Laboratory Manager

Lab Manager

Express Employment Professionals | San Diego, CA

Salary: $120,000–$200,000 per year | Full-Time | On-Site

About the Opportunity

Express Employment Professionals is seeking an experienced Lab Manager for a well-established technical services organization in San Diego. This is a key leadership opportunity overseeing operations across seven specialized laboratories supporting calibration, equipment repair, testing, and technical services.

The ideal candidate combines technical expertise with strong operational leadership, the ability to develop technical teams, and a track record of improving workflow, productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.

The Lab Manager will oversee seven laboratory functions:

• Calibration Laboratory
• Equipment Repair Laboratory
• EMC Calibration Laboratory
• High Voltage Laboratory
• Temperature and Pressure Laboratory
• Fiber Optic Laboratory
• Field Laboratory

Key Responsibilities

Multi-Lab Operations & Production

• Oversee daily operations across seven specialized laboratories, ensuring efficient workflows, appropriate resource allocation, and consistent service delivery.
• Manage order throughput, turnaround times, backlogs, workflow priorities, and on-time completion.
• Monitor productivity, quality, and operational performance using key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and increase laboratory output.

Technical Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, train, and develop technicians across multiple technical disciplines.
• Establish performance expectations and accountability for productivity, quality, and turnaround times.
• Support technical troubleshooting involving calibration challenges, equipment repairs, and customer issues.
• Promote cross-training and skill development to strengthen team capabilities.

Quality, Compliance & Accreditation

• Support compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements, including audit preparation, corrective actions, documentation, and quality system improvements.
• Ensure laboratory standards, equipment, tools, and resources are calibrated and ready for use.
• Support expansion of laboratory capabilities and scope of accreditation.
• Promote a culture of safety, accuracy, quality, and continuous improvement.

Customer & Cross-Functional Support

• Provide technical support for equipment failures, customer escalations, and root-cause investigations.
• Collaborate with Sales, Customer Service, Quality, Accounting, and Operations to resolve issues affecting service delivery.
• Communicate laboratory capacity, priorities, risks, and performance to executive leadership.
• Support continued growth of technical service capabilities.

Qualifications

• Experience managing laboratory operations, technical services, calibration, metrology, electronics, or a related technical environment.
• Proven experience leading, coaching, or managing technical teams.
• Strong understanding of workflow management, workload planning, turnaround times, productivity, and quality metrics.
• Working knowledge of ISO/IEC 17025, calibration quality systems, audit readiness, and corrective actions.
• Strong technical troubleshooting, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple technical functions.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Preferred Education: Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Metrology, or a related technical field. Equivalent combinations of technical education, hands-on calibration experience, and laboratory leadership experience will also be considered.

Compensation & Opportunity

• Annual salary: $120,000–$200,000
• Full-time, on-site leadership position in San Diego.
• Responsibility for seven specialized laboratory functions.
• Opportunity to improve operational performance, develop technical talent, and expand laboratory capabilities.

Interested?

If you're an experienced laboratory or technical operations leader ready to take on a multi-disciplinary leadership role, we'd like to hear from you.