Quality Assurance Officer - Health & Environmental Testing Laboratory

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Quality Assurance Officer

Opening Date:
August 18, 2026

Closing Date:
August 31, 2026

Job Class Code: 9248 Grade: 26 (Pro/Tech)

Salary: $56,264.00 - $78,998.40

Position Number:

Location:

Augusta

Currently, this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or STEM OPT extensions. This position allows for partial telework with management approval.

In this position, you will be responsible for assisting in the continuing development of the laboratory quality assurance program for the Clinical Microbiology Department, providing training, performing audits, investigating, and documenting performance issues, and evaluating the effectiveness of corrective actions to improve testing services as required by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), federal CDC, Maine CDC, and the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL).

You will carry out the duties as the U.S CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN) Laboratory Program Advisor. This is a leadership position requiring extensive interactions with private and federal entities such as hospital laboratories and the U.S CDC.

General duties include, but are not limited to, conducting periodic state-wide visits to hospital laboratories, and performing assessments of testing capability and capacity. This ensures that hospital laboratories are up to date on the most recent analytical methods used in the isolation and identification of agents of bioterrorism.

You will also ensure that the HETL possesses the analytical capability to test for agents of bioterrorism, to interact with the CDC and LRN laboratories and to ensure compliance with responsible sections of the Federal Select Agent Rules 7 C.F.R. Part 331:
Agriculture
· 9 C.F.R. Part 121:
Animals and Animal Products
· 42 C.F.R. Part 73:
Public Health.

• Oversight of quality assurance and quality control measures in the Clinical Microbiology section within HETL
• Review of CLIA guidelines to assure laboratory compliance
• Review of IQCP/QA/QC metrics for all standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Oversight of CLIA competencies and proficiencies to assure annual completion
• Preparation of all documents for CLIA inspections
• Developing and coordinating monthly QA Committee meetings with clinical and LRN Staff
• Developing and coordinating quarterly meetings with the Epi-Lab Work Group
• Managing non-conformance programs using quality notification forms and corrective action reports
• Coordination with the Laboratory Safety Officer and Biosafety Officer
• Partnering with the Maine CDC and state groups on emergency preparedness
• Managing and coordinating an outreach program with all Sentinel laboratories for sample submissions, workflows, and post-analytical processes for all patient testing
• Providing assessment and evaluation of Sentinel laboratory capability and capacity to facilitate LRN response
• Managing proficiency testing for CDC assessment of Maine's capability to monitor for biological agents of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

A Bachelors Degree in Medical Technology or chemical, physical, or directly related life science and six (6) years of clinical laboratory experience. Comparable experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.

• Professional certifications such as ASCP, MLT, or MT
• Knowledge or experience with federal laboratory accreditation programs such as CLIA or CAP
• Extensive technical knowledge of serology, bacteriology, virology, molecular, biology, and histology laboratory methods
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse group of internal and external partners

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is dedicated to promoting health, safety, resilience, and opportunity for Maine people. The Department provides health and social services to approximately a third of the State's population, including children, families, older Mainers, and individuals with disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders. The Department also promotes public health, operates two state…