Lead Laboratory Systems Specialist

Title: Lead Laboratory Systems Specialist

Location: Slough

Visa and Relocation support is offered with this role.

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

The role:

The role of a Lead Laboratory Systems Specialist is to lead the development and implementation of robust Lab/digital infrastructure within our R&D laboratories. This is pivotal in enabling efficient, automated data exchange between laboratory instruments and enterprise informatics systems such as Electronic Lab notebooks (ELN)s, Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and other relevant data setups.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of lab environments, automation systems and industrial IT/OT architectures, bridging the gap between scientific users, automation engineers, and IT teams.

Be willing to travel within the UK and Europe, accounting for approximately 10% of working time!

Key responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and validate automated workflows for key assays, processes, and screening campaigns, primarily on liquid handlers in the field, cell culture process development, and analytics.

• Program and maintain lab automation platforms, troubleshooting equipment failures and coordinating with vendors for maintenance and service.

• Work closely with laboratory scientists, bioinformatics, IT teams, and other collaborators to grasp their challenges and needs, and suggest or implement suitable solutions.

• Support scale-up and tech transfer of automated workflows to operational areas or QC environments outside of R&D when needed.

• Supervise the installation, validation, and qualification of equipment to ensure performance meets rigorous standards.

• Participate in required Lonza training programs.

Key requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Experience in a similar IT/OT integration or lab informatics/digitalisation role within biotech, pharma, or CDMO environment.

• Proven hands-on experience integrating lab instruments with ELNs, LIMS, Scientific Data Management System (SDMS), or other data systems.

• Proficiency with data integration technologies and protocols: OPC UA, MQTT, REST/SOAP APIs, SQL, Python, etc.

• Familiarity with lab automation platforms (e.g., Tecan, Hamilton, Agilent, Beckman, Sartorius) and related data workflows.

• Good understanding of GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, data integrity principles, and validated environments is a plus.

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.