Lab Services Technician II - NGS - LGC Biosearch Technologies

LGC is a leading, global life science tools company, providing mission-critical components and solutions into high-growth application areas across the human healthcare and applied market segments. Our high-quality product portfolio is comprised of mission-critical tools for genomic analysis and for quality assurance applications, which are typically embedded and recurring within our customers’ products and workflows and are valued for their performance, quality and range.

Our tools play a key role in customer workflows from discovery applications through to commercial manufacture and enable its customers to: bring new diagnostics and therapies to market; progress research and development; optimize food production; and continuously monitor and enhance the quality of food, the environment and consumer products.

LGC’s 175+ years of scientific heritage, combined with a track record of innovation and value-enhancing acquisitions, has enabled the company to build its product portfolio and expertise, and develop deep relationships with customers, industry partners and the global scientific community.  Join us and help us achieve our mission of Science for a Safer World! 

Our kit and component manufacturing sites are situated across the US (Middleton, Petaluma, and  Novato) and Europe (Berlin and Lystrup) and are underpinned by either ISO 13485 or ISO 9001 compliance. These capabilities support a wide portfolio of off-the-shelf components and kits critical to NGS workflows including magnetic beads, oligos, enzymes, and library prep kits. Additionally, our primary manufacturing capabilities enable customization and bulk (OEM) manufacture of reagents such as key NGS enzymes for high volume applications.

The Lab Service Technician II is responsible for delivering assigned sequencing and probe projects on time and to quality control (QC) and client standards. This role will follow designated work instructions and operating procedures to effectively design, synthesize, and validate probes and libraries for a variety of technical workflows, including whole-genome (WGS), skim, Flex-seq, and Capture-seq. Due to the custom nature of these projects, the Lab Technician II must be able to partner effectively with other operational functions to achieve designated project goals and deliverables.

• In collaboration with Project Management, perform sample processing that meets the demands of designated project goals
• Log samples to LIMS and other IT infrastructure, update databases to ensure effective tracking of sample processing
• Partner with the Extraction team to ensure effective delivery of extracted material; extract DNA from, and perform QC processes on, samples where required
• Ensure that DNA is of a size and concentration suitable for library preparation and bring together projects using appropriate methods (e.g. shearing, segmentation)
• Build barcoded libraries for assigned technical workflows, using a variety of methods such as end-repair/A-tailing and tagmentation
• Prepare pools, including consolidation of prepared libraries and verification of pool quality
• Synthesize and perform quality control processes on new probe panels, including validation of their effectiveness, for various technical workflows
• Use customized probes to perform designated operational processes on libraries
• Propose improvements to processes and operations resulting in optimized project outcomes; implement process improvements as approved by functional management Partner with Project Management and designated Process Leads to ensure appropriate prioritization of sample processing and sequencing
• Store client DNA and libraries in an organized and rational manner
• Contribute to an effective, safe, and clean lab environment through various support activities

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a life sciences field of study (e.g. molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry)—or equivalent combination of relevant education and applicable work experience
• 1-2 years lab experience utilizing molecular biological techniques, ideally in NGS library prep
• Experience in the extraction and quantification of nucleic acids, PCR, or in effectively performing other, simple, molecular biological methods
• Prior experience in high-throughput commercial sequencing (NGS) labs
• Proven track record working as part of a cross-functional team
• Prior experience working with automated equipment
• A track record of reliable work attendance and performance
• Ability to follow standard operating procedures (SOP’s) and work instructions
• Working knowledge and proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Outlook, Word, and Excel

What we offer (US based-employees):

• Competitive compensation with strong bonus program
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits for employees and dependents
• FSA/HSA Pre-tax savings plans for health care, childcare, and elder care
• Deductible Buffer Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with matching employer contribution
• Company-paid short- and long- term disability, life insurance, and employee assistance program
• Flexible work options
• Pet Insurance for our furry friends
• Enhanced Parental leave of 8 additional weeks
• PTO that begins immediately
• Town Hall monthly meeting onsite/virtual, Cheer program where employees are recognized for outstanding work, Company wide social events, frequent catered lunches and much more!

LGC strongly believes that every job applicant and employee should be valued for their individual talents regardless of age, disability, race, color, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief. Short listing, interviewing and selection will always be carried out without regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status, color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, age, or trade union membership.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.