Supervisor, Molecular Laboratory Operations

Position Overview

The Supervisor, Molecular Laboratory Operations will be responsible for day-to-day supervision of Clinical Laboratorians in a fast-paced, high production laboratory processing research and clinical diagnostic samples. Adaptive’s Clinical Production laboratory is a CLIA/CAP/NYS/FDA certified laboratory, and as such this position needs to adhere to and uphold all applicable regulatory requirements. The Supervisor, Molecular Laboratory Operations will also be responsible for assisting in the daily supervision and coordinating work over a specific functional area and/or shift and works in concert with Manager of the functional area to ensure all aspects of the work are covered and ensures close communication and alignment on staff management and work.

This position reports to the Manager, MLO, while also contributing to strategic leadership groups including Technical Supervisors, and Clinical Laboratory Directors.

Leaders at Adaptive demonstrate behaviors consistent with Adaptive’s Core Values and Leadership Principles. Critical functions of your role include helping establish individual team member goals, aligning those individual goals with broader team objectives, and ensuring those objectives drive the achievement of company goals. Providing thoughtful coaching and consistent feedback to your team members will drive performance excellence and accountability, as well as support your team members’ growth and development. Leaders at Adaptive create an environment of belonging, respect, and open and honest communication everyday.

Key Responsibilities and Essential Functions

Primary Responsibilities

• Obtain and/or maintain competency on Laboratory Methods, as deemed necessary by Lab Ops Management.
• Consistently demonstrate excellent clinical judgment and integrity.
• Provide day-to-day supervision of all Testing Personnel at Adaptive Biotechnology’s Production Laboratory operation:
  • Responsible for supervision of testing personnel including scheduling (e.g. frequent communication using various formats to diverse personnel, performance management, etc).
  • Facilitate orientation for new Production Laboratory employees and ensures training occurs in a timely manner.
  • Ensure all personnel are competent to perform clinical patient testing and that competency is maintained per required regulations for all procedures performed by employee.
• Responsible for the accurate and timely performance of all laboratory procedures in support of clinical and other production sample processing in Adaptive Biotechnology’s Molecular Laboratory Operations:
  • Ensure Clinical testing is performed according to documented laboratory procedures and best practices, and prioritized in order to meet or exceed TAT goals.
  • Ensure all other Production testing is completed within required timelines and per documented Work Orders, Analytical Plans or Protocols.
• Ensure that non-conformances are appropriately documented and escalated to the Clinical Laboratory Director or their designee, and that appropriate remedial actions occur in order to maintain acceptable levels of analytic performance, and ensure that accurate patient test results are being generated.

Core Competencies

• Create, maintain and modify laboratory schedule; plan for and manage time for self and team to ensure tasks and deadlines are met.
• Understand all workflows within the laboratory, as well as exhibit familiarity with processes that impact Production Laboratory workflows.
• Offer recommendations to improve processes and assists with implementing new methods or process improvement.
• Exhibit sound understanding of both biological processes involved in assays, as well as technical instructions for processing samples (i.e. LIMS, instrumentation, robotics, etc) underlying procedures in assigned work area (e.g. Sample Prep, PCR, Sequencing, etc).
• Demonstrate ability to identify when a Nonconformance, Deviation or CA/PA is necessary, and appropriately escalate issues that could impact quality or result in delay of patient testing/test results.
• Anticipate and prevent errors from occurring; assist in pinpointing root causes of errors and identifying solutions
• Stand behind decisions and take accountability for decisions.
• Provide clear and effective communication to Production Laboratory employees to ensure they are well informed about topics that impact their work and patient testing
• Exhibit and influence desired professional and interpersonal conduct (e.g. laboratory culture) and bring issues to the attention of lab management when appropriate.
• Address behavioral issues with direct reports promptly and professionally; take action to correct and/or prevent problematic team issues before they occur.
• Display ability to communicate effectively to the team, and to teams that interact with the Production Laboratory; develop and present material at group meetings, including to present at intragroup meetings.
• Ability to collaborate across teams while ensuring the right balance between collaboration and effective working practices.
• Contribute to the creation of a productive and professional culture; hold other team members accountable to industry best practices.
• Exhibit a high level of professional integrity and sound judgement particularly as it pertains to clinical sample processing and result generation; proactively obtain manager/director approval when needed

Position Requirements

Required

• Exemplary clinical judgement.
• Extensive molecular biology skills (e.g. DNA Extraction, Purification, PCR, qPCR, next-generation DNA sequencing) and related technical knowledge.
• Experience with laboratory automation and demonstrated laboratory best practices.
• Experience working with human blood, tissues and/or cells as well as proper handling of biohazard material.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to collaborate across teams and disciplines.
• Demonstrated leadership

Education and experience

• Earned BS degree in a Chemical, Physical or Biological Science
• 4 (four) years of pertinent molecular laboratory experience subsequent to qualifying of which at least 1 (one) year have been spent working in a clinical molecular laboratory meeting the definition of high complexity.

OR

• Earned MS degree in a Chemical, Physical or Biological Science
• 2 (two) years of pertinent molecular laboratory experience of which at least 1 (one) year have been spent working in a clinical molecular laboratory meeting the definition of high complexity.
• Some previous supervisory or team lead experience required.

Preferred

• 2+ years working at Adaptive in the Clinical production laboratory
• ASCP(MB) certification
• Specialized knowledge and skills: Working knowledge of laboratory terminology, equipment and supplies.
• Self-motivated and can work independently, with minimal supervision, while also working as part of a team environment in a dynamic organization. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and spoken.

Working Conditions

Job involves working in a laboratory handling human biological specimens. Flexibility and willingness to work more than standard hours when necessary, including nights & weekends.

Physical Requirements

Individuals are required to sit or stand for much of the workday and perform data entry into computer systems.

Compensation

Salary Range: $79,400 - $119,200

Other compensation elements include:

• equity grant
• bonus eligible