About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution that conducts curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc will fully fund Core Investigator's (PI's) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators.
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

With $650M in committed funding, the vision in the first 2-3 years is to grow from 60 people to a team of roughly 150 team members, with plans for further significant growth over the decade ahead.

About the position

Arc is searching for an experienced people manager to join as our Lab Operations Lead. We are looking for someone passionate about operational excellence, collaboration, and our mission. In this role, you will establish efficient research workflows (e.g. optimization of lab space functionality, lab personnel onboarding, equipment scheduling/training, safety), oversee shared lab spaces/facilities, and be a primary contact for Arc investigators and researchers regarding laboratory operations.

By actively identifying and facilitating operational excellence opportunities, you will lead a team and provide first-class support to Arc scientists working with other members of Arc's Lab Operations team, including the Head of Research Operations, and our Facilities Operations team. Additionally, you will facilitate lab transitions for new faculty hires to the Arc labs in Palo Alto, CA and act as a liaison between the research and operational teams.

In this position you will

• Lead daily lab operations and act as the primary interface for Arc lab heads and researchers
• Organize and scale Arc lab operations as we grow from 4 labs (~50 researchers total) to 15 labs (~200 researchers) over the next 4 years
• Manage a growing team of lab operations professionals responsible for lab-facing logistics and support services (e.g. procurement, shipping/receiving, stocking), oversee capital equipment (e.g. training, installation, and management), and manage external lab vendors
• Oversee smooth and efficient use of Arc lab space, including optimization of research workflows and shared space usage
• Partner with the internal facilities team on EH&S operations and compliance, including serving as a safety officer for relevant safety positions as needed
• Review and document scientific workflows. Standardize and share protocols internally
• Be the front face of onboarding for all lab members, including the evaluation and intake of incoming labs and their needs to ensure that things are set up from equipment and supplies to EH&S and instrument training
• Track and manage the budget for the lab operations team
• Apply a continuous improvement mindset to the Lab Operations Team, and implement technology or systems to further accelerate research and development

Requirements

• 5+ years of operational support experience in a wet and dry laboratory scientific setting.
• Experience in leading and directing a team with at least two direct reports.
• Strong understanding of research workflows in shared laboratories.
• Highly organized and detail oriented, with a drive to actively improve process and workflows.
• Goal oriented with passion for independently working through defined goals and metrics.
• Excellent communication skills with strong influence and negotiation skills.
• Highly collaborative with great enthusiasm for working across cross-functional teams.
• Able to calmly and positively navigate shifting priorities and rapid change in a growing organization.