Director of Facilities, Laboratory Operations and EHS
About The Position
The Director of Facilities, Laboratory Operations and EHS reports to the Chief Legal Officer and provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and long-term planning for Olema’s facilities and laboratory environments across three locations. The role oversees BSL-2 laboratory environments and corporate office space, partnering with Research, IT, Real Estate, Finance, and Executive Leadership. It owns the full lifecycle of facilities and laboratory operations, from day-to-day execution to large-scale laboratory buildouts, office and laboratory relocations, and real estate initiatives. The position is based in the San Francisco office and requires 15% travel. The role leads facilities, real estate, capital projects, laboratory operations, and the company’s Environmental Health and Safety program. It is accountable for safe, compliant, reliable operations in active laboratory environments, including critical laboratory systems and infrastructure, workplace services, shipping and receiving, emergency planning, and vendor performance. The Director is expected to shift between strategic planning and hands-on execution in a demanding, fast-paced environment where uptime, safety, compliance, and responsiveness are critical.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree.
- At least 12 years of experience, including at least 5 years of facilities management experience with oversight of laboratory environments.
- Must have created and run an EHS program for a BSL-2 laboratory.
- Proven record of successful facilities leadership.
- Expert-level knowledge of facilities, laboratory operations, and EHS in biotech or life sciences.
- Demonstrated ownership of laboratory buildouts, relocations, and real estate execution.
- Hands-on facilities, laboratory operations, and leadership experience, with the ability to move between strategic planning and tactical execution.
- Experience working in demanding, fast-paced laboratory environments where uptime, safety, compliance, and responsiveness are critical and priorities may compete or be ambiguous.
- Strong project management, planning, organization, and time-management skills.
- Highly organized, attentive to detail, clarity, and accuracy.
- Solutions-oriented, meticulous, and effective in fast-paced problem-solving environments.
- Proactive, self-motivated, results-oriented, and action-oriented.
- Collaborative team player able to work cross-functionally.
- Flexible and adaptable to evolving business needs and technology trends.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to adapt communication styles to varied internal and external partners.
- Ability to provide 24-hour on-call support in case of system failure.
- Ability to travel 15%.
Nice To Haves
- Strategic Facilities Manager (SFM) certification.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP) certification.
Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day facilities operations, upkeep, maintenance, and physical infrastructure activities across Olema’s locations.
- Execute real estate strategy, including site readiness, lease transitions, expansions, consolidations, and exits.
- Plan and lead office and laboratory moves and building relocations, including risk management and stabilization.
- Direct laboratory and office buildouts from programming and design through permitting, construction, commissioning, and occupancy.
- Execute capital projects in active laboratory environments while maintaining safety, compliance, and continuity of scientific operations.
- Develop and enforce facilities standards, policies, procedures, and SOPs.
- Own physical security programs, including access control, badging, alarms, vendor oversight, and incident response.
- Control facilities operating and capital budgets, including forecasting, spend management, and cost accountability.
- Lead emergency planning and response across all facilities.
- Direct shipping and receiving, including hazardous materials and dangerous goods compliance, inventory management, packaging, and transportation logistics.
- Manage workplace services across locations, including supplies, food and beverage programs, janitorial services, and waste management; oversee vendor performance, cost, and service quality.
- Support research infrastructure needs, including vendor relationships, scientific equipment service and maintenance, hazardous waste management, and cell culture support.
- Monitor critical systems and provide 24-hour on-call support in case of system failure.
- Promote awareness of health and safety issues, ensure employee training and compliance with company policies, and manage safety consultants.
- Manage sample inventories and vendors.
- Manage and maintain cryo storage, liquid nitrogen, compressed gas, emergency generator, vacuum, and compressed air systems.
- Manage critical laboratory systems, including HVAC, monitoring, and equipment maintenance, to ensure uninterrupted functionality and performance.
- Lead and execute laboratory operations to provide uninterrupted, compliant research support.
- Own, design, implement, enforce, and continuously improve the company’s Environmental Health and Safety program, including policies, procedures, training, and compliance programs.
- Lead regulatory inspections, audits, and agency interactions.
- Manage hazardous waste permitting, reporting, corrective actions, and compliance documentation.
- Integrate EHS requirements into laboratory design, construction, moves, and daily operations.
- Direct EHS consultants and contractors and maintain, train, and scale programs supporting BSL-2 laboratory environments.
Benefits
- Equity.
- Bonus.
- Benefits package; a summary of benefits is available to applicants.
- Open, flexible, and friendly work environment.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
