Manager, Automation Engineering

Company: Guardant Health
Location: Redwood City
Posted on: November 19, 2020

Job Description:

Job Description Manager, Automation Engineering - 505 Penobscot Dr, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA - Full-time Company Description Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary blood tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. Its Guardant Health Oncology Platform is designed to leverage its capabilities in technology, clinical development, regulatory and reimbursement to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs. In pursuit of its goal to manage cancer across all stages of the disease, Guardant Health has launched multiple liquid biopsy-based tests, Guardant360 and GuardantOMNI, for advanced stage cancer patients, which fuel its LUNAR development programs for recurrence and early detection. Since its launch in 2014, Guardant360 has been used by more than 6,000 oncologists, over 50 biopharmaceutical companies and all 27 of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers. Job Description In this role, you'll be responsible for leading a team that automates and scales complex workflows and implements processes for a state-of-the-art sequencing lab. You will support the development of all parts of a state-of-the-art automated assay workflow. You will be directly responsible for leading a small team of automation engineers and leading all aspects of automation development from concept, requirements definition, and automated assay development, including liquid handling, optimization, error handling, and validation. You will leverage an understanding of molecular biology to troubleshoot analytical and preparative processes on automation platforms. The successful candidate will apply engineering skills and scientific methods to improve the scalability and reliability of Guardant Health's automated assay workflows and reagent manufacturing processes. You must be collaborative and able to lead cross-functional teams working across a variety of projects effectively. These cross-functional teams will develop, optimize, and implement robust, scalable solutions for Guardant Health's sample processing workflows with attention to improving efficiency, throughput, and quality. You will supervise and develop the capabilities of automation engineers. Furthermore, you have a strong organizational capacity to plan and lead the day to day execution of engineers within the automation engineering department. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: - Manage a team of engineers and technicians. Includes having oversight over the hiring, development, and performance management of team members. - Manage automation projects consisting of, reagent manufacturing and assay development workflows from concept to post-implementation support. - Analyze workflows, identify bottlenecks, and develop solutions to improve efficiency, throughput, cost, and quality while identifying new sets of automated equipment to deploy - Be a key contributor to internal cross-functional project teams to develop technical products and automated system requirements. - Lead or contribute to the innovation of current and new assays workflows, technologies, and processes - Lead or contribute to the design, development, optimization, and implementation of automated liquid handling processes, systems, and streamlined workflows using DOE methodologies - Draft development plans, test plans, and associated procedures for automated workflows. Perform research, development, verification, and validation testing per project needs. - Provide expertise as a project leader to external contractors, suppliers, and integrated system providers to design large scale automated solutions. - Develop and document work under design control and quality management systems, policies, and procedures. - Author, execute, and document test plans and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for automated workflows. - Program robotic liquid handling workstations and integrated robotic systems - Develop instrument integration with a Laboratory Information Management System Qualifications Are you an engineer with a proven track record of automating and scaling? You've established yourself as a manager or supervisor previously. You're eager to participate in the development of high growth, fast-paced startup? An interdisciplinary background in molecular biology, lab automation, and programming is required. The ideal candidate will have prior, demonstrated experience designing, developing, testing, implementing, and supporting automated sample-processing workflows using a requirements-driven approach in a clinical laboratory or other molecular biology-based laboratory settings. Will leverage an understanding of molecular biology and biochemistry to troubleshoot analytical and preparative processes. The successful candidate will apply scientific methods and engineering skills to improve Guardant Health's sample processing workflows' scalability. Qualifications: - BS degree with a minimum of 8+ years in engineering or science, preferably mechanical, electrical, optical, molecular biology, genetics or biochemistry, bioengineering, chemical engineering, or a closely-related discipline. An MS with 6+ years of relevant work experience or a Ph.D. with 5+ years of relevant work experience. - Experience managing or supervising a small group of employees. - Experience with automation systems and transferring complex workflows into a high-throughput operation. Preference is given to experience from the life science industry; relevant experience from other sectors also considered (e.g., manufacturing in the food & beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, automotive industries) - Background working in regulated laboratory environments (CLIA, IVD) - Highly skilled in streamlining workflows and developing automated laboratory processes and instrumentation systems, including collecting and documenting requirements, developing concepts, design, testing/validation, implementing, and training - Experience with writing and optimizing scripts on automated liquid handling platforms (e.g., Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman, Agilent Bravo, etc.) - Proven track record leading complex automation projects involving internal and external teams. - Comfortable managing projects and relationships through 3rd party contractors. - Analytical, creative thinker, ability to solve problems - Effective organizational and time management skills - Excellent written and oral communication skills - Highly energetic and self-motivated. Able to work independently and as part of a team. Nice to Have - Basic proficiency in C#, Java, Python, or other Object Orient Languages - Experience with the design and prototyping of parts/assemblies using CAD systems (e.g., SolidWorks.) - Familiarity with manufacturing processes -3D printing, machining, injection molding, etc. - Experience with NGS or nucleic acid sample preparation methods is desirable. - Experience working with a broad set of laboratory instruments and tools. - Knowledge of experimental design. - Experience working in a regulated environment (CLIA / CAP / FDA / ISO). - Experience in reagent manufacturing, ideally in a regulated environment (cGMP). Additional Information All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Employee may be required to lift routine office supplies up to 20 lbs and use office equipment. Majority of the work is performed in a desk/office environment; however, there may be exposed to high noise levels, fumes, and biohazard material in the laboratory environment. Ability to sit for extended periods of time. Guardant Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. To learn more about the information collected when you apply for a position at Guardant Health, Inc. and how it is used, please review our . Please visit our career page at: Job Location

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