Sr. Lab Operations Manager - Sterilization

Job description

The name Sotera Health was inspired by Soteria, the Greek goddess of safety, and reflects the Company’s unwavering commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health®. Sotera Health Company is a leading global provider of mission-critical sterilization and lab testing and advisory services for the healthcare industry. With a combined tenure across our businesses of nearly 200 years and our industry recognized scientific and technological expertise, we help to ensure the safety of millions of patients and healthcare practitioners around the world every year. Across our 64 facilities worldwide, we have over 3,000 employees who are dedicated to safety and quality. We are a trusted partner to more than 5,800 customers in over 50 countries, including more than 40 of the top 50 medical device companies and 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies. Position Summary Nelson Labs is seeking a highly strategic and technically strong Senior Lab Operations Manager (Sr. LOM) to lead our Sterilization team within the Quality Assurance organization. This team focuses on sterilization validation services, specifically Ethylene Oxide (EO) and steam sterilization validations for medical device and pharmaceutical products. The Sr. LOM will oversee approximately 16 employees, including 3–4 direct reports, and will play a key role in driving operational growth, technical excellence, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement initiatives. This role requires a leader with strong validation and operational experience who can strategically grow the business, improve efficiencies, and strengthen technical capabilities within the department. Key Responsibilities Operational & Technical Leadership Lead daily operations for the Sterilization department Oversee sterilization validation activities including EO and steam sterilization programs Drive operational efficiency, turnaround time improvements, and production performance Provide technical leadership in sterilization validation processes and regulatory compliance Ensure laboratory resources, staffing, and workflows are optimized to support business needs Strategic Growth & Business Partnership Support departmental growth initiatives and expansion opportunities Partner with Sales, Consulting, and Operations teams to enhance customer service offerings Contribute to operational strategy and long-term planning initiatives Drive operational excellence and process improvement efforts Team Leadership & Development Lead and mentor direct reports and laboratory personnel Support employee development, succession planning, and performance management Foster a collaborative, accountable, and customer-focused culture Guide training program development to support technical competency and business continuity Quality & Compliance Ensure compliance with GMP, GLP, ISO, and company quality standards Maintain focus on regulatory readiness, procedural adherence, and data integrity Partner with Quality Assurance to address quality trends and corrective actions Cross-Functional Collaboration Work collaboratively across departments to support customer delivery and operational alignment Serve as a change advocate during organizational and operational initiatives Qualifications Required Experience Minimum 5 years of experience in: Laboratory operations Manufacturing or validation-focused operations Leadership within regulated industries Strong microbiology knowledge required Hands-on laboratory experience required Validation experience required, including: Equipment validation Facility validation Experience in sterilization validation environments strongly preferred Preferred Background Strong candidates may come from: Sterilization facilities Medical device manufacturing Validation-focused operations Manufacturing leadership environments Experience with the following is highly preferred: Ethylene Oxide (EO) sterilization Steam sterilization Sterility assurance programs Education Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in: Biology Microbiology Related scientific discipline Sotera Health goes to market through its three best-in-class businesses – Sterigenics®, Nordion® and Nelson Labs®. Sterigenics is a leading global provider of outsourced terminal sterilization and irradiation services for the medical device, pharmaceutical, food safety and advanced applications markets. Nordion is the leading global provider of Co-60 and gamma irradiators, which are key components to the gamma sterilization process. Nelson Labs is a global leader in outsourced microbiological and analytical chemistry testing and advisory services for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.