Sample Manager Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.JOB DESCRIPTION:Global Product Leader, AlinIQ Sample Management (Indexor)

Location: Lake Forest, IL

WORKING AT ABBOTT:

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You'll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution.
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor's degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Global Product Leader to drive the strategy, innovation, and growth of the AlinIQ Sample Management (Indexor) portfolio.

As healthcare systems and laboratories face increasing testing volumes, workforce challenges, and demands for greater efficiency, effective sample management has become a critical component of laboratory operations. AlinIQ Sample Management enables laboratories to optimize specimen handling, tracking, storage, retrieval, retention, and disposal while ensuring complete sample traceability and operational excellence.

This highly visible leadership role will define the future of intelligent sample management by connecting laboratory workflows, automation systems, informatics platforms, and enterprise healthcare ecosystems. You will work closely with customers, commercial teams, R&D, and executive leadership to deliver innovative solutions that improve productivity, compliance, specimen integrity, and patient care.

WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON:

Product Strategy & Vision

• Define and communicate the product vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap for the AlinIQ Sample Management portfolio aligned with corporate growth objectives.
• Position AlinIQ Sample Management as a strategic component within Abbott's broader Digital Health and Laboratory Informatics ecosystem.
• Identify emerging market opportunities, customer needs, industry trends, and competitive dynamics in laboratory automation, specimen management, and workflow optimization.
• Develop business cases and prioritize investments based on customer value, operational impact, market potential, strategic fit, and financial return.
• Lead product portfolio planning, lifecycle management, platform expansion, and innovation initiatives.
• Evaluate strategic partnerships, technology integrations, and ecosystem opportunities that enhance product differentiation and customer value.

Product Development & Execution

• Partner with R&D, software engineering, operations, quality, regulatory, and commercial organizations to deliver innovative products and enhancements on time and within budget.
• Translate laboratory, biobank, pathology, and healthcare customer needs into clear product requirements and prioritized development roadmaps.
• Champion modern product management practices, including agile development, user-centered design, customer validation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive innovation in specimen tracking, digital chain of custody, sample inventory management, storage optimization, retrieval workflows, and laboratory automation.
• Define and monitor key performance indicators focused on customer adoption, operational efficiency, utilization, retention, and business outcomes.
• Support successful product launches and commercialization efforts in partnership with global marketing and commercial teams.

Customer & Market Leadership

• Serve as the voice of the customer, developing deep understanding of laboratory specimen management challenges and operational workflows.
• Engage directly with laboratory directors, pathologists, biobank leaders, operations managers, healthcare systems, and industry stakeholders to validate needs and future solutions.
• Leads partnership with marketing to drive strategic customer advisory boards, market research initiatives, and competitive assessments.
• Represent Abbott at industry conferences, customer engagements, and thought leadership forums focused on laboratory operations and informatics.
• Identify emerging trends in laboratory consolidation, automation, digital transformation, precision medicine, and biorepository management.

Sample Management Ecosystem Leadership

• Drive the vision and strategy for an integrated sample management ecosystem connecting automation systems, laboratory information systems (LIS), laboratory middleware, analyzers, and enterprise healthcare platforms.
• Advance digital specimen management capabilities across the entire sample lifecycle, from accessioning through storage, retrieval, retention, and disposal.
• Lead innovation in intelligent automation, workflow orchestration, predictive sample management, and analytics driven operational insights.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to deliver scalable, secure, and interoperable solutions.
• Ensure alignment with industry standards and best practices related to specimen integrity, traceability, compliance, and quality management.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, and customer-centricity.
• Influence and align cross-functional global teams to achieve shared objectives and strategic priorities.
• Mentor product management talent and strengthen organizational product leadership capabilities.
• Promote a high-performance culture focused on execution excellence, continuous learning, and customer outcomes.

Business & Financial Management

• Develop and execute product portfolio business plans, forecasts, investment strategies, and performance measures.
• Manage product investment priorities and support annual strategic planning processes.
• Monitor business performance, customer adoption, market growth, portfolio profitability, and return on investment.
• Present recommendations, growth opportunities, and progress updates to senior leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Support strategic decisions regarding platform expansion, partnership opportunities, acquisitions, and emerging technologies.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, Healthcare Informatics, Business, or related field.
• 10+ years of product management, product strategy, or portfolio management experience.
• Proven success leading global software, healthcare IT, diagnostics, laboratory informatics, or digital health product portfolios.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and lead complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience developing business cases, growth strategies, and investment plans.
• Experience launching and scaling enterprise software or healthcare technology solutions globally.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD, or equivalent).
• Experience in laboratory diagnostics, healthcare informatics, middleware, LIS, or enterprise healthcare systems.
• Expertise in SaaS platforms, cloud technologies, digital ecosystems, and platform product management.
• Knowledge of AI/ML-enabled healthcare solutions and workflow automation technologies.
• Experience working with global regulatory environments and healthcare interoperability standards.
• Strong understanding of healthcare data integration, analytics, and cybersecurity principles.
• End-to-end laboratory workflows including specimen tracking, test ordering, workflow orchestration, technical validation, clinical validation, quality management, reporting, and operational analytics.
• Laboratory automation solutions, intelligent rules engines, workflow optimization, and AI-driven decision support.
• Technical and semantic interoperability among analyzers, automation systems, laboratory information systems (LIS), middleware, electronic health records (EHR/EMR), and enterprise healthcare platforms.
• Healthcare integration standards including HL7, FHIR, IHE, and API-based architectures.
• Experience in end-to-end specimen lifecycle management, including accessioning, sample tracking, chain of custody, storage, retrieval, retention, archival, and disposal.
• Experience in laboratory inventory management, specimen logistics, storage optimization, and workflow orchestration.
• Experience in Sample integrity management, compliance workflows, quality assurance, auditability, and operational governance.
• Experience in Biobank, pathology archive, research repository, and clinical laboratory sample management practices.

APPLY NOW:

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: https://abbottbenefits.com/

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

Connect with us at abbott.com, on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AbbottCareers.

The base pay for this position is

$149,300.00 - $298,700.00

In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

JOB FAMILY:Product ManagementDIVISION:CRLB Core LabLOCATION:United States > Lake Forest : CP01ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS:WORK SHIFT:StandardTRAVEL:Yes, 15 % of the TimeMEDICAL SURVEILLANCE:Not ApplicableSIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES:Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day)Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Women/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans.EEO is the Law link - English: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_English.pdfEEO is the Law link - Espanol: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_Spanish.pdf