What Does A Lab Manager Do?

WHAT DOES A LAB MANAGER DO?

Published: Dec 31, 2025 - The Lab Manager oversees mechanical prototyping technicians, ensuring high-quality output through effective training, task delegation, and priority-based scheduling. This role collaborates closely with Product Design engineers to meet evolving support needs while driving initiatives that enhance lab safety, efficiency, and overall operations. The manager also leads improvement projects across multiple lab spaces, implements governance practices, and resolves operational conflicts to maintain seamless execution.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Lab Manager

1. Lab Manager Duties

Supply Support: Assisting in supply chain management, laboratory inventories, onboarding/training of new employees, oversight of electronic lab notebooks and inventories, vendor management, as well as providing research expertise to programs within the company.
Equipment Oversight: Ensuring equipment, instruments, and glassware are in working condition.
Log Maintenance: Maintaining equipment and instrument logs.
Operational Support: Keeping equipment and instruments operational and qualified by following standard operating procedures (SOPs), troubleshooting breakdowns, performing preventive maintenance, and verifications.
Vendor Coordination: Contacting and scheduling vendors to perform calibrations and/or qualifications of equipment and instruments, and any repairs throughout the facility.
Inventory Management: Ordering, receiving, and taking inventory of chemicals, lab equipment, consumables, and supplies.
Waste Scheduling: Scheduling waste pickup.
Research Support: Assisting in research activities.
Troubleshooting Support: Helping troubleshoot and resolve any problems within day-to-day lab operations.
Payment Processing: Ensuring that payment of all lab bills and invoices is correctly entered and processed using the online payment systems, Point Purchasing, and Bill.com.
Record Organization: Documenting information and organization of records per the company’s quality system.

2. Lab Manager Details

HCI Insight: Analyst firm Gartner has identified HCI as being the hottest area of IT for the next several years.
Team Empowerment: Power teams with virtual desktops (VDI), reduce risk with powerful Disaster Recovery solutions, and enhance security with purpose-built Video Surveillance solutions.
Lab Operations: Be responsible for supporting all aspects of the day-to-day operations in the computer labs.
HCI Management: Manage HCI and Storage Appliances, servers, and network equipment for all engineering units.
Infrastructure Support: Manage IT infrastructure supporting the Lab and Business users.
Lab Oversight: Take responsibility for all aspects of the labs, including equipment, supplies, software, and documentation.
Solution Integration: Installs, upgrades, manages, and integrates storage and compute solutions
Network Configuration: Manages and configures Lab network switches, including Arista/Cisco/Dell/Lenovo
Engineer Support: Provides high-level troubleshooting and support for software engineers and test engineers
System Monitoring: Proactive monitoring of storage appliances, servers, and networking components
Virtualisation Management: Manages and configures VMware (primarily) and other virtualisation technologies (Citrix Xen and MS Hyper-V) needed to support various engineering requirements and test beds
Outage Coordination: Works closely with other IT resources to manage outages and correct problems while managing risk
Documentation Management: Manages documentation and diagrams for new and existing lab environments
Emergency OnCall: On-Call Required for after-hours emergencies
Desktop Support: Desktop support for the business end-user community
Lab Organisation: Commitment to maintaining a clean and highly organised lab

3. Lab Manager Responsibilities

Instrument Oversight: Make sure instruments are running properly
Issue Escalation: Escalate issues to upper management
SPC Monitoring: Monitor Lab check sample SPC charts
Procedure Approval: Approve changes to Lab procedures and specifications
Timecard Approval: Approve employee timecards
Sample Prioritisation: Work with production groups to prioritise samples
Employee Coaching: Conduct employee coaching/mentoring
Performance Evaluation: Write employee performance evaluations
Policy Compliance: Uphold all company policies and the “Company Code of Conduct.”
Safety Compliance: Strict compliance with Environmental and Safety regulations

4. Lab Manager Accountabilities

Team Management: Manage mechanical prototyping technicians
Technician Development: Train and develop technicians
Schedule Optimisation: Optimise schedules and assignments based on priority and utilisation analysis
Issue Prioritisation: Resolve conflicts and prioritise issues to ensure smooth and efficient execution
Engineer Communication: Communicate and work with Product Design engineers to ensure their support needs are being met
Project Ownership: Own lab operation improvement projects and participate in cross-functional teams
Lab Improvement: Develop solutions to improve lab safety, productivity, and efficiency
Lab Management: Manage multiple lab spaces, delegating tasks
Solution Implementation: Implement solutions, communicate with lab users, and create governance

5. Lab Manager Functions

Method Development: Execute and deliver on new method development
Analytics Improvement: Support the continuous improvement of the analytics capabilities
Report Generation: Generate reports for the business
QC Support: Support quality control development methods and adjustments
Cooperation Mindset: Actively developing a cooperation mindset across ADM teams and external partners
Service Leadership: Organise and lead the analytical service (lab and team)
Business Response: Answer to business needs (methods for QC, traceability of specific ingredients in complex matrices, stability studies, product characterisation)
Research Driving: Drive research projects linked to new product development (new method development, support product creation, including formulation in close collaboration with the galenist)
Internal Communication: Internal communication to the business, including literature review, result presentations, and reports
Cooperation Establishment: Establish fluid lines of cooperation within ADM to leverage the internal capabilities

6. Lab Manager Details and Accountabilities

Physics Expertise: Demonstrates expertise in physics, experimentation methods, and measurement techniques
Experimental Design: Develop hypotheses, design experiments, and modify future experiments based on results
Equipment Development: Develops equipment designs needed for experimentation
Method Integration: Identify existing methods to integrate into experiments.
Material Evaluation: Contributes to evaluating and experimenting with materials to determine appropriateness and viability
Design Investigation: Investigates designs to deliver desired outcomes (e.g., composition, impurities, imperfections)
Material Synthesis: Develops and employs processes for material synthesis and fabrication
Physics Application: Uses expertise in physics and the interaction between properties and materials
Material Characterisation: Characterises and improves materials
Conceptual Design: Considers abstract concepts in designs for materials
Material Specification: Develops specifications for materials
Tool Operation: Operates specific tools (e.g., molecular beam epitaxy) and ultra-high-vacuum fabrication techniques
Quantum Understanding: Demonstrates understanding of quantum requirements for materials.
Factor Identification: Supports the identification of factors that drive fabrication, required components, and measurement parameters
Quantum Device Support: Helps to build quantum devices, drawing on the expertise of a range of nano-fabrication techniques
Fabrication Experimentation: Conducts experiments to create and improve fabrication techniques
Material Improvement: Supports improvements to materials needed for fabrication
Tool Development: Develops tools needed for fabrication purposes.

7. Lab Manager Tasks

Guest Support: Assist the Head of Lab in showcasing the products and experiences to important guests, internal stakeholders, and the team.
Operations Coordination: Work closely with Global IT services and the Facilities team to ensure smooth operations of the Lab.
Relationship Management: Manage relationships with external partners and internal team members working from the Lab.
Guest Onboarding: Onboard guests in the absence of the Head of Lab, as well as manage the booking system of the Lab.
Hosting Maintenance: Ensure the Hosting areas are always super clean and representative of the high standards
Guest Experience: Make sure the guests have an awesome, friendly welcome, offer refreshments, check them into the site with the appropriate identification, and make sure their host comes to greet them promptly.
Enquiry Handling: Manage enquiries effectively in a warm and friendly manner
Visitor Guidance: Ensure all visitors (internal or external) are provided with relevant information about booking systems (including the use of the booking kiosk), location of social and refreshment areas, and highlight office etiquette.
Event Booking: Manage any event bookings for specific areas, e.g., Auditorium and larger meeting rooms, ensuring all catering and specialist requirements are captured and communicated appropriately
Message Management: Ensuring all messages are managed and communicated in a professional, friendly, and timely manner
Safety Support: Helps the team keep the colleagues safe if there is an event such as a Fire.
Facility Contact: Point of contact for handling any queries relating to cleanliness or the function of any space in the office
Machine Maintenance: Ensure that all tea/coffee machines are operable and adequately stocked.
Coffee Support: Help keep the coffee machines filled up so the colleagues don’t go thirsty or short of caffeine
Mail Distribution: Distribution of internal mail or supporting the post room, and agreed by the Workplace Manager

8. Lab Manager Additional Details

Lab Maintenance: Maintain and organize the electronics lab and equipment
Component Rework: Perform fine pitch component rework/assembly
Cable Assembly: Neatly build complex cable harnesses with crimped or soldered terminations
PCBA Management: Manage quick-turn PCBA builds
Box Build Execution: Execute box builds, including mechanical assembly
Prototype Support: Support engineers in prototype bring-up and hardware debugging
Hardware Testing: Execute scripted hardware testing
Field Support: Occasional travel to help repair/diagnose in the field

9. Lab Manager Essential Functions

Quality Checking: Conduct quality checks on finished goods (Aggregates) and Raw materials.
Data Entry: Enter results in the data entry system.
QC Testing: Perform quality control tests on finished chemical products, raw materials, and packaging components to ensure compliance with the established specifications.
Deviation Reporting: Generate electronic, computer-based forms to report deviations from specifications.
Record Integrity: Ensure the integrity and accuracy of all testing and development records.
Equipment Calibration: Ensure the proper functioning and calibration of all plant-wide quality inspection, measuring, and laboratory equipment.
Customer Liaison: Liaise with internal customers to improve product knowledge and troubleshoot any quality or product issues.
Process Review: Perform process review of quality inspection practices in tandem with other laboratory or production staff.
Record Maintenance: Maintain accurate batch records and retain the sample system.
ISO Documentation: Participate in the maintenance and control of all ISO 9001 documentation.
Product Performance: Support and champion product performance to brief through palatability, protocol, and analytical testing.

10. Lab Manager Role Purpose

Cost Saving: Support cost-saving initiatives through organization and execution of bench-top, pilot plant, and/or factory testing.
Registration Management: Maintain the Product Registration database and support export activities.
Factory Support: Support factory trials and development of Quality Plans, Risk Assessments, and Best Practices.
Rejection Review: Review customer, internal, and supplier rejections.
Action Coordination: Initiate, coordinate, and follow up on corrective and preventative actions and recommend a course of action.
Regulatory Liaison: Liaise with Regulatory Bodies and source units for import and export of products and samples.
ISO Implementation: Assist in implementing ISO 9001-2000 for certification.
ISO Maintenance: Maintain ISO and prepare for yearly audit.
Export Registration: Maintain the Product Registration database for export.
Record Keeping: Keep accurate and timely records for possible inquiries by regulators as they pertain to this position.
Safety Compliance: Understand and comply with safety rules and procedures while on the premises

11. Lab Manager General Responsibilities

Supply Monitoring: Proactively monitor and order lab supplies to satisfy team needs
Supplier Management: Initiate and maintain purchasing orders and relationships with various suppliers
Instrumentation Management: Manage laboratory instrumentation, including maintenance, calibration, on-site installations, and consumable supplies
Equipment Selection: Suggest, choose, order, and install new equipment corresponding to the team's needs
Cold Storage Management: Organize, monitor, and manage the R&D refrigerator/freezer and incubators
Device Network Support: In collaboration with the IT manager, maintain and improve the electronic device network in the lab
Safety Enforcement: Propose and enforce safety rules in the lab
Sharing Rules: Propose and enforce lab sharing rules
Lab Cleaning: Organize and manage the cleaning of lab facilities, lab glassware, and lab clothes according to their specificity
Waste Disposal: Manage lab waste disposal according to local regulations and the OH&S manager
Proactive Planning: Takes a proactive approach to ensuring that anticipated needs will be met and issues avoided

12. Lab Manager Key Accountabilities

Financial Management: Manage financial operations across several institutes, including analyzing purchasing data and streamlining inventory and costs.
Order Placement: Place and distribute orders for lab supplies and reagents across multiple user interfaces while adhering to strict budgetary guidelines.
Protocol Maintenance: Maintain institutional protocols for lab space, experiments, and animal work
Equipment Management: Assess, set up, locate, re-locate, and maintain current and new laboratory equipment, and maintain usage calendars associated with said equipment
Workplace Safety: Maintain a clean and safe work environment
Infrastructure Development: Develop and maintain lab infrastructure
Inventory Maintenance: Set up and maintain inventories of supplies and reagents that are shared across different projects in the lab.
Scientist Communication: Communicate with bench scientists regarding logistical and administrative issues in the lab, sometimes by presenting at a group meeting.
Problem Resolution: Anticipate, troubleshoot, and resolve problems associated with work within the laboratory setting, including occasional off-hours response to laboratory emergencies
Material Transfer: Track, pack, ship, and maintain records regarding the transfer of intellectual property/biological materials to collaborators within and outside of the Broad Institute

13. Lab Manager Roles and Details

Goal Management: Establish, monitor, and meet daily, weekly, and monthly goals
Compliance Maintenance: Maintain compliance with Safety, ISO, and TL9000 requirements.
Documentation Control: Ensure proper documentation is available and consistent with quality systems requirements.
Record Management: Ensure quality records are maintained and retrievable.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Effectively collaborate with Program Managers, Material Operations, and Logistics to support established business.
KPI Management: KPI's management to meet goals and objectives, including establishing and setting measurable and achievable quality metrics.
Continuous Improvement: Operational efficiencies through strong continuous improvement initiatives.
Workflow Design: Process and workflow design
Process Evaluation: Evaluate and improve Lab production processes and recommend changes to maintain cost-effective operations.
Process Expertise: Provide expertise for the most effective process and workflow design.

14. Lab Manager Responsibilities and Key Tasks

Customer Issues: Be responsible for all customer-impacting issues and Championing Corrective and Preventive Actions.
Cost Provision: Provide costs for new opportunities and business proposals
Requirement Evaluation: Evaluate customer requirements to determine the scope of work and level of technical support.
Process Collaboration: Work with other departments within the company to achieve process improvements and enhancements (IT, finance, business development).
Value Promotion: Promote the World Wide Technology Core Values and Corporate Goals.
Assessment Management: Ensure all annual employee assessments are completed to include individual development plans, short-term goals, and long-term goals.
Training Identification: Identify training needs and review team performance
Cost Control: Control costs through the productivity of personnel and efficient utilization of the lab area.
Labor Scaling: Scale labor and meet production demands through effective scheduling and assignment of employees.
Expense Management: Control operational expenses and meet budget requirements, including the purchasing of supplies and consumables.

15. Lab Manager Duties and Roles

Lab Leadership: Be responsible for leading the California Cleanroom Laboratory while ensuring high standards for safety, quality, production throughput, on-time delivery, and excellent customer service.
Workflow Management: Manage the Laboratory team’s workflow, documentation, and deadlines on multiple and simultaneous projects
Work Coordination: In partnership with Production Planning, coordinate daily lab work to meet customer deadlines, schedule and prioritize work, and manage team members’ productivity.
Regulatory Compliance: Apply expertise in regulatory requirements specific to the lab to ensure the team is working in compliance with those standards.
Quality Supervision: Follow established quality standards, supervise quality control, and inspect staff work
Process Oversight: Oversee the processing of components from the initial stage to completion (inspect during and after processing and again before shipping, for cleanliness and damage to parts)
Staff Training: Onboard, train, and support lab staff to ensure their competency and engagement
Equipment Training: Ensure Laboratory staff have been trained on the correct use of the lab equipment
Staff Mentoring: Mentor Laboratory staff to improve adherence to established policies/procedures.
Equipment Maintenance: Maintain equipment and ensure that equipment is calibrated and in good working order
Process Improvement: Collaborate with production leaders to design and implement continual process improvement measures
Leadership Participation: Participate as a key member of the Cleanroom leadership staff
Personnel Management: Lead laboratory personnel with responsibility for the daily management, hiring, training and development, performance management, and engagement of team members
Status Communication: Communicate status, incidents, and requests with team members and leadership personnel
Project Implementation: Analyze and implement projects in compliance

16. Lab Manager Accountabilities

Method Oversight: Oversee and direct all scientific methods of the laboratory
Procedure Management: Create, update, and authorize technical procedures
Inventory Management: Manage supply inventory to ensure consumables are stocked at all times
Maintenance Scheduling: Create a maintenance schedule for all equipment, as well as ensure all maintenance is logged and recorded according to ISO 17025
Equipment Calibration: Implement, monitor, and perform calibration of all lab equipment by establishing and ensuring consistent standards of use
Staff Management: Management, coaching, counseling of direct reporting personnel, and conducting regular performance reviews according to ISO 17025
Safety Compliance: Maintain compliance with Health and Safety guidelines.
Purchasing Oversight: Oversight of laboratory purchasing and equipment maintenance
Standards Compliance: Ensure compliance with applicable standards
Personnel Supervision: Supervision of laboratory personnel
Coverage Coordination: Coordinate appropriate department coverage and chain-of-command.
Material Approval: Review and approval of requested materials, equipment, and chemicals
SOP Compliance: Uphold SOP procedures and document planned deviations or non-conformities
Regulation Knowledge: Understand up-to-date Cannabis Regulations and work with QA/QC to address internal and external audits
Investigation Support: Assist with product recall or complaint investigations

17. Lab Manager Functions

Team Management: Manage the extraction and processing team and associated production tasks.
Technical Monitoring: Constantly monitoring new technical developments in Extraction equipment for new ideas.
Schedule Planning: Plan and execute a production schedule in accordance with production needs.
Quality Compliance: Ensure that all extraction and processing activities are performed with attention
Safety Standards: Strict quality and safety standards, regulatory compliance, and all other applicable legal and food safety requirements.
Inventory Assistance: Assist in the management of inventory for packaging and labeling components, finished products, and other items by maintaining accurate records.
Chemical Safety: Adhere to safe chemical handling and disposal procedures.
Invoice Review: Review and approve subcontractor invoicing and prepare backup for customer invoices.
Activity Tracking: Track of employees’ weekly activities to report to the client

18. Lab Manager Details and Accountabilities

Safety Oversight: Oversee laboratory safety and ensure that the laboratory remains in compliance with all local, national, and related regulations
Consumables Forecasting: Forecast and manage public consumables management
Requirement Collection: Collect the lab owners’ requirements and plan to implement, as the interface to the office manager in the lab demands changes, such as lab relocation
Equipment Management: Lab instruments and equipment management includes Equipment calibration, Coordination and management of lab internal resources, and chamber booking.
Equipment Maintenance: Equipment maintenance, repair, and scrap, ensuring all instrumentation/equipment is functioning properly.
User Training: Ensures lab users have been trained on the correct use of the lab equipment, in addition to mentoring and disciplining lab users for not following safety policies/procedures that have been established for the lab.
CAPEX Management: Quarterly Fixed Assets (CAPEX) forecast and Fixed Assets management includes Wishlist collection, judgment of whether to reuse the existing equipment, tracking the Fixed Assets approval, and purchasing.
General Administration: Purchase, inventory maintenance, health and safety, student training, reimbursements.
Data Analysis: Gathers, analyzes, prepares, and summarizes data on cricket colony outputs (e.g., total numbers, morph and sex ratios) and outcomes of breeding experiments.

19. Lab Manager Additional Details

Data Collection: Data collection using interview, behavioral, cognitive, and neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI) methods, and implementing related research protocols with adolescents, adults, and individuals with mental illness.
Participant Coordination: Oversee and conduct participant recruitment, screening, scheduling, and retention, as well as acting as liaison to recruitment sources (e.g., hospitals)
Study Administration: Administrative management of lab and research studies, including planning and developing research protocols, IRB materials, monitoring project budgets and participant payment, preparing study materials, conducting and monitoring data entry, and other administrative research duties.
Stimuli Development: Assist with the development of experimental stimuli, stimulus presentation code, and data analysis pipelines.
Grant Preparation: Assist with the preparation of grants, presentations, and manuscripts.
RA Supervision: Manage, train, and supervise undergraduate research assistants.
Lab Organization: Lab organization, management, and workflow design (for R&D and Production cleanroom)
Procedure Enforcement: Create and enforce lab procedures and cleanliness/organization standards
Equipment Management: Lab equipment purchasing, management, maintenance, and rentals, inventory management
Quality Assurance: Manufacturing operations and quality assurance
Process Championing: Champion inter-departmental work instruction, bring-up, and test processes and procedures while also driving efficiencies, quality compliance, and continuous improvement
Colony Support: Prepare cricket food and husbandry materials for all cricket colonies, supervise work study students as they carry out colony maintenance and basic animal care, and help with cricket colony care and maintenance.
Meeting Participation: Participates in lab meetings, grasshopper team meetings, student meetings, and individual meetings with the PI.
Research Development: Develop and carry out independent research on alpine grasshoppers, in collaboration with co-PIs of the NSF grant.
Professional Development: Participate in professional development activities.

20. Lab Manager Essential Functions

Purchasing Oversight: Oversight of the purchasing function, including optimization of the procurement processes and coordination of material and resource allocation.
Infrastructure Leadership: Strategic and tactical lead for short-term and long-term infrastructure development and other capital projects for supporting company growth, including lab and office design and construction
Budget Management: Build and maintain operations and facilities budget and forecasting, and oversee purchasing, staffing, contract negotiations, and vendor management
Service Program Management: Ensure service contracts and robust laboratory management programs are in place to support continued growth
Avionics Mentoring: Direct and mentor avionics employees who are responsible for repairs/overhauls of aircraft avionics components, systems, and accessories in accordance with MFG specifications and FAA guidelines
Repair Oversight: Oversee repair and overhaul activities
Customer Communication: Communicate with customers regarding quotations, repairs, and delivery
Schedule Management: Establish technician schedules
Facility Coordination: Work closely with the facility regarding repair activities
Report Review: Prepares and reviews lab reports and resolves operational, manufacturing, and maintenance issues
Equipment Assistance: Assist in the purchase, installation, and maintenance of laboratory equipment
SOP Management: Write and keep records of standard operating procedures for equipment
Safety Planning: Assist in the development of an environmental health and safety plan for the laboratory and monitor laboratory safety practices on a day-to-day basis.
Supply Ordering: Order laboratory supplies and ingredients, and ensure an appropriate inventory of general supplies.
Team Onboarding: Facilitate the onboarding and training of new team members
Lead Updates: Frequently meet with and update the Research Lead on laboratory-related challenges

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