Job description
Senior Laboratory Equipment Technician
Boston, MA
$45-55/hr
The Senior Laboratory Equipment Technician will act as the technical lead and expert in our laboratory infrastructure, spearheading projects aimed at enhancing reliability, uptime, and scalability within our organism engineering foundry. You will provide mentorship to junior technicians, oversee intricate equipment qualification projects, manage vendor relationships, and collaborate with Engineering, Facilities, and EHS to ensure the lab environment’s long-term sustainability.
Responsibilities of the Senior Laboratory Equipment Technician:
- Be the primary technical resource and escalation point for intricate equipment malfunctions across all shifts, encompassing automation systems, robotics, and cold storage systems.
- Lead the development and implementation of preventive maintenance strategies, including scheduling, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and performance metrics across the entire equipment portfolio.
- Conduct advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and repair of laboratory and automation equipment, which includes pneumatic systems, liquid handlers, incubators, plate readers, and sealers.
- Oversee qualification and validation procedures (IQ/OQ/PQ) for new equipment installations and significant hardware modifications.
- Assess new equipment and technologies, creating business cases and making recommendations for capital expenditures.
- Manage and continuously enhance the lab equipment management program, covering asset tracking, maintenance records, and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS).
- Identify systemic challenges and lead cross-departmental improvement initiatives aimed at minimizing downtime, boosting throughput, and enhancing equipment reliability.
- Create and uphold technical documentation, which includes SOPs, maintenance logs, qualification records, and failure analysis reports.
- Collaborate with automation engineers and scientists to refine equipment configurations and workflows to support experimental throughput.
Requirements for the Senior Laboratory Equipment Technician:
- Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences or a related technical field.
- A minimum of 5–10 years of practical experience in laboratory equipment maintenance, repair, and operations within a research or production setting.
- Proven expertise in troubleshooting and repairing sophisticated laboratory and automation instruments (such as liquid handlers, robotics, incubators, plate readers, etc.).
- Strong skills in Microsoft Office and familiarity with digital platforms including CMMS, asset management systems, or lab informatics tools.
- A history of producing and maintaining comprehensive technical documentation, encompassing SOPs, maintenance protocols, and qualification processes.
- Exceptional communication abilities and experience collaborating across Engineering, EHS, Facilities, and scientific teams.
- Capability to lift up to 50 lbs and to move equipment within laboratory settings.
- Experience in a high-throughput, fast-paced laboratory environment such as synthetic biology, genomics, pharmaceuticals, or contract research.
- Hands-on familiarity with IQ/OQ/PQ qualification and validation processes for GMP or regulated lab environments.
- Understanding of pneumatic fittings, tubing, and in-house gas systems (such as nitrogen, compressed air, CO2).
- Knowledge of SCADA systems, sensors, or building management systems (BMS) for environmental monitoring.
- Experience in evaluating vendor options, managing capital equipment procurement, and negotiating service agreements.
- A background in electrical systems, basic controls, or mechatronics and the ability to interpret schematics and wiring diagrams.
- Familiarity with automation programming (e.g., Hamilton VENUS, Tecan FluentControl, or similar software platforms) is advantageous.
