Lab Applications Manager

Tactus AI•San Diego, CA

About The Position

Applications is the bridge between R&D and commercial. It’s the function that translates a customer’s actual workflow - the slides being moved, loaded, and tracked by hand today - into validated, demo-able, deployable robot capability tomorrow. It’s also the function that keeps the product roadmap honest: built around customer outcomes, not just technical capability. This is the first dedicated Applications lead hire at Tactus AI. You’ll stand up the function, define its standards, build its team, and own how the humanoid robotic lab assistant shows up in front of customers, partners, and investors. You’ll report directly to the CCO and work side by side with the founder/CEO and founder/CTO. If you’ve spent your career being the technical voice that pathologists, lab directors, and instrument partners actually trust - and you’ve wanted the chance to build that function from the ground up at a company that’s making something the world hasn’t seen before - this is that role.

Requirements

7+ years in applications, field applications, or laboratory operations within diagnostics, IVD, clinical/research labs, or life sciences instrumentation
Hands-on bench experience in a clinical or research lab - in the workflow
Demonstrated ownership of customer-facing technical documentation (application notes, validation protocols, method comparison studies, technical bulletins)
Track record of translating customer workflows into actionable product requirements
Fluency moving between scientific/clinical conversations and engineering conversations
Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, biomedical engineering, or a related field

Nice To Haves

Pathology, histology, cytology, or anatomic pathology workflow expertise
IVD instrument or laboratory system launch experience (Roche, Hologic, BD, Siemens, Sakura, Leica, Beckman Coulter, or similar)
Direct people-management experience, including hiring and developing applications scientists
Familiarity with regulated lab environments (CLIA, CAP, ISO 15189)
Exposure to laboratory automation, robotics, or integrated lab systems

Responsibilities

Execute the applications roadmap. Support which customer workflows we develop and validate, in what order, against what evidence base. Partner with the CTO and Head of Software on technical feasibility; partner with the CCO on commercial sequencing.
Validate workflows on the humanoid robotic lab assistant. Translate clinical and research lab protocols into repeatable robot workflows. Define acceptance criteria. Run validation studies. Document outcomes rigorously enough that a lab director would stake their reputation on them.
Onboard and manage lab instrumentation. Source instruments directly or coordinate loaners through med device partnerships. Lead installation, training, and SOP generation for each new instrument, and manage the coming and going of partner-loaned hardware. Set up and run the lab itself, including reagent and consumable planning when specific applications require it.
Drive training data collection for ML model development. Partner with the ML and engineering teams to provide the data that teaches the robot each new application — digital twin generation, human task videos, and teleoperation data. The applications scientist leads day-to-day collection against a structured task plan; you set priorities, validate outputs, and ensure the ML team gets what it needs on the cadence it needs.
Author application notes and protocols. Produce the technical literature that lets customers, partners, and investors see exactly what the robot does and how reliably.
Be the technical lead in customer conversations. Anchor pilot kickoffs, troubleshooting, and expansion discussions. You’ll own its technical workstream alongside the CCO.
Own demo development. Build, rehearse, and execute demos for ADLM 2026 (Jul 26–30, Anaheim), PathVisions 2026 (Oct 16–18, San Diego), IVD partner meetings, and investor visits. Every demo is real, repeatable, and reflects product reality.
Be the structured voice of the customer in R&D. Push back when capability-driven roadmap diverges from customer-outcome value. Translate field feedback into requirements the engineering team can act on.
Support IVD partnership conversations. Be the technical-applications voice that helps partners see how Tactus AI protects and extends their installed base, not competes with it.
Build the team. Manage and develop the incoming applications scientist. Define the next two hires on the applications team and lead their recruiting.