Operations Lead
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 12, 2026. First seen by Alion on Nov 12, 2026.
Who are we?
Founded in the heart of Kendall Square in 2013, LabCentral is a network of shared laboratory spaces and scientific communities that serve as a launchpad for high-potential life-sciences and biotech start-ups. We deliver first-class facility and operational support, skilled laboratory personnel, and an expansive events program designed to add value to the community and promote connectivity- as well as the other critical services and support that early-stage companies need to begin start-up operations.
What is the role?
Are you passionate about helping to create the next generation of powerhouse biotech companies? Is your superpower leading teams to be effective, successful, and fulfilled? Do you embrace things that pop-up in your work and enjoy the challenge of finding solutions to meet client needs? If so, this might be the right role for you!
LabCentral is hiring an Operations Lead that will be split between two Harvard locations in Boston, MA. This role will be 50% at the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab, 50% at the Blavatnik Life Lab Longwood and will report directly to the Associate Director, Partner Sites. You will be a strong fit for this role if you have 2-3 years managing operations and understand how to deliver value to a community, build teams, and oversee the development of operational processes and site policies. Bonus points if you have experience working at a startup.
What will I do?
Core Responsibilities
Your day-to-day is focused on ensuring that both sites are operating well, residents are happy, and the team is successful. Every day is different, so flexibility and responsiveness are key!
- Operational Support
- Oversee or execute efficient workflows and practices for daily operations and resident on and off-boarding
- Strategically plan programming and events that foster venture growth and community building
- Support the i-Lab in the execution of the annual President’s Innovation Challenge
- Manage operations budget and billing of rent and membership fees
- Backup and support the front desk, café, shipping and receiving, and other operations functions as needed
- Space and Pipeline Management
- Work together with, and support, the Life Lab ventures from first engagement, through Selection Committee, legal documentation, move in, and eventual move out
- Coordinate Selection Committee meetings with various high-profile stakeholders
- Collaborate with members of the Harvard Marketing team and proactively engage with entrepreneurs in the Harvard ecosystem to build a pipeline of future Life Lab ventures
- Provide facility tours to public and VIP guests
- Other responsibilities as needed and appropriate to support the team and our residents
Your success will be guided and determined by many things, including some metrics included below:
- Working in partnership with the Site Heads to create a NPS score from residents along with strong attendance and participation numbers in community events
- Operational continuity of the site - e.g. on-going and anticipatory maintenance, short down time for service interruptions, adherence to safety protocols
- Feedback from Harvard partners
You’re not expected to hold all the below qualifications, however, the ideal candidate will possess many of the below:
What will I bring?
Desired qualifications:
- 2-3 years of experience managing operations
- Ability to work on location in Boston, MA and travel between sites
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Outlook
- Find ease in learning new technology and software
- Ability to manage a budget
- Experience with startups and customer service is a plus
Desired competencies and behaviors:
- Ability to delegate responsibility, work with others, and coach them to develop their capabilities
- Attention to detail and design in content creation
- Strong professional correspondence
- Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines in ambiguous situations
- Natural ability to build relationships with colleagues, residents, and vendors
- Strong communication skills including the ability to handle challenging customer service situations in a productive way
- Proactive about utilizing feedback from team and residents to improve self and/or organizational effectiveness
- Takes charge of a group when it is necessary to facilitate change, overcome an impasse, face issues, or ensure that decisions are made, even with difficult or ambiguous situations
- Curiosity to learn about the LabCentral community and ecosystem
- Personal desire to build skills and grow, especially by learning LabCentral’s systems and organizational processes
Work environment:
- Fully onsite in Boston, MA and with travel between sites
- Ability to sit for long periods, ability to move around an office environment, and ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand
- Ability to lift and carry a minimum of 25 pounds
What do we offer?
Benefits:
- Fully Covered Medical and Dental Premiums: We have you and your dependents covered, including deductible costs.
- Long and Short-Term Disability & Life Insurance: Life can be unexpected; we’ve got your back.
- Flexible Vacation: Enjoy the flexibility to take the time you need.
- Three Months Fully Paid Parental Leave: We’ll help support you during life's important moments.
- 401K Match Up to 6% with Immediate Vestment: Know your future is secure with our 401K match.
- Transportation Reimbursements: We'll cover commuting costs for a parking pass, MBTA, or bike maintenance to help ease your commute.
- Health & Wellness: Relax and enjoy reimbursements for fitness, yoga, massage therapy, and other holistic health practices.
- Technology Stipend: To ensure you stay connected, we offer a monthly cell phone stipend as well as yearly reimbursements for cell phone repairs.
- Professional Growth: We offer a stipend for continuing education and training to invest in your career growth, and we help ease the burden of student loans by providing reimbursement.
- Fantastic Work Environment:Be inspired by colleagues and residents, and work in vibrant spaces that are stocked with a variety of snacks. Plus, we offer in-house programming on thought-provoking and diverse topics!
Compensation
Our compensation philosophy is intentional and researched to align with average market salaries; comprehensive, generous benefits to support overall well-being; and parity with our existing and future team members. Below details the value of what our compensation package may look like, but specific details pertaining to an individual will vary.
Salary range: $57-74k along with the potential to earn a bonus of 8% based on company performance.
Approximate monetary value of benefits (based off an individual - dependents increase value): $22,000.
About Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab
The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is a wet laboratory with co-working space for early-stage, high-potential biotech and life science start-ups founded by Harvard students, alumni, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. Our state of the art, 15,000-square foot facility is located on Harvard Business School’s Allston campus and features a fully-equipped permitted wet laboratory and collaborative co-working space. The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab was made possible by the support and generosity of Judy and Stephen Pagliuca. The Life Lab is operated in partnership with LabCentral.
About Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab Longwwod
The Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab Longwood will be a collaborative workspace for early-stage, high-potential biotech and life sciences start-ups founded by Harvard students, alumni, postdoctoral scholars and faculty. The planned 15,000-square-foot lab will be located on the HMS campus, in the heart of the Longwood Medical Area. Building on the success of the pioneering Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab in Allston, this new lab will offer the Longwood community a closer, more convenient location under the same infrastructure and governance. It will provide users with diverse resources, including business building, industry-specific programming and expert advisors and mentors.
Equal Opportunity Employer
LabCentral is committed to building teams that reflect the fabric of the city around us. We welcome all candidates regardless of race, color, ancestry, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, Veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Any other human expressions and experiences not mentioned here are equally welcome. If you require an accommodation, please let us know. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.