About Oxia:
Oxia Therapeutics is pioneering a new class of medicine that reawakens the body's innate repair systems to restore health at the cellular level. We are a team of scientists and innovators dedicated to translating bold science into commercial products with significant beneficial societal impact. Our CEO is an experienced former Pfizer executive who built the business unit he was responsible for into a $2.5B portfolio. Our CFO has 40 years of experience in the life sciences industry.
Role summary:
This role combines lab operations management with hands-on experimental support. The Lab Operations Manager / Research Associate keeps Oxia's research lab running smoothly (ordering, inventory, vendors, logistics) and contributes directly to experiments (cell culture, molecular and protein assays) to advance Oxia's discovery and translational programs.
Importantly, this role owns the laboratory's procedural infrastructure. Oxia is at a stage where SOPs, methods, and documentation systems need to be designed and authored from scratch by someone with prior industry biotech experience. The Lab Operations Manager will write that infrastructure and maintain it as the company scales.
This is an onsite role, 5 days, in Houston, TX.
Key responsibilities:
SOP and method authorship — primary deliverable
• Author SOPs from scratch for routine lab operations, sample handling, equipment use and qualification, reagent and material management, data capture, and emergency procedures.
• Develop, document, and qualify laboratory methods (assays, protocols, workflows) for use across Oxia's discovery and translational research programs.
• Establish version control, document control, training records, and SOP review cycles so the procedural infrastructure remains current as the company grows.
• Build the laboratory's documentation discipline at a quality standard suitable for IND-supporting research and the regulatory expectations that follow.
Lab operations and logistics
• Oversee day-to-day lab operations, ensuring the lab is organized, stocked, and compliant with internal policies and safety practices.
• Maintain lab housekeeping standards, shared equipment schedules, and coordinate basic maintenance and service visits.
• Anticipate operational gaps and propose solutions before they affect program timelines.
Ordering, vendors, and inventory
• Manage end-to-end ordering of reagents, consumables, and small equipment, including quotes, purchase requests, and tracking.
• Maintain an accurate inventory system (locations, quantities, expiration dates) and proactively anticipate needs based on project plans.
• Coordinate with vendors to resolve delays, substitutions, returns, and service issues.
Receiving and materials management
• Receive and log all incoming shipments, verify against orders, and route materials promptly to appropriate storage (ambient, cold, frozen, hazardous).
• Label and organize reagents, consumables, and samples to support traceability and efficient lab workflows.
Finance coordination and documentation
• Work with the CFO and controller to ensure accurate coding of POs, invoices, and card charges to the correct projects and cost centers.
• Maintain documentation for purchases, service contracts, and recurring orders to support budgeting, forecasting, and audits.
Experimental and lab support
• Perform tissue culture, including thawing, expanding, maintaining, and freezing mammalian cell lines under sterile conditions.
• Run standard molecular biology assays such as RNA/DNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and quantitative RT-PCR.
• Execute protein assays including Western blotting (sample prep, SDS-PAGE, transfer, antibody incubations, detection).
• Support scientists with assay setup (reagent prep, plate setup, sample handling) and generate high-quality, reproducible data under supervision or following established SOPs.
• Assist with routine lab tasks such as buffer/media preparation, glassware and waste coordination, and monitoring of critical equipment (freezers, incubators, biosafety cabinets).
Required qualifications:
• Industry biotech experience is required. Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience in a small or fast-paced biotech or life-science company. Academic-only experience does not substitute for industry experience for this role. Candidates should be able to speak to industry-context lab operations — pace, documentation expectations, vendor relationships, regulatory awareness — that differ from academic lab work.
• SOP and method authorship — must be demonstrated. Candidates must have personally authored SOPs and laboratory methods at industry-quality standard, not only followed or revised inherited procedures. Applicants are expected to provide one or two representative examples of SOPs or methods they have personally written, with the application or at interview.
• Education. Bachelor's degree in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or a related life-science field. Advanced degree or equivalent industry experience is a plus but is not required.
• Required technical skills. Mammalian cell culture; RT-PCR or qPCR; Western blotting; routine protein and molecular assays.
• Lab operations experience in an industry setting. Prior experience with ordering, inventory, vendor coordination, or lab management in a biotech or pharmaceutical company. Comfort with the documentation, audit-readiness, and pace expectations of an industry lab.
• Organizational and communication skills. Strong organizational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and comfort working under time-sensitive, deadline-driven conditions. Ability to communicate clearly with scientists and finance/operations colleagues.
Preferred qualifications:
• Prior lab operations experience at an IND-stage biotech.
• Familiarity with electronic lab notebook (ELN) systems and laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
• Working knowledge of GLP or other quality-system frameworks at a level appropriate for early-stage biotech.
• Experience implementing inventory or document control systems at a small biotech.
What success looks like
• Within 90 days: Foundational SOPs and methods have been drafted for the lab's most critical operations. Document control and training systems are operational. The lab is consistently well-stocked, organized, and inspection-ready.
• Within 6 months: The lab's procedural infrastructure is in place across all routine operations. Experiments are rarely delayed due to logistics, and data generated by this role are reliable and reproducible.
• Within 12 months: Scientists spend more time on study design and data interpretation because day-to-day lab operations and routine assays are running smoothly in the background. The procedural infrastructure supports the company through its next-phase milestones.