Clinical Applications Specialist

Diagnostica Stago•Virtual, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Clinical Applications Specialist will provide comprehensive application support for Stago systems, primarily focusing on hemostasis testing. This role involves supporting customers through method verification and correlation studies, participating in site readiness and validation planning, and performing lot conversions and reagent changeovers. The specialist will deliver on-site and remote operator training, promote digital training tools, and offer product trainings on testing best practices and product functionality. Key responsibilities include providing subject-matter expertise on hemostasis testing workflows, assay principles, and interpretation, as well as guiding laboratories on aligning with industry standards. The role also encompasses troubleshooting application issues, ensuring timely resolution, and escalating persistent problems. The specialist will provide guidance on regulatory and quality assurance documentation (CAP/CLIA/IQCP), monitor industry guideline changes, and support LIS interfaces and middleware integration. Furthermore, the position requires strong customer success and commercial partnership, including monitoring customer performance, proactive site visits for coaching and training, supporting sales business reviews, and assisting in pre-sale activities. Collaboration with internal teams (field service, sales, hotline, product management) and maintaining CRM data are essential. Extensive travel (over 80%) is a mandatory component of this role.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in related field from four-year college or university or equivalent.
Minimum of 3 years experience as a medical technologist with coag exposure; or 3 years in an IVD applications specialist role.
Current driver's license is mandatory.
More than 80% travel based on territory and company needs, including overnight stays and air travel, sometimes on short notice.
Strong understanding of QC/Westgard rules, CLSI validation protocols, IQCP, and regulatory requirements.
Familiar with the Microsoft Windows Office Suite Applications, especially Excel.
Fully vaccinated against COVID-19, absent a legally required accommodation, as determined by customer requirements.

Nice To Haves

MT(ASCP) Certification or equivalent.
Experience with Stago products.
Passport.

Responsibilities

Support customers through method verification and correlation studies (precision, accuracy, reportable range) per CLSI standards.
Participate in site readiness assessments, installation coordination, validation planning, and customer implementation meetings.
Perform lot conversions and reagent changeovers per contract commitments, both on-site and remote, leveraging middleware accreditation tools wherever possible.
Deliver on-site, supplemental operator training for users at all competency levels (super users, bench techs, supervisors).
Promote adoption of Stago’s digital training tools to scale learning post-go-live.
Deliver on-site or remote product trainings or learning opportunities such as Lunch & Learns independently or in collaboration with cross-functional teams to help customers understand testing best practices, guideline changes, patient care benefits of test expansion opportunities, product functionality, etc.
Provide subject-matter expertise on hemostasis testing, including workflow design, reflex logic, QC approach, and best-practice utilization of Stago assays (PT/INR, aPTT, Anti-Xa, D-Dimer, fibrinogen, Lupus Anticoagulants, and other specialty assays).
Support customers in understanding assay principles, performance characteristics, and practical interpretation considerations as an applications resource, not as a substitute for the medical judgment of the laboratory’s medical director or pathologist.
Guide laboratories on aligning their workflows with industry standards and Stago best practices while respecting each institution’s established medical governance and clinical decision authority.
Apply data-driven insights from reagent utilization, QC trends, and error codes to make suggestions for customers to improve their performance or workflow.
Provide on-site and remote application support for Stago systems, diagnosing and resolving issues efficiently to minimize downtime or testing disruptions.
Prioritize service requests, manage workload effectively, and ensure that customer concerns are addressed promptly and thoroughly.
Provide ongoing updates and consistent communication with customers and manager until full resolution of their issues, ensuring they feel supported throughout the process.
Escalate all open or reoccurring issues in a timely manner for prompt resolution.
Provide supportive guidance to customers on CAP/CLIA/IQCP documentation and compliance practices.
Continuously monitor changes in industry guidelines (e.g., CAP checklist updates, CLIA revisions, CLSI guideline updates, ISTH guidelines) and proactively incorporate these into training, verification templates, and customer guidance in collaboration with the Training department and Scientific Affairs.
Communicate relevant compliance updates to customers in a clear, actionable way to help them stay inspection-ready and aligned with best practices.
Provide customers only the most current CLSI-based SOPs as developed by the organization.
Follow all internal SOPs.
Partner with internal and customer stakeholders to implement LIS interfaces, flags, and auto-verification rules.
Support rule performance and minimize TAT, reruns, and manual interventions.
Actively use and promote Stago digital tools and middleware solutions for accreditation, automation, and data integrity.
Monitor reagent consumption, QC performance, maintenance patterns, and service interactions collaboratively with your Customer Care Team to proactively identify improvement opportunities and prevent issues before they escalate.
Proactively visit customers to ensure they are operating in alignment with Stago best practices, following proper workflows, and using products according to Stago requirements.
Provide supportive coaching, refresher training, and corrective guidance to elevate performance and reduce avoidable errors.
Support sales business reviews as requested to support a comprehensive overview of the business and actionable plans to enhance customer utilization and satisfaction.
Support Sales and Marketing in pre-sale demos, workshops, and reference site visits, ensuring technical alignment and clinical credibility.
Capture nuanced customer feedback (workflow challenges, assay needs, vial size preferences) to inform future product design and launches.
Foster strong relationships with customers by actively listening, clearly communicating, and maintaining professionalism throughout all interactions.
Work closely with internal teams, including field service, sales, the hotline, and product management, to share insights and improve service strategies.
Maintain CRM data so it is current, contacts should be reviewed each time you go into the account.
Complete proper paperwork and submit to Sales Admin for any changes to account name, address or instrumentation.
Drive high level customer satisfaction through the successful completion of customer-facing duties and responsibilities.
Foster teamwork by supporting all necessary Stago departments in the goal of improving internal cooperation and customer satisfaction.
Furnish leads to the Sales Team based upon technical calls and interactions with existing client base to expand current testing menu or upgrade instruments.
Perform special projects/tasks as assigned by Manager or Director.