Vice President – Food Testing Laboratory Operations (WISEcode Labs) at WISEcode in Kannapolis, North Carolina

Job description

• This role is for a position at WISEcode labs, WISEcode's sister company.
• --
• WISEcode Labs is entering a defining phase. The laboratory infrastructure, scientific leadership, and testing platform
• are firmly in place, and early customer success has validated both the technical capabilities and the service model.
• The company has strengthened its leadership team charged with sharpening the brand, deepening customer
• relationships, and in the process of translating differentiated capability into durable financial performance and
• growth.
• That commercial mandate depends on an equally strong operating counterpart. The next chapter requires a leader
• who can run the laboratory with precision: scaling utilization and throughput, protecting quality and turnaround time
• for key customer routine tests as non-negotiables, and building the systems, staffing model, and cadence that let a
• highly technical organization scale without losing what makes it distinctive. The VP of Operations will be the executive
• accountable for that repeatable and profitable operating system.
• A candidate with strong scientific fluency who can also credibly own method development, instrumentation expansion
• and R & D strategy alongside day-to-day operations is highly attractive.
• We are seeking a hands-on, technically fluent, data-driven operations leader who can build while operating: optimize
• daily execution, increase throughput and instrument utilization, staff planning and accountability, and develop leaders
• capable of sustaining performance as the laboratory expands. The leader will work closely with the CEO and
• leadership team to deliver operational excellence driven by KPIs and commercial outcomes.
• This leader will shape the operating model across sample receiving, scheduling, courier management for customers in
• 200 mile radius, testing execution, analysis, review, customer reporting, and continuous improvement. The leader will
• partner closely with leadership, quality and scientific team to deliver growth in our scientific capabilities and testing
• menu aligning with our strategy and our commitment to ISO 17025 discipline, data integrity, safety, and customer
• trust.
• Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the VP of Operations will lead end-to-end laboratory operations and serve as
• a core member of the executive leadership team. The role owns operating performance to deliver operational
• excellence KPIs, laboratory capacity, labor productivity, turnaround time, cost of service, diligent capital deployment,
• and the consistent execution of the company’s quality and safety requirements.
• The VP will translate commercial demand into an integrated operating plan; lead the laboratory team, supervisors, and
• technical staff; and establish the management routines, metrics, and problem-solving discipline required to scale.
• This is an onsite leadership role for an operator who is visible on the laboratory floor, close to customers and sales
• team, and equally comfortable with daily execution and multi-year growth strategy.

Responsibilities

• • Build a consistent operating cadence across the lab and develop a fact-based baseline of capacity, labor
• productivity, instrument utilization, retests, cost per test, courier logistics and customer metrics like turnaround
• time and quality.
• • Establish clear ownership and responsibilities across Operations, Quality, and R&D
• • Implement a daily and weekly operating process for lab team with defined KPIs connecting operational
• performance to commercial goals.
• • Identify the few constraints that most limit reliable throughput to deliver business goals and deliver an agreed
• improvement plan.
• • Ensure success of our customer portal adoption by coordinating with sales and the operating team.
• • Deep analysis of our current testing mix and growth opportunities for both external customers and our sister
• company WISEcode to ensure seamless execution as the operation scales to meet the growing needs of our
• customers.
• • Deliver targeted throughput, cost of sales & margin improvements, and aligned customer metrics like turnaround
• time performance, retests and other agreed business KPIs.
• • Build and execute a demand-and-capacity planning process that connects sales forecasts, sample mix, staffing,
• shifts, instrument availability, maintenance, and capital deployment.
• • Improve gross margin and operating leverage through higher utilization, labor productivity, workflow
• standardization, purchasing discipline, and better cost visibility—without compromising quality.
• • Strengthen and optimize the team bench through clear expectations, coaching, cross-training, succession
• planning, and rigorous performance management. Conduct quarterly reviews to evaluate performance against
• set goals and establish a performance management system along with the CEO and leadership team.
• • Execute Phase 2 of our customer portal integrated with the LIMS/QBench and ensure data integrity so workflow
• status, sample traceability, KPIs, and client commitments are visible and actionable.
• • Partner with Quality to sustain audit readiness, proficiency, method adherence, document control, CAPA
• effectiveness, and ISO/IEC 17025 compliance.
• • Establish a fully optimized operating platform capable of supporting materially higher sample volume and an
• expanded testing menu with consistent quality, service, and economics.
• • Institutionalize continuous improvement, establish talent density across the lab’s testing capability, and
• operational excellence consistently meeting set KPIs and commercial metrics.
• • Establish WISEcode Labs as a best-in-class laboratory operating partner for the food idustry —known for scientific
• integrity, responsiveness, reliable turnaround, and disciplined execution.
• End-to-End Laboratory Operations — Own daily execution from sample receiving through final report release;
• balance priorities across chemistry, microbiology, sample preparation, review, and client commitments.
• Establish clear service levels, production schedules, handoffs, escalation rules, and accountability for on-time
• delivery.
• • Quality, Compliance & Safety — Operate in close partnership with Quality while preserving appropriate
• independence of the quality function. Ensure work is performed to approved methods, SOPs, accreditation
• requirements, data-integrity standards, and customer expectations. Drive effective investigations, root-cause
• analysis, CAPA, competency, and audit readiness.
• • Capacity, Throughput, Courier Planning & Continuous Improvement — Model demand, capacity, constraints,
• and staffing by workflow and instrument. Improve cycle time, first-pass yield, utilization, and flow using practical
• Lean problem solving. Courier logistics planning to optimize and profitably grow our service to customers in the
• 200 mile radius. Standardize repeatable work while protecting scientifically justified customization.
• • Commercial Performance & Operational Excellence— Own the operating plan and budget for laboratory
• operations. Partner with Finance to analyze cost per test, labor absorption, overtime, consumables,
• maintenance, rework, and margin by service line. Translate choices into operational excellence and measurable
• KPIs.
• • People Leadership & Organization — Build a strong layer of managers and supervisors; set expectations, coach
• performance, recognize excellence, and address gaps promptly. Develop workforce plans, career paths, training
• matrices, cross-training, and succession coverage for critical technical roles.
• • Systems, Data & Technology — Make our customer portal integrated with LIMS/QBench as an operating
• backbone for data provenance, sample traceability, scheduling, workflow control, inventory, KPI reporting, and
• client visibility. Improve data quality and eliminate shadow processes that obscure status or create risk.
• • Capital, Facilities & Business Continuity — Develop the laboratory capacity roadmap and execute based on
• business needs for instruments, automation, shifts, layout, utilities, and facilities. Ensure preventive
• maintenance, calibration, qualification, redundancy, inventory resilience, and contingency plans support
• uninterrupted service.
• • Customer & Commercial Partnership — Partner with Sales and Business Development team on feasibility,
• scope, onboarding, pricing inputs, promised turnaround times, and major-account reviews. Personally lead
• operational excellence through KPIs and turn lessons learned into systemic improvement.
• • Innovation & Scale-Up — Partner with leadership and R&D staff to transfer new methods into routine production
• with defined validation, training, capacity, cost, quality controls, and launch readiness. Govern the operational
• complexity introduced by menu expansion.

Requirements

• The ideal candidate is a laboratory operator and enterprise leader—not simply a technical expert. They combine
• urgency with control, know how to scale a regulated service operation, and create accountability without weakening
• scientific judgment or culture.
• • 10+ years of progressive leadership in analytical laboratory, testing, inspection, certification, contract research, and
• other high-throughput regulated technical-services environment; experience in food, beverage, dietary supplements,
• and consumer-products testing is strongly preferred.
• • Demonstrated responsibility for a laboratory operation or network with ownership of operational budget, margins,
• staffing, throughput, turnaround time, quality, and customer metrics based performance.
• • Track record of improving flow, capacity, utilization, labor productivity, service reliability, and operating margin using
• data and structured continuous improvement.
• • Working knowledge of testing in microbiology, analytical chemistry, nutrient testing in food, accreditations like ISO/IEC
• 17025, laboratory quality systems, method validation/verification, proficiency testing, CAPA, audit readiness, and
• relevant regulatory expectations.
• • Experience implementing or optimizing customer portal and LIMS and translating operational data into KPIs and action.
• • Good commercial acumen, including operating budgets, cost of sales, capital deployment, managing through KPIs, and
• capacity optimization.
• • Proven people leader who has built managers, raised performance standards, designed organizations, and led change in
• a technical workforce.
• • Credible with scientists, customers, auditors, and investors; able to simplify complexity, make timely decisions, and
• communicate directly.
• • Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, microbiology, food science, engineering, operations, or a related field required;
• advanced scientific degree is valued.
• Ownership and commercial mindset — Lab operations, quality, service, people, and economics as one
• integrated operating system.
• • Hands-on management — Observes the work, asks precise questions, and solves problems with the team.
• • Disciplined urgency — Moves quickly while maintaining controls, documentation, and scientific integrity.
• • Talent multiplier — Builds leaders and repeatable systems rather than becoming the permanent escalation point.
• • Customer centric — Understands that the report is the product and that responsiveness and transparency build
• trust.
• • Change management — Can sequence priorities, sustain follow-through, and lead a growing laboratory
• operations through rapid growth.

Skills

Required

• Laboratory operations management
• Data analysis and KPI reporting
• LIMS and customer portal implementation
• Lean problem solving
• Budget and cost management
• People leadership and development