Laboratory Manager, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

University of Delaware•Newark, DE

23h•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) seeks a Laboratory Manager to support the safe, compliant, and effective operation of its research and teaching laboratories. The department’s laboratory spaces are headquartered in Colburn Lab, with additional facilities in the APBio and Harker ISE buildings and at satellite sites. These spaces support complex, high-risk work involving hazardous chemicals, specialized equipment, chemical reactors, materials analysis, and microbial and mammalian cell systems. Under the limited direction of the Senior Business Administrator and the Chair, the Laboratory Manager assists with construction, fit-out, and startup of undergraduate and faculty research laboratories, ensuring projects are completed safely, on time, and within budget. The role is also responsible for effective maintenance, security, and operation of the physical plant and individual laboratories, and for coordinating between CBE, UD Facilities Management, and Environmental Health and Safety to ensure institutional safety standards and operational requirements are met. The manager provides hands-on technical support to the department’s researchers, oversees equipment installation and servicing, coordinates maintenance and laboratory improvement projects, and responds to laboratory emergencies, including after-hours problems. The role includes daily walkthroughs of department labs and technical support for graduate students, visiting scholars, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and undergraduate researchers.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering-related field.
Five years of experience in design/build prototyping for R&D applications using modular design principles.
Skills in component selection and integration, and in the operation and maintenance of research laboratory instruments such as gas chromatographs, mass flow controllers, HPLC, FTIR, UV/VIS, and mass spectrometers.
Experience with chemical reactor and distillation systems, as well as life sciences instrumentation and processes, including ultracentrifugation, bioreactor design and operations, protein and peptide synthesis and purification.
Knowledge of best practices for laboratory instrument piping, tube bending, and tube fitting selection.
Experience in job hazard analysis, chemical reactor hazard review, and organizing laboratory safety inspections and follow-up.
Routine use of CAD software and Microsoft Office software.
Routine use of either LabView or engineering modeling software.
Ability to walk through department laboratories daily and provide hands-on technical support.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of selecting sensors, valves, tube fittings, extruded aluminum and composite channel strut framing systems, wiring and cabling, HVAC, logic controllers, and data logging systems, including National Instruments products.
Familiarity with machine tool technology and R&D shop processes.
CNC skills and tool-making, heat-treatment, and surface-finishing process skills.

Responsibilities

Repair, assemble, maintain, or dismantle laboratory apparatuses at the direction of the Department Chair.
Support the Undergraduate Education Committee and faculty teaching laboratory courses by improving the reliability and usefulness of undergraduate experiments, designing and building equipment to industrial standards, and training teaching assistants in its use.
Specify and order undergraduate laboratory supplies and equipment.
Direct shop personnel and consultants in servicing, modernizing, and building research and teaching laboratory equipment.
Direct vendors and contractors for laboratory equipment installation and servicing, and manage equipment shipping, receiving, and installation.
Co-chair the Department Facilities & Safety Committee.
Respond to and resolve laboratory emergencies, including after-hours problems.
Update emergency action plans, including creating and updating the department disaster plan.
Coordinate with the department’s safety Laboratory Manager, University Environmental Health & Safety, and national safety organizations to align department practices with current safety technology and resources, including chemical inventory and research laboratory list software such as SciShield.
Advise laboratory users about safety resources in coordination with the department’s safety Laboratory Manager.
Manage laboratory waste storage and collection.
Coordinate and perform hands-on research laboratory fit-outs as required by faculty.
Assist researchers with research equipment systems integration, including fixture designs and equipment mounts.
Liaise with Facilities Services and Campus Planning on maintenance and laboratory improvement projects, including minor research laboratory renovations.
Serve on campus-wide committees, including the University Chemical Hygiene Committee and other committees as directed by the Chair and Senior Business Administrator.
Recommend space changes to the CBE Chair.
Coordinate with the department safety Lab Manager and other College of Engineering Lab Managers and Coordinators to improve safety training, share best practices, and network to share facilities and equipment.
Coordinate laboratory, equipment, and office moves, including faculty office and laboratory cleanouts.
Assist staff in preparing for symposia, research reviews, and other events.
Manage Colburn Lab loading dock traffic and compressed gas cylinder security.
Train and supervise student hourly workers.
Walk through department laboratories daily and provide hands-on technical support for CBE research projects.