Lead Microbiology Lab Tech

Certified Group•Omaha, NE

About The Position

The Lab Lead coordinates daily laboratory operations and provides technical leadership for microbiological testing of food products, ingredients, and environmental samples. The role serves as a lead resource for testing activities, workflow coordination, troubleshooting, quality compliance, and staff support during assigned shifts, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant testing while promoting efficiency, data integrity, safety, and continuous improvement in a fast-paced food testing laboratory. The schedule is Tuesday through Saturday, with a 9 a.m. start time. The role performs advanced and non-routine microbiological testing, reviews and verifies data and documentation, supports method implementation and validation, trains and guides laboratory staff, coordinates workflow and sample priorities, and supports quality investigations, audits, and improvement initiatives. The position works in accordance with laboratory SOPs, customer specifications, and applicable regulatory and quality standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Microbiology, Biology, Food Science, or a related scientific field.
At least 5 years of experience in a microbiology testing laboratory.
Experience in a food and beverage testing laboratory.
Experience working in a regulated laboratory environment, including ISO/IEC 17025, FDA, USDA, or equivalent quality systems.
Ability to lead workflow, influence peers, provide technical guidance, and train staff in a lead or senior-level capacity without direct supervisory authority.
Strong working knowledge of food safety microbiology, pathogen testing methodologies, environmental monitoring programs, and laboratory quality systems.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).

Responsibilities

Perform advanced and non-routine microbiological testing of food products, ingredients, and environmental samples, including pathogen and indicator organism analyses.
Serve as the primary technical resource and escalation point for testing issues, method interpretation, instrumentation concerns, and troubleshooting during assigned shifts.
Review and verify test data, calculations, and laboratory documentation for accuracy, completeness, and compliance before results are released.
Support method implementation, validation, verification, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure testing follows established SOPs, regulatory requirements, and customer specifications.
Troubleshoot instrumentation, media performance, and testing deviations to minimize operational disruptions.
Train, mentor, and provide technical guidance to Microbiology Lab Technician I–III staff on procedures, methods, documentation, and quality expectations.
Reinforce aseptic techniques, data integrity practices, and laboratory safety standards; support onboarding and cross-training.
Coordinate daily laboratory workflow, sample prioritization, and testing schedules to meet turnaround time commitments.
Monitor staffing coverage, task assignments, and operational efficiency, escalating staffing or workflow concerns as appropriate.
Communicate workload, testing priorities, and operational updates to laboratory leadership and cross-functional departments.
Ensure adherence to SOPs, food safety requirements, quality systems, regulatory standards, and company policies.
Lead or support investigations into deviations, nonconformances, out-of-specification results, and corrective and preventive actions.
Support internal and external audits through preparation, participation, documentation review, and corrective-action follow-up.
Maintain accurate laboratory records and ensure data integrity and documentation compliance.
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce errors, optimize workflows, and enhance testing consistency.
Provide input on SOP revisions, training materials, quality initiatives, and operational process improvements.
Partner with laboratory leadership on operational excellence initiatives, workflow optimization, continuous improvement projects, best practices, and standardization.