Research Operations Manager, Life Sciences

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The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth

C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

Job Summary:

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the Rowland Institute at Harvard seek a Research Operations Manager for Life Sciences to join a highly collaborative, multi‑disciplinary research community pushing the boundaries of experimental science. Reporting to the Executive Director of the Rowland Institute, the physical sciences Research Operations Manager will combine technical and experimental support, design and prototyping, with safety and research operations to enable cutting‑edge experimental science across physics, engineering, and materials research.

Based full‑time, four‑days a week, in the Northwest Building (52 Oxford Street) in Cambridge, MA, this individual will manage and continually improve shared life sciences laboratories and shared spaces, including a microscopy room, chemical room, tissue culture room, optics lab, DNA/protein area, and experimental lab spaces. The successful candidate will maintain and operate a diverse suite of advanced scientific instrumentation (e.g., microscopy, spectroscopy);

operate and modify custom experimental apparatus; and partner with Rowland Fellows and their research groups to translate ambitious ideas into reliable experimental setups.

In addition to overseeing shared facilities, the Research Operations Manager will serve as the Institute’s primary Laboratory Safety Officer (LSO) for the life sciences, working with Harvard Environmental Health & Safety to promote a strong culture of safety, compliance, and best practices. This role is ideal for a resourceful, organized, and self‑directed professional who enjoys solving practical problems, partnering with researchers on equipment and processes, and playing a central role in a world‑class experimental research environment.

• Manage all shared life science research facilities, including cell culture rooms, microscopy suites, animal facilities (fly, mouse, moth, etc.) and general wet labs.
• Oversee equipment inventory, schedule usage, and maintain functionality through preventive maintenance, internal repairs, or vendor coordination.
• Assist Executive Director with laboratory space design and transitions, including commissioning and decommissioning of research spaces.
• Provide comprehensive training to researchers on specialized life science equipment, lab etiquette/usage, and operational best practices.
• Oversee upcoming integration of chemical inventory into researcher’s daily routines, and oversee maintenance of this new inventory system after implementation.
• Assist…