Sr. Principal Engineer - Digital Solutions

Vantive•Oakdale, MN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Principal Engineer - Digital Solutions role in the Sciences organization will work closely with global and local IT leaders to support effective, scalable, and compliant global laboratory environments using state-of-the-art digital tools and systems, with particular focus on US-based laboratories. This role will utilize digital platforms to enable laboratory operations, translating needs into well‑designed digital workflows and solutions, thus driving rapid and first-time right execution across multiple initiatives. This role serves as the scientific business lead for digital tools and workflows, owning problem definition, requirements, and adoption, while solution design approval and system ownership remain with IT. The individual in this role will work in close partnership with IT leads to support the implementation of specialized digital solutions for sciences lab operations, ensuring any such digital tool remains compliant with IT policies. The role will partner directly with cross‑functional stakeholders including Quality, Regulatory and IT to design, implement, and sustain tools and integrated solutions that support chemistry, toxicology, sterility, and microbiology program workstreams across global sites. Deliverables will follow established quality system and data integrity requirements, with clear documentation and stakeholder alignment. This role is expected to operate independently and deliver value quickly. This person serves as the onsite first point of contact for lab workflow issues and digital tool needs, coordinating analysis, rapid triage, and resolution with the appropriate business process owners and IT teams. The role drives clear milestones, dependency management, and predictable status communication to prevent work from stalling or extending due to digital solution delays. All digital solutions implemented through this role follow established IT governance, validation, and lifecycle management processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, engineering, or other STEM fields, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of relevant experience supporting wet chemistry or similar laboratory environments through workflow enablement, digital solutions, systems integration, or laboratory process improvement.
Demonstrated ability to operate independently in a laboratory environment and deliver digital solutions with minimal ramp‑up.
Proven track record of driving cross‑functional execution, removing blockers, and keeping digital enhancements on schedule.
Comfort providing rapid triage for lab‑critical issues pertaining of IT compliance, policies, and laboratory’s specialized software needs.
Expertise designing and delivering solutions using Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, and Excel.
Experience working with laboratory software platforms such as LIMS, OpenLab, Empower, MassHunter, and ELN.
Experience with scheduling or resource planning tools and data analysis, with strong or developing business acumen.
Experience working with global cross‑functional teams and influencing outcomes in matrixed environments.
Effective communication skills with the ability to convey complex concepts clearly to varied audiences.
High attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

Experience or familiarity with regulated product development environments, including 21 CFR Part 11 requirements, is desired.
Demonstrated success working directly with wet chemistry or similar laboratory teams and rapidly learning site‑specific workflows and instruments.
Prior experience supporting analytical chemistry laboratory environments and instrumentation workflows is highly desired.
Prior experience in medical products or pharmaceutical environments is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Serve as the on‑site partner for laboratory teams, rapidly triaging workflows and digital tool issues (for existing and being developed) and coordinating timely resolution with appropriate business process owners and IT service teams to minimize downtime and disruption.
Contributes to and coordinates the design, build, and enhancement of laboratory tools, dashboards, and workflow solutions using standard Microsoft 365 capabilities (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, Excel).
Partner with IT service team to ensure the proposed solutions or enhancements are aligned with IT strategy and compliance.
Facilitate working sessions, map laboratory workflows, document current and future state processes, and produce clear requirement packages with acceptance criteria.
Own execution cadence for assigned initiatives, including scope definition, milestones, dependency tracking, and regular status reporting to ensure predictable delivery.
Identify and help implement scanning, labeling, and automation approaches (for example, barcode workflows) to improve data capture, inventory tracking, and asset visibility.
Coordinate user acceptance testing, develop user guidance, support training sessions, and ensure changes are adopted effectively by laboratory users.
Proactively identify cross‑functional risks and issues impacting laboratory operations and delivery schedules and coordinate mitigation and closure.
Serve as the primary coordination point for laboratory digital solution needs.
Provide coordination and communication through project updates, written summaries, and data‑driven reporting to keep cross-functional stakeholders aligned and work moving forward.