Laboratory Manager

📣🧪 We're Hiring: Laboratory Manager

📍 Location: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

🕒 Employment Type: Full-Time

💼 Level: Mid-Level to Senior Management

🌐 About Us

We are a quality-driven organization committed to delivering reliable, accurate, timely, and scientifically sound laboratory services across the United Arab Emirates.

Our laboratory operations support testing, analysis, research, quality control, regulatory compliance, product development, and operational decision-making while maintaining strict standards for safety, data integrity, and technical competence.

We value scientific excellence, accuracy, integrity, safety, regulatory compliance, customer service, and continuous improvement .

🎯 The Role

We are seeking an experienced Laboratory Manager to lead laboratory operations, personnel, testing activities, equipment, quality systems, safety programs, and laboratory performance.

The successful candidate will ensure that laboratory activities are performed accurately, efficiently, safely, and in accordance with applicable ISO, GLP, GMP, regulatory, quality, and technical requirements .

This role is ideal for professionals with experience in laboratory management, analytical testing, quality control, research, diagnostics, environmental testing, pharmaceutical testing, food testing, chemical analysis, or other laboratory environments .

🚀 What You'll Do

• Develop and implement the laboratory's strategic and operational plans
• Manage daily laboratory operations and ensure effective service delivery
• Establish laboratory policies, procedures, work instructions, and technical standards
• Ensure laboratory activities comply with applicable regulatory, quality, safety, and accreditation requirements
• Manage laboratory workload, priorities, schedules, turnaround times, and capacity
• Establish appropriate testing, sampling, analytical, and reporting processes
• Ensure laboratory results are accurate, reliable, reproducible, and issued within agreed timelines
• Oversee chemical, physical, microbiological, biological, analytical, or other laboratory testing as applicable
• Review and approve laboratory results and reports within authorized responsibilities
• Ensure appropriate technical review and authorization of test results
• Manage sample receipt, registration, identification, storage, preparation, testing, retention, and disposal
• Establish controls to maintain sample integrity and traceability
• Monitor sample turnaround times and laboratory service-level performance
• Investigate delays, testing failures, sample discrepancies, and laboratory incidents
• Establish and monitor laboratory quality-control programs
• Ensure appropriate use of reference materials, control samples, blanks, standards, and proficiency-testing materials
• Monitor analytical performance and identify trends or abnormalities
• Investigate Out-of-Specification (OOS) , Out-of-Trend (OOT) , atypical, and invalid results where applicable
• Lead root-cause investigations into laboratory errors and non-conformities
• Implement and monitor CAPA activities
• Maintain complete and traceable laboratory records
• Ensure laboratory documentation meets applicable data-integrity requirements
• Promote ALCOA+ principles and appropriate controls over laboratory data
• Ensure electronic and paper records are secure, accurate, retrievable, and appropriately retained
• Manage laboratory information systems such as LIMS, ELN, CDS , and other laboratory technologies
• Ensure laboratory systems are appropriately configured, validated, maintained, and controlled
• Monitor user access, audit trails, electronic records, and system security
• Coordinate with IT and Quality teams on laboratory-system issues and improvements
• Manage laboratory equipment, instruments, facilities, and infrastructure
• Establish equipment qualification, calibration, preventive-maintenance, and repair programs
• Ensure equipment remains fit for purpose and within required calibration status
• Monitor equipment utilization, downtime, reliability, and replacement requirements
• Develop laboratory equipment-investment and capital-expenditure plans
• Evaluate new analytical technologies and instrumentation
• Manage laboratory reagents, chemicals, reference standards, consumables, media, and other supplies
• Establish appropriate purchasing, receipt, storage, labeling, expiry, and disposal controls
• Monitor laboratory inventory and prevent stock-outs of critical materials
• Manage laboratory facilities and environmental conditions
• Ensure appropriate temperature, humidity, ventilation, cleanliness, contamination control, and other environmental requirements
• Maintain appropriate controls for controlled substances, hazardous materials, biological materials, and other regulated laboratory materials where applicable
• Establish and enforce laboratory health, safety, and environmental procedures
• Conduct laboratory risk assessments and implement appropriate controls
• Ensure staff use appropriate PPE and follow laboratory safety requirements
• Manage chemical, biological, radioactive, and other hazards as applicable to the laboratory
• Ensure appropriate waste segregation, storage, treatment, and disposal
• Investigate laboratory accidents, incidents, exposures, and near misses
• Implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Maintain emergency-response and laboratory business-continuity procedures
• Prepare the laboratory for operational disruptions and equipment failures
• Manage internal and external quality-control programs
• Coordinate participation in proficiency testing and interlaboratory comparison programs
• Monitor proficiency-testing performance and implement corrective action when necessary
• Maintain laboratory accreditation requirements where applicable
• Prepare for and support external accreditation assessments
• Manage corrective actions arising from accreditation assessments and regulatory inspections
• Maintain compliance with relevant ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 15189, GLP, GMP , or other applicable standards

🔬 Laboratory Areas

Depending on the organization's industry, the Laboratory Manager may oversee:

• Analytical chemistry
• Microbiology
• Molecular biology
• Pharmaceutical testing
• Quality-control testing
• Environmental testing
• Food and beverage testing
• Water testing
• Materials testing
• Clinical or diagnostic testing
• Research and development
• Stability testing
• Method development
• Method validation and verification
• Sample management
• Instrumentation and analytical systems
• External laboratory services

🧪 Laboratory Quality & Accreditation

The successful candidate may be responsible for maintaining compliance with applicable standards such as:

• ISO/IEC 17025
• ISO 15189
• GLP
• GMP
• ISO 9001
• Applicable UAE regulatory requirements
• Relevant industry-specific technical standards
• Customer and contractual testing requirements

🇦🇪 UAE Regulatory Environment

The successful candidate should understand the UAE regulatory and accreditation landscape relevant to the laboratory's activities.

Depending on the laboratory's sector, experience with organizations such as Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC), Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Municipality, Department of Health Abu Dhabi , or other applicable authorities and accreditation bodies is an advantage.

✅ What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Medical Laboratory Science , or a related scientific discipline
• 7–12+ years of laboratory experience , including significant laboratory-management responsibility
• Proven experience managing laboratory operations, personnel, equipment, testing, and quality systems
• Strong understanding of laboratory quality management and technical requirements
• Experience with laboratory investigations, OOS/OOT results, deviations, CAPA, and quality improvement
• Strong knowledge of laboratory safety and data-integrity principles
• Experience managing laboratory budgets, resources, suppliers, and external laboratories
• Excellent analytical, organizational, leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Strong understanding of the UAE laboratory and regulatory environment is highly desirable

🌟 Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in a relevant scientific, pharmaceutical, engineering, or laboratory discipline
• Professional certification or qualification in laboratory management, quality management, or technical specialization
• Experience managing an ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 15189-accredited laboratory
• Lead Auditor or Internal Auditor qualification is an advantage
• Strong knowledge of LIMS, ELN, CDS , laboratory automation, and digital laboratory systems
• Experience with analytical instruments such as HPLC, GC, ICP, LC-MS, GC-MS, UV-Vis, FTIR , or relevant industry-specific equipment
• Experience with method validation, verification, transfer, and uncertainty-of-measurement principles
• Knowledge of laboratory proficiency testing and interlaboratory comparison programs
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, laboratory automation, or operational excellence
• Previous experience working across the UAE and GCC is highly desirable
• Experience in pharmaceutical, healthcare, food, environmental, chemical, manufacturing, or testing-service organizations is an advantage
• Fluency in English is required; Arabic is an advantage

🌟 What We Offer

• Full-time position based in the United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪
• Competitive salary and performance-based incentives
• Opportunity to lead a modern laboratory operation
• Exposure to advanced analytical technologies and laboratory digitalization
• Collaboration with Quality, R&D, Manufacturing, Regulatory, Engineering, and senior leadership
• Professional development and technical leadership opportunities
• Scientifically rigorous and safety-focused working environment
• Leadership and career development opportunities
• Comprehensive benefits package