Laboratory Manager Job Description

Salary Range

Varies by employer

Experience

5 years or more in a lab

Work Environment

University, hospital and industry labs

What Does a Laboratory Manager Do?

For scientists, students, and the safety office, laboratory managers ensure the smooth running of a lab's staff, budget and equipment. The job can be busy and, at times, political, since bench space, money and instrument time are often in short supply. Duties vary depending on whether the lab does university research, hospital testing or industrial quality control.

Also known as: Laboratory Supervisor, Chemical Instrumentation Manager

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Analytical Services Manager, Chemical Engineer Supervisor, Chemical Process Exploration Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Lab Manager (Laboratory Manager), Natural Sciences Manager, Research Administrator, Research and Development Director (R and D Director).

Laboratory Manager Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a laboratory manager include:

• Hire, schedule and evaluate lab technicians, research staff and student workers.
• Prepare the annual lab budget and approve purchases of supplies and capital equipment.
• Write and update standard operating procedures, then check that staff follow them.
• Lead safety inspections and correct findings before campus or regulatory audits.
• Negotiate service contracts and vendor pricing for the lab's major instruments.
• Allocate bench space, freezer space and instrument time among research groups.
• Review data quality, calibration records and sample custody files for testing work.
• Report spending, output and staffing needs to department heads or directors.
• Plan lab renovations and equipment moves with facilities and safety staff.
• Mentor supervisors and senior technicians on training, discipline and project planning.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a laboratory manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• A bachelor's or higher degree in a natural science
• Supervising and developing technical staff
• Budgeting and purchasing in Excel and the organization's finance system
• Chemical hygiene, biosafety and waste rules
• Quality systems and accreditation standards for testing labs
• Instrument know-how, from HPLC to mass spectrometry
• Negotiating with vendors and service engineers
• Fairness in settling disputes over space and equipment

Education and Training

BLS lists a bachelor's degree plus five years or more of related work experience as the typical route into natural sciences management. Most lab managers move up from technician or research staff posts, but some start out by running a shared instrument facility and taking on its budget. A master's or doctorate often helps in research-heavy settings.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of natural sciences managers to grow about 8 percent from 2025 to 2035. About 9,200 openings a year are expected across that group, which also takes in research directors at drug and chemical companies. That mix pushes the group's pay well above what most university lab managers earn, so read the figures here as a guide to industry pay more than campus pay.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Natural sciences managers.

Laboratory Manager Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Laboratory Managers

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Massachusetts ($267,290), Connecticut ($210,670), California ($210,230), New Jersey ($207,030), Washington ($182,480). Pay is lowest in Wyoming ($109,300), Indiana ($108,250), Hawaii ($107,810).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as natural sciences managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 100% use email every day
• 100% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 88% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 80% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
• 79% spend more than half the workday sitting
• 56% usually work more than 40 hours a week
• 44% have a lot of freedom to make decisions

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Laboratory Managers Use

Tools and equipment

• Color plotters
• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Liquid crystal display LCD video projectors
• Personal computers
• Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• R
• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Photoshop
• ESRI ArcGIS software
• IBM SPSS Statistics
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Project
• Microsoft SharePoint

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy analyzing problems and working with ideas as well as leading, persuading and making business decisions.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Science, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Writing.

Knowledge areas used most: Biology, English Language, Administration and Management, Computers and Electronics, Administrative.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 5 of 5, which means extensive preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

• Scrum Master job description
• Project Manager job description
• Data Scientist job description
• Machine Learning Engineer job description
• Biologist job description
• Technical Director job description
• Senior Technical Director job description
• Chemist job description

Applying for a Laboratory Manager Job

• Academic cover letter sample
• Resume or CV: which to send
• How to describe your work experience
• Job interview tips
• Interview thank-you note

The Job Explorer never charges candidates any money. If someone asks you to pay to apply for a laboratory manager job or to get hired, treat it as a warning sign.