THE LAB & CO

Lab Manager- Start Up

The Lab Manager oversees day-to-day laboratory operations, ensuring that all equipment, materials, and processes support high-quality pilot-scale batch production in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. This role owns lab equipment, ingredient inventory, and pilot manufacturing workflows while serving as a critical quality bridge between internal R&D and co-manufacturing partners. The Lab Manager plays a hands-on role on the lab floor and at co-manufacturing sites to ensure every pouch meets rigorous quality standards and to help shape quality systems at a brand that is redefining the pouch industry.

Responsibilities

• Own the daily operation, maintenance, calibration, and troubleshooting of all lab equipment, including mixers, balances, moisture analyzers, particle size analyzers, and related instrumentation.
• Build, implement, and maintain equipment maintenance schedules, calibration logs, and service records in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) requirements.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date inventory of raw materials, ingredients, and lab consumables to support ongoing R&D and pilot production.
• Coordinate and submit purchasing requests for lab-scale raw materials in partnership with the procurement function to ensure timely availability of supplies.
• Execute pilot-scale batch manufacturing according to established formulas, batch records, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Document all batch production activities, including process steps, deviations, and observations, in batch records with a high degree of accuracy and completeness.
• Manage and optimize day-to-day laboratory activities to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant operations.
• Perform and oversee analytical testing and quality control activities to verify that products meet defined specifications and quality standards.
• Operate and support pouch machinery and related equipment to drive product development and pilot-scale production.
• Act as a quality liaison between internal R&D teams and co-manufacturing partners, helping to establish and maintain strong co-man relationships.
• Support the development, refinement, and implementation of lab systems, quality processes, and documentation aligned with GMP and quality system requirements.
• Travel as needed to co-manufacturing sites to oversee pilot production, troubleshoot issues, and ensure consistent quality standards (estimated 10–25% travel).
• Contribute to a high-performance, results-driven culture by proactively identifying process improvements and ensuring that lab operations support timely, high-quality product launches.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related technical field.
• 3–5 years of experience in a laboratory, quality, or manufacturing environment within consumer packaged goods (CPG), nutraceutical, tobacco/nicotine, or pharmaceutical industries.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience operating and troubleshooting manufacturing or lab-scale equipment.
• Fluency in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and quality systems documentation.
• Strong knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and analytical testing in a laboratory environment.
• Experience in lab management and managing day-to-day laboratory activities.
• Experience running pilot-scale batch production and working with batch records and SOPs.
• Ability to perform quality control and analytical chemistry testing relevant to product development.
• Excellent organizational, record-keeping, and documentation skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability and willingness to travel to co-manufacturing sites approximately 10–25% of the time.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, hands-on environment with shifting priorities.
• Strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with internal R&D teams and external co-manufacturing partners.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with the full product development life cycle in a laboratory or manufacturing setting.
• Experience with oral pouch, nicotine pouch, smokeless tobacco, or similar oral product manufacturing.
• Familiarity with pouch filling and sealing machinery and working with co-manufacturers.
• Experience operating bench-top experimental setups and mix samplers for formulation and testing.
• Proven ability to shape and improve lab systems, quality processes, and documentation from the ground up.
• Comfort working in a high-growth, start-up environment where resourcefulness and adaptability are essential.
• A builder mindset with a desire to own outcomes and take real responsibility for lab operations, pilot production, and quality results.
• Motivation to contribute to a high-performance culture that is detail-focused and results-oriented.

Work Environment

The role is based in a laboratory environment within a small, collaborative team. The work schedule typically follows a Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. shift, supporting quality control, analytical chemistry, and pilot-scale production activities. The position is highly hands-on, with frequent time spent on the lab floor operating equipment and conducting experiments, as well as periodic travel (approximately 10–25%) to co-manufacturing sites. The environment emphasizes a high-performance, fast-moving culture where team members shape lab systems, quality processes, and co-manufacturing relationships from the ground up. The organization offers competitive, performance-aligned compensation with opportunities for equity and bonuses tied to meaningful outcomes, and provides the chance to contribute to a growing, cutting-edge company in the pouch industry.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Frankfort, KY.

The pay range for this position is $38.00 - $48.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Frankfort,KY.

This position is anticipated to close on Jun 19, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.