Lab Services Manager

With extensive experience in developing biologics and bioconjugates, we offer a seamless service delivered by fully integrated teams, from early discovery to commercial manufacturing. Forward-thinking and committed, we find the best solution and use the right technologies to design, develop and manufacture your products to ensure we get vital medicines to patients quickly and safely. We are dedicated to quality excellence. We are driven to get better treatments to market, efficiently and responsibly by reducing timelines and delivering the highest quality products and services. We are Abzena. More than a CDMO, we are a responsible and dedicated partner that takes care of your products from concept to patient. The Laboratory Services Manager is the accountable leader for all operational infrastructure supporting the Analytical Services department. This role directly manages a team of laboratory technicians — including a dedicated Sample Operations & Logistics Technician and a Laboratory Management & Facilities Technician — and is responsible for the performance, development, and day-to-day direction of those individuals. The manager sets the standards, builds the systems, and ensures both technician roles execute with consistency, compliance, and quality. This is a player-coach role. The manager is expected to be deeply familiar with all aspects of both technician functions — not as a backup, but as the subject matter leader who can identify gaps, resolve escalations, step in when needed, and continuously raise the bar. The manager owns the strategy and governance of laboratory operations, while the technicians own daily execution. ### Responsibilities **Team Leadership, Development & Performance** - Directly manage, mentor, and develop all Laboratory Services technicians; set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and conduct formal performance reviews. - Build individual development plans for each technician aligned with their role focus (Sample Operations vs. Laboratory Management) and career trajectory. - Assign and prioritize workload across the team daily and weekly; anticipate bottlenecks and proactively redistribute work to ensure no operational task is missed or delayed. - Serve as the escalation point for any issue either technician cannot resolve independently — whether a sample integrity concern, safety incident, equipment failure, or vendor dispute. - Cultivate a team culture grounded in accountability, safety, quality, and continuous improvement; model these behaviors consistently. - Recruit, onboard, and train new technicians as the team grows; ensure onboarding programs are structured, documented, and executed consistently. - Conduct regular 1:1 meetings with each technician to review priorities, clear blockers, and support professional development. **Strategic Oversight — Sample Operations & Logistics** - Own the design and continuous improvement of all sample management SOPs — receipt, storage, chain of custody, retention, and disposal — ensuring they are current, compliant, and consistently followed. - Establish storage condition standards and monitoring protocols for all sample categories (biologics, drug substance, raw materials, stability samples, reference standards); review and approve any deviations. - Set the framework for third-party laboratory management: approve vendor lists, review service agreements, define turnaround expectations, and ensure results are received, reviewed, and filed within required timelines. - Oversee sample shipment operations — review and approve shipping SOPs, validate temperature-controlled logistics approaches, and ensure all import/export documentation is regulatory-compliant. - Define the CoA and reference/stability standard management system; ensure records are accurate, complete, and audit-ready at all times. - Review and approve the stability trendsheet process; ensure trendsheets are generated, reviewed, and escalated to scientific staff on schedule. - Conduct…