Manager - Sample Management Operations
Caris Life Sciences
August 25, 2026
On-site
Phoenix, AZ
Operations
Position Summary
Sample Management Operations Manager provides leadership, operational oversight, and technical expertise to ensure integrity, efficiency, scalability, and compliance of specimen management operations.
Job Responsibilities
- Lead and develop the Sample Management team; provide day-to-day leadership, technical guidance, performance management, and coaching.
- Oversee complete lifecycle management of remnant biological specimens: receipt, inventory, storage, retrieval, request fulfillment, transfer, distribution, de-identification, disposition, and chain of custody; resolve escalated issues and ensure specimen integrity.
- Manage inventory/logistics/resources: storage capacity, environmental monitoring, logistics, transfers, and distribution.
- Ensure specimen data integrity in LIMS/Sample Management Systems; optimize workflows, reporting, inventory visibility, and system utilization.
- Drive quality assurance and regulatory compliance (SOPs; GCP; CLIA; CAP; FDA; HIPAA) via audits, documentation oversight, inventory reconciliation, corrective actions, and monitoring.
- Serve as subject matter expert; implement best practices and standardize processes.
- Collaborate cross-functionally (Lab/Clinical Ops, Research, Quality, IT, Procurement) and deliver customer service.
- Monitor operational metrics and drive continuous improvement.
- Support budgeting, staffing, workload forecasting, storage planning, vendor relationships, and resource allocation.
- Communicate priorities, improvements, and performance.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (Biological Sciences/Lab Science/Healthcare Administration or related).
- 5+ years relevant laboratory/pathology/clinical research/biorepository experience.
- 2+ years leadership/supervisory experience.
- Proven specimen lifecycle management expertise (inventory, chain of custody, tracking, storage, data management, de-identification, request fulfillment).
- Experience with LIMS and/or Sample Management Systems.
- Demonstrated workflow/process improvement and best-practice implementation.
- Strong knowledge of CLIA, CAP, FDA, HIPAA, and GCP.
- Excellent leadership, organizational, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities; on-site work required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree.
- Prior leadership in specimen/pathology/biorepository/precision medicine.
- Experience with operational change, workflow redesign, or specimen management technology implementation.
- Lean/Six Sigma (or equivalent) experience.
- Project management certification or leadership.
- LIMS implementation/optimization experience.
- GCP, Human Subject Protection, and IATA training.
- Customer service experience supporting lab or research operations.
Sample Management Operations Manager provides leadership, operational oversight, and technical expertise to ensure integrity, efficiency, scalability, and compliance of specimen management operations.
Job Responsibilities
- Lead and develop the Sample Management team; provide day-to-day leadership, technical guidance, performance management, and coaching.
- Oversee complete lifecycle management of remnant biological specimens: receipt, inventory, storage, retrieval, request fulfillment, transfer, distribution, de-identification, disposition, and chain of custody; resolve escalated issues and ensure specimen integrity.
- Manage inventory/logistics/resources: storage capacity, environmental monitoring, logistics, transfers, and distribution.
- Ensure specimen data integrity in LIMS/Sample Management Systems; optimize workflows, reporting, inventory visibility, and system utilization.
- Drive quality assurance and regulatory compliance (SOPs; GCP; CLIA; CAP; FDA; HIPAA) via audits, documentation oversight, inventory reconciliation, corrective actions, and monitoring.
- Serve as subject matter expert; implement best practices and standardize processes.
- Collaborate cross-functionally (Lab/Clinical Ops, Research, Quality, IT, Procurement) and deliver customer service.
- Monitor operational metrics and drive continuous improvement.
- Support budgeting, staffing, workload forecasting, storage planning, vendor relationships, and resource allocation.
- Communicate priorities, improvements, and performance.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (Biological Sciences/Lab Science/Healthcare Administration or related).
- 5+ years relevant laboratory/pathology/clinical research/biorepository experience.
- 2+ years leadership/supervisory experience.
- Proven specimen lifecycle management expertise (inventory, chain of custody, tracking, storage, data management, de-identification, request fulfillment).
- Experience with LIMS and/or Sample Management Systems.
- Demonstrated workflow/process improvement and best-practice implementation.
- Strong knowledge of CLIA, CAP, FDA, HIPAA, and GCP.
- Excellent leadership, organizational, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities; on-site work required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree.
- Prior leadership in specimen/pathology/biorepository/precision medicine.
- Experience with operational change, workflow redesign, or specimen management technology implementation.
- Lean/Six Sigma (or equivalent) experience.
- Project management certification or leadership.
- LIMS implementation/optimization experience.
- GCP, Human Subject Protection, and IATA training.
- Customer service experience supporting lab or research operations.