Senior Lab Manager, Genomics

About the Role

Feanix is looking for a Senior Lab Manager to lead the day-to-day operations and continued scale-up of our genomics lab in Scotts Valley, California.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who has helped take a startup or early-stage commercial lab from developing processes to running reliable, high-throughput production. You will own lab execution: throughput, quality, turnaround time, staffing, workflows, equipment, and the systems required to consistently hit production goals as volume grows.

We're looking for someone who combines a strong scientific foundation with a production mindset. You understand the science behind the work, but you also care deeply about whether samples move through the lab accurately, efficiently, and on time. You enjoy building systems, identifying bottlenecks, raising the bar for quality, and creating a team that takes pride in winning together.

What You'll Own

Lab Operations & Production

• Own day-to-day operations of the Scotts Valley genomics lab, ensuring production, quality, and turnaround-time targets are consistently met.
• Build and scale laboratory workflows as sample volume and commercial demand increase.
• Establish production planning, capacity management, scheduling, and operating rhythms for the lab.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement process improvements that increase throughput, reliability, and efficiency.
• Develop and track operational KPIs, including throughput, turnaround time, failure and rework rates, equipment utilization, and quality metrics.
• Ensure the lab has the equipment, reagents, inventory, staffing, and processes necessary to meet production forecasts.
• Build systems and processes that allow the lab to scale without sacrificing speed or quality.
• Collaborate with the research team to coordinate equipment and lab time, and create operational working norms.

Quality & Process Control

• Build a strong quality culture where accuracy, consistency, and reproducibility are fundamental to production.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve SOPs, QC checkpoints, documentation, and process controls.
• Investigate failures, deviations, and quality issues and drive corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Use data to understand process performance and continuously improve lab operations.
• Balance speed, cost, throughput, and quality as the operation scales.

Sequencing Operations

• Oversee high-throughput next-generation sequencing workflows, with a strong emphasis on Illumina and other short-read NGS technologies.
• Ensure sequencing and sample-preparation workflows are optimized for reliable, repeatable production at increasing volumes.
• Partner with scientific and technical teams to move new or improved methods from research and development into stable production workflows.
• Evaluate and implement new sequencing technologies, automation, equipment, and processes as the lab grows.
• Troubleshoot sequencing and workflow issues and establish systems to prevent recurring failures.

Team Leadership

• Build, manage, and develop a high-performing lab team.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels in the lab with contracted workers or employees.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability for quality, output, and execution.
• Create an environment that is energetic, collaborative, and enjoyable while maintaining a high bar for performance.
• Train team members on laboratory procedures, quality standards, equipment, and production expectations.
• Be willing to jump into the work when necessary while building systems that allow the lab to scale beyond any one individual.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree or higher in molecular biology, genomics, genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry, or a related scientific field.
• Prior experience working in a research laboratory environment, with a strong understanding of experimental rigor and scientific methodology.
• Experience scaling a startup, early-stage, or rapidly growing commercial laboratory into a reliable production operation.
• Demonstrated responsibility for laboratory production, throughput, quality, or operational performance, not solely research or assay development.
• Deep familiarity with Illumina and short-read next-generation sequencing technologies, including associated sample preparation and sequencing workflows.
• Experience developing and implementing laboratory SOPs, QC processes, and production metrics.
• Experience managing laboratory personnel and holding teams accountable to measurable production and quality goals.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment where processes and infrastructure are still being built.

Nice to Have

• Experience scaling high-throughput genomics, molecular diagnostics, sequencing, or biotechnology operations.
• Experience introducing automation into laboratory workflows.
• Experience transferring scientific methods from R&D into commercial production.
• Experience with LIMS or other laboratory production and data-management systems.
• Experience forecasting laboratory capacity and planning staffing, equipment, and reagent requirements against commercial demand.

Who Will Thrive Here

You're scientifically credible but operationally driven. You don't view the lab as a collection of experiments—you see it as a production system that needs to deliver high-quality results reliably and at increasing scale.

You're competitive about performance and enjoy setting ambitious goals and hitting them. When something goes wrong, your instinct is to understand why, fix the underlying process, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

You can bring energy and humor to a team while maintaining a serious standard for execution. You like being surrounded by people who move quickly, care deeply about the outcome, and want to continually raise the bar.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first 6–12 months:

• The Scotts Valley lab has clear production, quality, and turnaround-time targets and consistently performs against them.
• Lab capacity scales predictably alongside increasing commercial demand.
• QC processes identify issues early, and failures are investigated systematically rather than handled as one-offs.
• SOPs and operating processes are documented, followed, measured, and continuously improved.
• Leadership has clear visibility into lab capacity, throughput, quality, constraints, and upcoming needs.
• The lab team operates with a strong sense of ownership, urgency, accountability, and pride in its work.