Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Xenobiology Program Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Xenobiology Program Coordinator is the central operational lead for multi-disciplinary research programs working on xeno-biochemical systems, synthetic biology, and nonstandard nucleic-acid research. This role combines program management, laboratory operations, regulatory oversight, and stakeholder communication to ensure experiments, procurement, personnel training, and reporting progress smoothly and compliantly. The Coordinator supports principal investigators, ensures biosafety/biosecurity compliance, manages budgets and subcontractors, and serves as the primary liaison among internal teams, institutional review bodies, vendors, and external collaborators. Ideal candidates are organized, safety-minded, experienced with life-science lab operations and regulatory frameworks (IBC/IRB/IACUC), and comfortable translating technical needs into executable plans and documentation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Research Program Assistant or Laboratory Coordinator (biological sciences)
Safety & Compliance Specialist (biosafety/biosecurity)
Project Coordinator in biotech or academic research

Advancement To:

Senior Program Manager, Synthetic Biology/Xenobiology
Director of Research Operations
Head of Laboratory Safety & Compliance

Lateral Moves:

Regulatory Affairs Specialist (biotech)
Grants & Contracts Manager
Laboratory Operations Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and manage end-to-end program coordination for xenobiology projects, including planning timelines, managing deliverables, coordinating experimental workflows, and tracking milestones across multiple PIs and partner labs.
Develop, maintain, and enforce biosafety and biosecurity protocols specific to xenobiology activities; coordinate Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) submissions, amendments, and renewals and ensure timely institutional approvals.
Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local regulations relevant to xenobiology research (NIH Guidelines, Select Agent rules when applicable, CDC, USDA, DOT/IATA for transport of biological materials), and prepare documentation for audits and inspections.
Manage procurement and vendor relationships for specialized reagents, non-standard nucleic acid chemistries, and custom instrumentation; negotiate contracts, track orders, and ensure timely delivery while mitigating supply chain risks.
Oversee laboratory facilities operations including allocation of bench space, scheduling of shared equipment (e.g., sequencers, HPLCs), coordination of maintenance/calibrations, and management of service contracts to minimize downtime.
Coordinate and document safe handling, storage, and disposal of xenobiological materials; implement chain-of-custody procedures, waste segregation and autoclave/shipping protocols consistent with institutional EHS policies.
Serve as the primary point of contact for collaborators, vendors, and external partners—organize regular program meetings, prepare agendas, record minutes, and maintain action-item trackers to ensure accountability and progress.
Support grant and contract administration: prepare budget justifications, monitor expenditures, reconcile accounts, manage subcontractor scopes of work, and provide financial reports for PIs and sponsors.
Implement and maintain Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), electronic lab notebooks (ELN), and other data-management platforms to ensure secure, searchable, and auditable experimental records and sample metadata.
Develop, write, and update standard operating procedures (SOPs), risk assessments, and experimental protocols for xenobiology assays and workflows; coordinate training and competency assessments tied to those documents.
Coordinate personnel onboarding, training, and certifications specific to xenobiology projects (biosafety levels, radiation, chemical handling, instrument-specific training), and maintain training records for regulatory compliance.
Monitor program health through KPIs and metrics: milestone completion rates, budget burn-down, reagent inventory levels, equipment utilization, and incident reports; produce executive summaries and progress dashboards for stakeholders.
Facilitate ethical review processes where required—support IRB/IACUC submissions for experiments that have animal or human subject implications, ensuring proper documentation and follow-up actions.
Manage sample accessioning, labeling, inventory systems, and freezer management (cold chain logistics) including emergency contingency planning for power or equipment failures that threaten sample integrity.
Coordinate shipping and import/export of biological materials, receiving proper permits (e.g., USDA APHIS, CITES if applicable), classification of hazardous materials, and compliance with IATA and DOT regulations for international transfers.
Act as program-level safety officer: conduct periodic lab inspections, incident investigations, near-miss reporting, corrective actions, and communication of lessons learned to research teams.
Support technology transfer and IP activities by preparing technical documentation, assisting with material transfer agreements (MTAs), and coordinating sample handoffs to commercial partners or contract research organizations (CROs).
Facilitate cross-functional integration between computational biology/data science and wet lab teams: define data pipelines, metadata standards, and sample traceability to enable reproducible analysis and model training.
Prepare and deliver clear, compelling program updates, technical briefings, and presentations for internal leadership, funding agencies, advisory boards, and institutional stakeholders.
Coordinate procurement and validation of specialized personal protective equipment (PPE), biosafety cabinets, centrifuges, and other safety-critical equipment; track expiration and recertification schedules.
Contribute to experimental design reviews and pre-registration of protocols to ensure reproducibility, QA/QC criteria, and documentation sufficiency prior to experimental execution.
Manage project risks by maintaining a program-level risk register, performing mitigation planning, and escalating technical or regulatory issues to leadership when required.
Maintain visibility of emerging regulatory guidance, standards, and best practices for xenobiology and synthetic biology; recommend policy or process updates to leadership and institutional committees.
Coordinate outreach, training workshops, and internal seminars related to xenobiology methods, data standards, and biosafety practices to build organizational capability.
Supervise or coordinate work of junior lab staff, administrative assistants, and contractors; help set priorities, assign tasks, and evaluate performance for program-adjacent personnel.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist in manuscript and grant preparation by assembling methods appendices, figures for methods and materials, and compliance statements required by journals and funders.
Coordinate logistics for field sampling campaigns or specialized experiments outside main facilities, including site permissions, transport, chain-of-custody, and local compliance.
Maintain and improve program documentation libraries, knowledge bases, and onboarding materials to accelerate new team member productivity and reduce institutional risk.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program and project management (work breakdown structures, Gantt charts, milestone tracking, resource leveling) using tools like MS Project, Asana, or Jira.
Deep knowledge of biosafety and biosecurity frameworks (IBC processes, NIH Guidelines, BSL-2/3 operations, Select Agent awareness) and hands-on experience implementing them in a research setting.
Experience with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), electronic lab notebooks (ELN), sample tracking, and metadata standards to ensure traceability.
Regulatory documentation and compliance management (IBC/IRB/IACUC submissions, MTAs, import/export permits, IATA/DOT shipping classifications).
Budgeting, grant administration, and financial reconciliation for research programs; familiarity with fund accounting and sponsor reporting.
SOP, protocol, and risk assessment development with strong technical writing and documentation skills suitable for audits and regulatory review.
Vendor, procurement and contract management experience including RFPs, purchase orders, and managing subcontractor deliverables for specialized scientific services.
QA/QC and GLP/GMP-adjacent practices for reproducible experimental workflows and data integrity, including assay validation and instrument qualification.
Cold chain logistics and sample storage management (ultra-low freezers, LN2 systems) and contingency planning for sample protection.
Data interoperability and basic data analysis familiarity (Excel pivot tables, SQL, basic Python or R) to support program-level reporting and collaboration with computational teams.
Familiarity with lab equipment maintenance schedules, calibration records, and working with vendors for service-level agreements (SLAs).

Soft Skills

Exceptional written and verbal communication to translate technical information for diverse audiences including scientists, institutional regulators, and executive leadership.
Strong organization and time-management skills with demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and tight experimental timelines.
Problem-solving orientation with ability to anticipate operational bottlenecks and propose pragmatic mitigation strategies.
Collaborative team player who can build trust across scientific, safety, legal, and administrative stakeholders.
Attention to detail and commitment to documentation accuracy to ensure regulatory readiness and reproducibility.
Leadership presence and the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams without direct line authority.
Cultural sensitivity and discretion when handling sensitive research topics, proprietary data, and personnel issues.
Adaptability and comfort with fast-paced, evolving research agendas and ambiguous technical challenges.
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills for resolving vendor, collaborator, or internal resource disputes.
Mentoring and coaching aptitude to support development of junior staff and enrich institutional training programs.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, or related life-science discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree or higher in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Program Management, Public Health, or relevant technical field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Synthetic Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry
Regulatory Affairs, Biosafety, Public Health
Project Management or Research Operations

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–8+ years in research operations, laboratory coordination, or program management supporting life-science R&D.

Preferred:

6+ years managing complex academic or industry research programs with exposure to synthetic biology/xenobiology, biosafety compliance, and grant administration.
Prior experience coordinating multi-institutional collaborations, managing budgets in sponsored research environments, and supporting regulatory committee submissions.