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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Veterinary Laboratory Manager

💰 $ - $

VeterinaryLaboratoryManagementDiagnostics

🎯 Role Definition

The Veterinary Laboratory Manager is responsible for day-to-day operational leadership of a veterinary diagnostic laboratory or veterinary clinical lab unit. This role ensures accurate, timely, and compliant diagnostic testing across disciplines (microbiology, virology, molecular diagnostics, serology, histopathology, parasitology) while managing laboratory personnel, budgets, equipment, quality systems, and customer relationships. The ideal candidate combines deep technical knowledge of veterinary diagnostics with proven supervisory experience, strong regulatory/quality acumen (AAVLD, ISO 17025, CAP as applicable), and a track-record of optimizing workflows and improving turnaround times.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Veterinary Technologist / Lead Laboratory Technologist with diagnostic testing experience
  • Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Medical Technologist specializing in veterinary diagnostics
  • Veterinary Diagnostic Specialist (e.g., microbiology, molecular biology, histology)

Advancement To:

  • Director of Diagnostic Services
  • Regional Laboratory Operations Manager
  • Head of Clinical Pathology or Head of Veterinary Diagnostics

Lateral Moves:

  • Quality Assurance / Quality Systems Manager (laboratory accreditation)
  • Research Laboratory Manager or Clinical Research Operations Manager
  • Regulatory Affairs Manager (veterinary diagnostics)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage all aspects of day-to-day laboratory operations for a veterinary diagnostic facility, including staffing, workflow prioritization, sample triage, and turnaround-time monitoring to ensure high-quality, timely results for clinicians and clients.
  • Oversee and continually improve the laboratory quality management system, including development, review, and enforcement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), nonconformance tracking, and internal audits to meet AAVLD and/or ISO 17025 requirements.
  • Lead recruitment, onboarding, training, performance evaluation, and professional development for laboratory personnel (technologists, technicians, histotechnicians, laboratory assistants), ensuring staffing levels and skill mix meet service demands.
  • Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and industry standards relevant to veterinary diagnostic laboratories, including biosafety, biosecurity, hazardous waste handling, animal specimen transport regulations, and record retention policies.
  • Direct assay validation and verification processes for new diagnostic tests and platforms, including designing validation protocols, statistical analysis of sensitivity/specificity, establishing performance characteristics, and documenting results for regulatory and QA records.
  • Supervise critical diagnostic disciplines—bacteriology, virology, molecular diagnostics (PCR/qPCR), serology (ELISA, IFA), histopathology, cytology, parasitology—ensuring methods are current, validated, and performed within established quality criteria.
  • Oversee laboratory information management system (LIMS) configuration, data integrity, test result workflow, electronic reporting, interfaces with EMR/Veterinary practice management systems, and ensure secure, auditable data handling.
  • Establish and manage inventory control and procurement strategies for reagents, consumables, and capital equipment to minimize stock-outs, control costs, and ensure uninterrupted testing capacity.
  • Coordinate preventive maintenance, calibration, qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) and troubleshooting of laboratory instrumentation and automation systems to ensure reliable performance and documentation for audits.
  • Implement and monitor quality control programs, proficiency testing participation, external quality assessment, and routine QC data review to detect trends, biases, or systematic issues and drive continuous improvement.
  • Serve as primary point of contact for accreditation and regulatory inspections/audits (AAVLD, ISO 17025, CAP), prepare audit materials, lead facility walk-throughs, and implement corrective actions as required.
  • Manage laboratory financials including budget planning, cost control, productivity metrics, billable testing volumes, pricing considerations, and capital expenditure justification.
  • Establish and maintain strong client and clinician relationships by managing client communications, interpreting test limitations, coordinating case consultations, and responding to escalations or technical inquiries.
  • Drive process improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, workflow redesign) to enhance productivity, reduce waste, shorten turnaround times, and improve overall customer satisfaction.
  • Coordinate biosafety and biosecurity programs, including risk assessments, PPE policies, spill response plans, vaccination programs, and staff training in containment practices for zoonotic agents.
  • Oversee specimen accessioning, chain-of-custody, and sample storage policies, ensuring sample integrity, correct labeling, and traceability from receipt through disposal or archival.
  • Prepare and present operational, quality, and performance metrics to senior leadership, identifying trends, resource needs, and recommendations to meet institutional goals.
  • Collaborate with veterinarians, pathologists, epidemiologists, and research teams to design diagnostic protocols, coordinate outbreak investigations, and support surveillance or public health reporting efforts.
  • Lead vendor selection, service agreement negotiation, and performance monitoring for third-party service providers such as reference labs, equipment service vendors, and reagent suppliers.
  • Maintain and expand training programs and competency assessments for technical staff, including proficiency checklists, continuing education, and documented competency evaluations.
  • Ensure appropriate waste management, decontamination procedures, and environmental controls in the laboratory to protect staff and animals and meet environmental health and safety standards.
  • Oversee data governance for laboratory-generated datasets, including secure transfer, storage, retention, and compliance with privacy/confidentiality policies.
  • Actively participate in cross-functional leadership meetings to align laboratory services with clinical demand, research initiatives, and institutional priorities.

Secondary Functions

  • Support development of laboratory marketing materials and service catalogs to promote diagnostic capabilities to referring veterinarians and institutional stakeholders.
  • Participate in grant proposals, research collaborations, or method-development projects that extend the laboratory’s diagnostic repertoire and service offerings.
  • Assist in the implementation and testing of new LIMS modules, reporting templates, and analytics dashboards to enhance operational transparency and decision-making.
  • Mentor junior staff in career development and provide technical training sessions or journal clubs to maintain high scientific standards.
  • Contribute to periodic competency reviews and external continuing education programs; represent the laboratory at industry conferences and professional societies.
  • Coordinate with IT and cybersecurity teams to ensure laboratory systems, interfaces, and digital records meet organizational standards for uptime and protection.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven expertise in veterinary diagnostic testing methodologies, including PCR/qPCR, real-time PCR, multiplex PCR, sequencing-based diagnostics, ELISA, immunoassays, culture techniques, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), microscopy, and histology staining.
  • Deep familiarity with laboratory quality systems and accreditation standards (AAVLD, ISO 17025, CAP), including proficiency in preparing for external audits and implementing CAPA.
  • Hands-on experience with LIMS administration and configuration, laboratory data workflows, interfacing LIMS with practice management or electronic medical record systems, and ensuring data integrity.
  • Competence in assay validation and verification processes: protocol design, statistical analysis of clinical sensitivity/specificity, limit of detection (LOD), reproducibility, and stability studies.
  • Strong knowledge of biosafety levels, containment practices for zoonotic pathogens, PPE protocols, biological risk assessments, and occupational health programs.
  • Technical familiarity with laboratory instrumentation: thermocyclers, automated extractors, sequencers, ELISA readers, refrigerated centrifuges, microscopes, cryostorage units, and routine calibration/maintenance procedures.
  • Experience with quality control programs, participation in proficiency testing, generation and interpretation of Levey-Jennings charts, and corrective action documentation.
  • Budget and resource management skills, including forecasting reagent usage, cost-per-test analysis, and capital equipment procurement justification.
  • Proficient in laboratory informatics and data analysis tools (Excel, statistical packages, basic scripting for data queries) and understanding of data governance and privacy in veterinary contexts.
  • Knowledge of specimen handling, cold-chain logistics, sample disposals, chain-of-custody protocols, and diagnostic shipping regulations for infectious agents.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people-management abilities with experience coaching technical teams, resolving performance issues, and building high-performing laboratory cultures.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interacting with clinicians, clients, regulatory bodies, and cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Customer service orientation and ability to translate complex diagnostic results into actionable clinical recommendations for veterinarians and owners.
  • Analytical problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and the ability to troubleshoot technical, workflow, and data quality issues.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance urgent diagnostic requests, routine workloads, and strategic initiatives.
  • Change management and project management capabilities to lead implementation of new systems, assays, or laboratory expansions.
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation skills for managing vendor relationships, staffing disputes, and budget constraints.
  • Adaptability and resilience working in fast-paced, high-stakes laboratory environments that handle infectious or critical animal health specimens.
  • Mentorship and training aptitude to develop staff technical competencies and professional growth.
  • Ethical judgment and commitment to safety, animal welfare, and regulatory compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Technology, Clinical Laboratory Science, Microbiology, Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related biomedical/science field; OR an Associate degree with equivalent hands-on diagnostic laboratory experience and relevant certifying credentials.

Preferred Education:

  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Master’s degree (MSc) or PhD in Veterinary Medicine, Clinical Pathology, Microbiology, Molecular Diagnostics, or related discipline.
  • Certification or credentials such as Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT/LVT), Clinical Laboratory Scientist (MLS), or specialized certifications in veterinary diagnostics and laboratory management are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
  • Clinical Laboratory Science / Medical Technology
  • Microbiology / Virology
  • Molecular Biology / Genetics
  • Pathobiology / Pathology
  • Animal Health Sciences
  • Laboratory Management / Quality Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10+ years of progressively responsible diagnostic laboratory experience, with at least 2–4 years in a supervisory or lead role.

Preferred:

  • 7+ years in veterinary diagnostic laboratory settings with demonstrated experience in laboratory operations, quality management, and regulatory accreditation (AAVLD/ISO 17025/CAP).
  • Proven track record implementing new assays, managing LIMS upgrades, and leading cross-functional teams to meet clinical and operational goals.
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