Forage Laboratory Manager

DAIRY ONE COOPERATIVE INC • City of Ithaca, NY

20d • $85,000 - $100,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Dairy One is a farmer-focused, member-owned cooperative dedicated to providing innovative information, technology, and analytical services that help farmers and the agricultural community make better decisions and build a more productive, sustainable future. The Dairy One Forage and Soil Laboratory is a dynamic, science-driven team providing high-quality analytical testing of forage, soil, plant tissue, manure, water, and other agricultural samples. Our work directly supports better decisions in crop production, animal nutrition, soil health, and sustainable agriculture. We are committed to scientific excellence, continuous improvement, and developing innovative analytical solutions that deliver accurate, reliable, and actionable information to our customers, helping them better understand their operations, optimize management decisions, improve productivity, and advance the long-term sustainability of agriculture. We are seeking an experienced and collaborative Forage Laboratory Manager to lead the day-to-day operations of our Forage Laboratory and help ensure the delivery of high-quality, reliable, and timely analytical services to our customers. This role ensures efficient sample processing, high analytical quality, strong customer service, and timely turnaround of results while supporting staff development and maintaining effective communication across laboratory teams. The Forage Laboratory Manager is responsible for the daily supervision, workflow coordination, resource allocation, staff support, and operational oversight of the Dairy One Forage Laboratory. The Manager serves as the primary operational leader of routine laboratory activities and works closely with the Forage and Soil Laboratory Director, Quality Control team, Technical team, Customer and Lab Support team, and Department Leads to maintain productivity, quality standards, and customer satisfaction.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, Agronomy, Chemistry, Biology, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Experience working in an analytical or agricultural laboratory environment for a minimum of two years.
• Demonstrated supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Experience managing laboratory workflow and turnaround times.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with dairy nutrition model formulations.
• Familiarity with LIMS systems.
• Knowledge of laboratory QA/QC systems and analytical methods.
• Experience coordinating multi-team laboratory operations.

Responsibilities

• Daily supervision and management of forage laboratory technicians. These responsibilities include maintaining daily staff coordination and direction, monitoring workload distribution, supporting team leads in operational decisions, and ensuring adherence to SOPs, laboratory policies and safety protocols.
• In addition to the day-to-day operations, this position is responsible for more general personnel management including scheduling, hiring, training, coaching, and staff development.
• Maintaining oversight of sample flow, turnaround time, maintaining instrument service contracts and helping the team troubleshoot operational issues, and maintaining communication across all teams regarding procedural or instrument impacts.
• Address customer questions related to ensuring our methods are appropriate for the sample type submitted, as well as finding scientifically sound solutions for complex sample requests.
• Maintaining working proficiency in LIMS to support proper sample calculations, quality control operations and accurate data reporting is a critical component of this position.
• Active participation in higher-level operational and budgetary discussions, as well as engagement with customers and other outreach activities as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level