Supervisor, Engineering Operations #4265
Durham, NC
Research & Development – Lab Operations /
Full-Time /
On-site
Our mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. We are working to change the trajectory of cancer mortality and bring stakeholders together to adopt innovative, safe, and effective technologies that can transform cancer care.
We are a healthcare company, pioneering new technologies to advance early cancer detection. We have built a multi-disciplinary organization of scientists, engineers, and physicians and we are using the power of next-generation sequencing (NGS), population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to overcome one of medicine’s greatest challenges.
GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies.
For more information, please visit grail.com.
GRAIL is seeking a Supervisor, Tier 2 Engineering Operations, supporting laboratory operations by leading a team of junior engineers in providing timely technical support and maintenance of automation systems, software tools, and lab instrumentation. This role ensures equipment reliability, system uptime, and adherence to quality and safety standards through hands-on troubleshooting, escalation management, and coordination with other technical teams. The ideal candidate has strong technical skills, attention to detail, and experience working in a regulated operations or diagnostics environment.
The onsite role requires 5 days a week in Durham, NC (RTP Site)
This is a full time position working in our lab starting at 8:00 AM Monday through Friday
The working hours could be temporarily adjusted due to training, travel, and other events.
This position requires on-call duty and may need to support weekends and holidays.
Responsibilities:
- Supervise day-to-day activities of Tier 2 support staff of junior engineers across second shift operations.
- Provide hands-on troubleshooting and support for laboratory instrumentation, automation platforms, and software applications to minimize downtime.
- Monitor system health and performance, coordinate corrective actions, and escalate complex issues to Tier 3 or engineering leads as needed.
- Facilitate Post-Incident Reviews: root-cause analysis, corrective/preventive actions (CAPA), and risk assessment. Track Post Incident Review action items to completion and report weekly metrics (recurrence rate, closure time).
- Facilitate the end-to-end automated line-swap task plan from detailing task plans and pre-swap risk reviews through resource coordination, & on-shift execution oversight.
- Coordinate maintenance and calibration activities in alignment with established protocols and the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) / Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
- Document service incidents, troubleshooting activities, and repairs in accordance with quality management system (QMS) and cGMP/GLP requirements.
- Train and mentor team members on technical procedures, safety practices (LOTO, hazardous material handling), and SOP adherence.
- Support continuous improvement efforts by identifying opportunities for process and equipment optimization.
- Assist with inventory oversight for spare parts, consumables, and support contract coordination.
- Collaborate with cross-functional partners including Quality, R&D, and Software to support change implementation and validation testing.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 4+ years of relevant technical experience in operations engineering, automation support, or laboratory systems with a BS/BA in Engineering, Life Sciences, or related field (or equivalent experience).
- 1+ years of experience in a lead or supervisory capacity.
- Proven hands-on troubleshooting and repair experience with lab automation systems, including liquid handling platforms (e.g., Agilent, Hamilton, Labcyte).
- Familiarity with system maintenance, test protocols, and documentation practices in regulated environments (cGMP/GLP).
- Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally in a fast-paced operations setting.
- Willingness to work second shift, be on-call, and support weekends/holidays as needed.
- Highly Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with NGS workflows and instrumentation (e.g., Illumina platforms).
- Knowledge of EAM/CMMS (Hexagon EAM strongly preferred), LIMS, MES, Green Button Go (GBG), or other automation control software.
- Familiarity with tiered escalation workflows and incident triage
- Basic understanding of IT infrastructure and equipment networking.
- Mechanical and electrical aptitude in laboratory or manufacturing settings.
- Prior use of EAM/CMMS platforms for tracking maintenance and calibrations.
Physical Demands and Working Environment
- Hours and days may vary depending on operational needs
- Regularly required to stand, sit, walk, climb, crouch, and wear appropriate PPE.
- Must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds; occasionally up to 50 pounds.
- Travel up to 10%.
Expected full time annual base payscale for this position is $91K -$114K. Actual base pay will consider skills, experience and location.
Based on the role, colleagues may be eligible to participate in an annual bonus plan tied to company and individual performance, or an incentive plan. We also offer a long-term incentive plan to align company and colleague success over time.
In addition, GRAIL offers a progressive benefit package, including flexible time-off, a 401k with a company match, and alongside our medical, dental, vision plans, carefully selected mindfulness offerings.
GRAIL is an Equal Employment Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We will reasonably accommodate all individuals with disabilities so that they can participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. GRAIL maintains a drug-free workplace.
