Manufacturing Team Lead - Primary Cells

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

The Manufacturing Team Lead – Primary Cells position is based at our Durham, NC facility and plays a key role in supervising and supporting the Production team responsible for manufacturing primary cell products derived from human and animal tissues for use in research. This individual coordinate daily lab operations, provides hands-on training, and ensures all procedures are executed accurately, efficiently, and in compliance with SOPs. As the subject matter expert (SME) for hepatocyte isolations from both human and animal livers, the Team Lead is responsible for performing, training, and continuously optimizing isolation techniques. This role requires flexibility, including participation in a rotating on-call schedule (weekdays, weekends, and holidays) and overtime.

Key Responsibilities:

• Acts as the SME for hepatocyte isolations (human and animal): conducts isolations, trains staff on isolations, and optimizes procedures to ensure isolated product meets quality standards

• Performs isolations of additional primary human and animal cell types from various organs and tissues as required (lung, kidney, bone, blood, etc.)

• Performs screening, feeding, passaging, harvesting and cryopreservation of cells

• Maintains lab in good working order, which includes scheduling and coordinating daily, weekly, and monthly laboratory activities to meet company objectives, ensuring equipment is operational and maintained, and necessary materials are ordered and stocked

• Responsible for writing and updating of SOPs

• Responsible for peer review of batch records and ensuring cell specific logs are maintained and meet quality standards

• Prepares media and other materials used in production processes and ensures products are packaged and labeled according to specifications

• Generates and participates in an on-call rotations (weekdays, weekends, and holidays) to support isolations, feeds, splits, cryopreservation, and other tasks required outside of regular business hours.

• Performs other duties as assigned

Key Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Life sciences with 5+ years cell culture/biology experience (Years of experience may substitute for education in some instances.)

• Experience isolating hepatocytes from livers required

• Experience and comfort working with rodents

• Proven experience in leading, coaching, and training/developing team members

• Aseptic technique and experience in cell culture required including the ability to use pipettes and other scientific equipment including microscopes, laminar flow biological safety cabinet, and centrifuges

• Ability to read and follow SOPs and understand the importance of SOP compliance

• Ability to learn multiple procedures and understand importance of specific scientific techniques

• Written and oral communication skills to include accurate and legible documentation skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment

• Computer skills including Microsoft Office and familiarity with databases

• Organization skills, recordkeeping, filing, time management skills, regular attendance are required

• Self-motivated, strong work ethic, and ability to “get the job done” and take responsibility for results without direct authority

Working Conditions:

• A majority of the work is done in a laboratory environment.

• Individual is required to wear, gown, booties, hair net, gloves, mask, and safety glasses.

• Working conditions can include heavy lifting (up to 50 lbs), confined space (small lab areas), repetitive motion (vialing with Wheaton and Eppendorff, pipetting, processing tissue), excessive noise (from HEPA filters in ceiling and hoods all day), and chemical hazards including acids, bases, Trypan Blue, DMSO, formalin, PMA

We recognize that attracting, developing and retaining the best talent is key to our strategy and success