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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Xenon Operations Manager

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Xenon Operations Manager leads day-to-day operations for xenon gas handling, storage, and distribution across R&D, production, or scientific installations. This role combines technical expertise in cryogenics and high-purity gas systems with vendor and inventory management, regulatory compliance, safety program ownership, and continuous improvement. The manager ensures uninterrupted supply to experiments or manufacturing, optimizes total cost of ownership, and scales operational processes while maintaining the highest quality and safety standards.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Operations Coordinator / Operations Analyst with laboratory or gas-handling exposure
  • Facilities Manager / Maintenance Supervisor with cryogenic or industrial gas experience
  • Chemical/Mechanical Engineer or Lab Manager supporting gas systems

Advancement To:

  • Senior Operations Manager, Noble Gases / Cryogenics
  • Director of Operations — Gas & Facilities
  • Head of Supply Chain or Head of Technical Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Supply Chain / Procurement Manager (specializing in gases and bulk materials)
  • Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Manager for hazardous materials
  • Quality Assurance Manager for critical materials and processes

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage end-to-end xenon supply chain operations, including forecasting demand, scheduling purchases, managing contracts with suppliers, coordinating transport logistics, and ensuring timely delivery to laboratories or production sites to prevent downtime.
  • Own inventory strategy and high-value xenon asset control: implement cycle counting, reconciliation procedures, secure storage protocols, and tamper-evident tracking for gas cylinders, storage vessels, and transfer lines.
  • Lead design, commissioning, and maintenance oversight for cryogenic and high-purity gas systems (cryostats, recovery loops, purifiers, vacuum systems), coordinating with engineering, vendors, and commissioning teams to meet performance and safety requirements.
  • Develop, maintain, and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Work Instructions for xenon handling, transfer operations, emergency response, and contamination control to preserve material purity and personnel safety.
  • Serve as the primary EHS owner for xenon operations: conduct hazard analyses, develop risk mitigation plans, implement ventilation and gas detection strategies, and ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations related to asphyxiants and pressurized gases.
  • Implement and monitor KPIs for availability, purity, cost per liter/kilogram, consumption variance, on-time delivery, and incident rates; present dashboards and data-driven recommendations to senior leadership.
  • Lead vendor qualification and performance management, negotiate supply and service contracts (price, lead times, service level agreements), manage vendor audits, and maintain alternative supplier strategies to mitigate single-source risks.
  • Plan and manage annual operations budgets and capital requests for gas-related equipment; optimize cost-of-goods, maintenance spend, and spare-parts inventory while preserving uptime and system integrity.
  • Coordinate transport and customs logistics for international procurement of xenon, ensuring hazardous materials shipping compliance, accurate documentation (MSDS/ SDS), and cross-border regulatory adherence for controlled substances.
  • Oversee xenon recovery and reclamation programs (on-site and vendor-based), maximizing material reuse, reducing waste, and improving sustainability metrics while ensuring recovered gas meets purity specifications.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma) to streamline xenon handling workflows, reduce cycle times for transfers and purifications, and increase first-pass yield for experiments or processes consuming xenon.
  • Manage cross-functional stakeholder communication with R&D scientists, production engineers, procurement, EHS, facilities, and quality teams to align operational timelines, material specifications, and experiment readiness.
  • Supervise, mentor, and develop the operations team (technicians, operators, shift leads): set performance expectations, coordinate training on cryogenic procedures and PPE, and support career development and succession planning.
  • Execute incident investigations and root-cause analyses for any operational failure, leak, contamination event, or safety incident; implement corrective and preventive actions and update related SOPs and training.
  • Ensure calibration, certification, and traceability of critical measurement tools (gas chromatography, mass spectrometers, pressure transducers, flow meters) used for xenon purity and inventory reconciliation.
  • Manage physical security and access control for high-value xenon storage and handling areas, liaising with security teams to control inventories and prevent unauthorized access or theft.
  • Coordinate preventive maintenance programs for compressors, pumps, cryocoolers, purifier beds, and gas-handling valves; define spare parts stocking strategies to support Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) targets.
  • Lead change control and configuration management for cryogenic and gas-handling infrastructure, evaluating impacts of modifications on purity, safety, and operations and ensuring proper documentation.
  • Prepare and present operational risk assessments, readiness reviews, and contingency plans for experiments or production ramp-ups that depend on xenon availability.
  • Drive quality control processes for xenon acceptance testing, certificate of analysis verification, and quarantine procedures for out-of-spec shipments to protect downstream experiments or production processes.

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.
  • Lead supplier development projects to improve xenon purity, packaging, and transport robustness through technical collaboration and joint improvement plans.
  • Support external audits and certifications (ISO, regulatory) by providing operational evidence, SOPs, and records related to xenon handling and EHS controls.
  • Manage interfaces with utilities and facilities for power, cooling, and vacuum systems critical to cryogenic operations, coordinating shutdown windows and contingency power plans.
  • Create and deliver training programs and competency assessments for site personnel who interact with xenon, including emergency response drills and safe transfer best practices.
  • Coordinate packaging and labeling improvements for cylinder and vessel handling to reduce damage, contamination risk, and shipping delays.
  • Provide subject-matter-expert input to R&D design reviews to ensure experimental setups are operationally supportable and meet long-term xenon handling constraints.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Cryogenic systems operation and maintenance (cryostats, cryocoolers, cold heads, vacuum systems)
  • High-purity gas handling, purification technologies, and gas recovery systems
  • Compressed gas cylinder and pressure vessel safety, ASME/ DOT regulations, and transport of dangerous goods (UN/ADR/IATA)
  • Gas analysis and purity testing (gas chromatography, residual gas analysis, mass spectrometry)
  • Inventory, asset tracking, and ERP systems experience (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite or similar)
  • Contract negotiation and vendor management for specialty gases and related services
  • Mechanical comprehension of gas distribution skids, piping, pressure relief, and isolation valves
  • Preventive maintenance planning, CMMS tools, and spare parts optimization
  • Incident investigation methodologies (5 Whys, RCA) and corrective action systems
  • Data-driven KPI development, dashboarding, and operational analytics (Excel, Power BI, Tableau)
  • Regulatory compliance familiarity (OSHA, EPA, local environmental and transport rules)
  • Change control and configuration management for technical systems

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management with experience building and coaching technical teams
  • Excellent stakeholder communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to synthesize technical and business constraints
  • Project management skills, including planning, risk management, and execution to deadlines
  • Negotiation and influencing skills when working with suppliers and internal customers
  • Attention to detail and process-orientation for SOP development and document control
  • Adaptability to fast-moving experimental or production environments and operational scale-up
  • Customer service orientation toward internal researchers and production units
  • Conflict resolution and decision-making under pressure during incidents or supply disruptions
  • Continuous improvement mindset, able to lead Lean/Six Sigma-style initiatives

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical), Physics, Materials Science, or a closely related scientific/technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Engineering, Applied Physics, Operations Management, or an MBA with technical concentration.
  • Certifications in Lean/Six Sigma, Project Management (PMP), or EHS certifications (e.g., NEBOSH, OSHA) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Chemical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Physics (experimental, applied)
  • Materials Science
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–12 years of progressive operations experience, with at least 3–5 years specifically managing gas handling, cryogenics, or laboratory/facility operations.

Preferred:

  • Prior hands-on experience managing xenon or other noble gas programs, high-value gas inventories, or cryogenic support for scientific experiments or semiconductor processes.
  • Demonstrated track record in vendor negotiations, supply chain risk mitigation, and budget ownership.
  • Experience with safety and regulatory compliance for compressed gases and hazardous materials, plus experience leading cross-functional technical teams.
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