Life Science Engineer Supervisor

Renovo Solutions•Philadelphia, PA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Life Science Engineer, Supervisor leads the technical function at an assigned Johnson & Johnson site under the Enterprise Laboratory Instrument Services (ELIS) program. The role supervises the site engineers, holds technical authority for the site, and owns the qualification standard that determines who is allowed to work on what. This is a supervisory seat with a reduced service caseload, not a full one. The Supervisor is expected to be hands-on enough to judge the work, take the difficult diagnostics, and hold a technical conversation with an OEM engineer as a peer. What separates the role from the engineering ladder below it is accountability for people, competency and the site technical standard rather than for a personal work queue.

Requirements

7+ years of hands-on service experience on laboratory or analytical instrumentation, or equivalent biomedical equipment service experience
2+ years of experience supervising or leading technical staff, including allocating work and judging competency
Demonstrated depth across multiple instrument platforms, which may include chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, plate-based detection, centrifugation, cell culture or laboratory automation
Demonstrated ability to diagnose faults beyond the manufacturer service manual, and to challenge a vendor diagnosis on technical grounds
Experience working inside a client facility as an embedded service provider strongly preferred
Working knowledge of GxP requirements, calibration traceability and data integrity expectations
Experience with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), including reporting from it
Technical Depth - solves what the team escalates, and explains how rather than only fixing it
Technical Judgment - decides what is genuinely wrong before client money is spent on it
People Leadership - develops engineers rather than only directing them, and builds coverage depth deliberately
Standard Setting - holds the qualification line even when it is inconvenient for the schedule
Commercial Awareness - recognizes a quoted repair that does not match the fault, and rejects it
Accountability - owns the site technical outcome, not a personal work queue
Documentation Discipline - holds the team to records an auditor and another engineer can both use
Safety Leadership - sets the standard and stops work when it is not safe
Integrity - can admit mistakes, is direct and truthful, and acts in the best interest of clients, employees and Renovo.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or delivering a self-perform service capability on a platform previously covered by an OEM strongly preferred
Experience in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology or research environment strongly preferred.
OEM platform training on relevant instrument families required or supported after hire
Training in laboratory safety, GxP and data integrity provided or required
CBET or equivalent certification preferred, and supported where not already held.

Responsibilities

Supervise the site Life Science Engineers and technical staff, including work allocation, priority and daily technical direction
Own hiring input, onboarding, performance management and development for the site technical team
Hold the qualification standard: no engineer works independently on a platform until they are qualified on it, and this role signs that off
Build platform coverage depth so no instrument family at the site depends on one person
Identify training needs and drive them through the Technical Training Specialist
Manage technical coverage during absence, shutdowns, holidays and planned outages.
Act as the final technical escalation point on site for diagnostics and repair
Take the difficult diagnostics personally where they exceed the qualification of the site engineers
Determine whether a reported issue is an instrument fault, an operator or method issue, a consumable or sample issue, or an environmental condition, before a service call is raised
Make or endorse the return-to-service decision on instruments where site technical judgment is required
Escalate to the Technical Center of Excellence where a fault or platform is genuinely beyond site capability, and not before
Provide technical input on repair versus replace, end of life and capital replacement candidates
Review vendor and OEM diagnoses and challenge a diagnosis that does not match the observed fault
Review quoted repairs and reject or reduce scope disproportionate to the fault, before the quote is approved
Verify vendor work was completed to specification, not only that the engineer attended and signed a report
Provide the technical basis on which the coordination team approves or rejects a vendor invoice
Set the standard for escort and vendor supervision at the site, and confirm third-party personnel meet access, induction and safety requirements before entering a laboratory.
Own the self-perform case for the site: identify platforms currently vendor-serviced where Renovo capability is viable, and build the evidence
Specify the tooling, test equipment, parts inventory and training needed to take on a platform
Own the qualification path for newly in-scope platforms, including documentation and competency sign-off
Track first-time-fix and repeat-fault performance across the site and act on what it shows
Feed conversion candidates and technical findings to the Site Operations Manager and the Technical Center of Excellence
Carry a reduced service caseload alongside the supervisory responsibilities of the role
Own delivery of scheduled maintenance (SM) and demand maintenance (DM) across the site asset base from a technical standpoint
Own the technical input to the SM plan, including interval, scope and whether the plan matches how the instrument is used
Support instrument installation, relocation, qualification and decommissioning alongside the Lifecycle and Relocations Coordinator
Manage the technical response when a critical instrument is down.
Own accuracy of the technical record across the site, including fault found, action taken, parts used and labor time
Ensure asset configuration, location and status are correct in the system of record after any work that changes them
Hold the site technical team to closing work orders with complete data so reporting, invoicing and contractual key performance indicators are defensible
Own accuracy and traceability of calibration records and test equipment status at the site
Raise record discrepancies rather than allowing the team to work around them.
Ensure technical work at the site meets GxP and client quality system documentation requirements
Support internal and client audits, quality reviews and regulatory inspections with technical evidence
Own technical safety performance at the site, including hazard awareness, lockout practice, incident reporting and stop-work authority
Maintain the technical standard operating procedures and work instructions for the site and keep them aligned to actual practice
Escort and host OEM and third-party personnel in client laboratories and equipment areas, on request and regardless of whose scope the instrument sits in
Confirm third-party personnel are inducted, badged, trained, and compliant with client site access and safety requirements before they enter a laboratory
Remain with third-party personnel while they work where the area, the hazard, or the client requires continuous accompaniment
Confirm the work performed matches what was authorized, and that the area is left clean, safe, and operational
Verify the service report or work record is complete before the third party leaves site, and route it for invoice verification
Escalate immediately where a third party arrives unannounced, without correct documentation, or attempts work outside the authorized scope.