; coordinate resolution of laboratory maintenance, work-order, vendor-service, and facility issues, and communicate risks, operational impacts, status, and mitigation plans to stakeholders.
• Provide project management support for assigned Bioanalysis Large Molecule (LM) programs as required — developing and maintaining timelines, coordinating cross-functional deliverables, and supporting project intake, governance, and risk/issue resolution.
• Recruit, onboard, train and develop Lab Operations team members and contractors; manage performance, coverage planning, and career-growth conversations across the team.
• Support workforce and organizational planning through headcount tracking, organizational reporting, capacity planning, and timely reporting of resource needs and changes to leadership.
• Own and report key lab operations and compliance metrics/KPIs — including PM/calibration compliance, PO and order status, work orders, facility and IT requests, budget updates, and inspection-readiness — to facilitate transparency across the organization.
• Own Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) integration, quarterly metrics reporting, and cross-lab oversight, ensuring consistent usage, data integrity, and audit-readiness across all supported labs in PMBATS.
• Interface with BBRC-Bangalore labs as needed to support cross-site collaboration, workflow alignment, and knowledge-sharing on shared assay and bioanalysis programs.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, engineering, or related discipline required.
• Minimum 6–8 years of lab operations experience within a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or diagnostics environment, including at least 3–4 years directly supervising staff; experience in CLIA/GxP-regulated laboratory environments is required.
• People Leadership: Leads, coaches, and develops a team of lab operations professionals, including hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
• Hands-On Lab Operations (“Manager & Doer”): Comfortable personally executing day-to-day lab operations for a designated regulated lab in addition to managing a team; works with a moderate level of independence to lead projects and teams.
• Ownership & Accountability: Takes full ownership of lab operations outcomes, holding self and cross-functional partners accountable for timelines, quality, and compliance; operates with urgency and follows through independently in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Capital & Budget Management: Understanding of capital and expense (CapEx/OpEx) budgeting, purchase order/procurement processes (e.g., Ariba, SAP), and contract development.
• Instrument/Asset Fleet Management: Experience managing equipment inventories, calibration and preventive-maintenance programs, service contracts, and asset-tracking/CMMS systems within a regulated lab environment.
• Compliance & Inspection Readiness: Familiarity with CLIA, CAP, GxP, and/or GLP requirements; experience keeping equipment documentation and lab files complete, accurate, and audit-ready.
• EHS & Safety Ownership: Working knowledge of EHS programs, including near-miss reporting, safety inspections, and environmental/temperature monitoring for regulated sample storage.
• Site, Space & Facilities Leadership: Experience coordinating laboratory moves, space and occupancy planning, badge access, facilities work orders, logistics, and escalation of service-provider issues.
• Vendor & Contract Management: Experience overseeing external vendors and service providers, including scope definition, scheduling, performance oversight, and issue resolution.
• Bioanalysis Program Management: Project-focused, outcomes-oriented approach to supporting Bioanalysis (LM/SM) biomarker programs, including timeline development and risk management.
• Execution Discipline & Data Accuracy: Ensures trackers, budgets, equipment logs, and reports are complete, accurate, current, and validated before sharing.
• People & Talent Development: Provides structured onboarding, clear direction, and proactive coaching; plans for coverage, succession, and career growth.
• Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrates effective communication, cross-functional collaboration, and cross-cultural awareness; manages conflict and influences outcomes without direct authority.
• Tools & Systems Proficiency: Proficiency with project management and IT systems, such as Microsoft Office, Project, Excel, Teams, Visio, SAP, Ariba, asset-management/CMMS platforms, and LIMS/ELN.
• Precision Medicine Mission: Genuine commitment to compliant, reliable lab operations that keep BMS’s translational science and precision medicine pipeline moving.