What does a senior laboratory associate do?
Senior laboratory associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior laboratory associate resumes:
- Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
- Subject matter specialist in (LOD, HPLC, UPLC, LOD, IR, TLC) technic.
- Create tracking system for HPLC columns allowing for improve traceability.
- Perform ELISA to quantitate cytokines/chemokines in patient samples used on the proprietary platform.
- Perform the batch matching (compensation) and QC and QA functions completely and accurately.
- Direct internal auditors that support ISO continuous improvement efforts.
- Provide technical expertise for customer support services as they respond to inquiries for various immunological assays for external and internal clients.
- Implement an in-house immunofluorescent and special chemistry department, including electrophoresis and fluorescent microscopy, resulting in lower overhead costs.
Senior laboratory associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Senior Laboratory Associates are proficient in Process Improvement, Lab Equipment, and Chemistry. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Laboratory Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Process Improvement, 21%
Plan and implement process improvements.
- Lab Equipment, 11%
Updated and purchased new lab equipment.
- Chemistry, 9%
Manage basic ad-hoc requests from Project Services Crossed trained with Medical Records, Chemistry, Urinalysis, and Lab Operation.
- Laboratory Equipment, 7%
Operate a variety of laboratory equipment during analysis according to cGMP guidelines.
- Clinical Laboratory, 6%
Designed and tested parameters on an ultra-high-speed cell sorting platform for use in a clinical laboratory.
- Lims, 5%
Utilized a laboratory information management system (LIMS) to ensure analysis was both suitable and complete according to specifications.
Most senior laboratory associates use their skills in "process improvement," "lab equipment," and "chemistry" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior laboratory associate responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior laboratory associate to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "environmental science and protection technicians must carry out a wide range of laboratory and field tests, and their results must be accurate and precise." Additionally, a senior laboratory associate resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "operate a variety of laboratory equipment during analysis according to cgmp guidelines. "
Interpersonal skills. Many senior laboratory associate duties rely on interpersonal skills. "environmental science and protection technicians need to work well and collaborate with others, because they often work with scientists and other technicians.," so a senior laboratory associate will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior laboratory associate responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "maintained excellent interpersonal skills, work independently and extensive as experience team player. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for senior laboratory associates to perform their duties. For an example of how senior laboratory associate responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "environmental science and protection technicians must have good listening and writing skills, because they must follow precise directions for sample collection and communicate their results effectively in written reports." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior laboratory associate: "performed multidisciplinary duties including customer communication, information management, assay integration, data analysis, and report preparation. ".
The three companies that hire the most senior laboratory associates are:
- Pwc67 senior laboratory associates jobs
- Parexel International3 senior laboratory associates jobs
- KPMG LLP2 senior laboratory associates jobs
Compare different senior laboratory associates
Senior laboratory associate vs. Medical technologist, generalist
A Medical Technologist Generalist performs day-to-day operations in the laboratory such as routine testing, quality control, and maintenance of instruments. They also develop, perform, and evaluate the accuracy of laboratory procedures.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior laboratory associates and medical technologist, generalist. For instance, senior laboratory associate responsibilities require skills such as "process improvement," "chemistry," "laboratory equipment," and "lims." Whereas a medical technologist, generalist is skilled in "patients," "hematology," "patient care," and "microbiology." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Medical technologists, generalist tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $60,952. In contrast, senior laboratory associates make the biggest average salary, $72,378, in the health care industry.medical technologists, generalist tend to reach lower levels of education than senior laboratory associates. In fact, medical technologists, generalist are 6.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior laboratory associate vs. Medical technologist
A medical technologist's role is to conduct laboratory tests with accuracy and speed. It is their responsibility to gather, prepare, and analyze samples such as blood, tissues, and bodily fluid. The produced results will be crucial to a patient's diagnosis and further treatments. It is also essential for medical technologists to keep a precise record of data and coordinate with fellow team members and physicians to ensure the fast and efficient delivery of results. Furthermore, a medical technologist can choose to work in different establishments such as a hospital, laboratory, or private clinic.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior laboratory associate resumes. While senior laboratory associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "process improvement," "chemistry," "laboratory equipment," and "lims," medical technologists use skills like "patients," "ascp," "customer service," and "patient care."
Medical technologists earn a lower average salary than senior laboratory associates. But medical technologists earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,453. Additionally, senior laboratory associates earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $72,378 annually.medical technologists earn lower levels of education than senior laboratory associates in general. They're 7.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior laboratory associates in the next 3-5 years?
Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D.
Department Head, Southeastern Louisiana University
Senior laboratory associate vs. Medical technologist-microbiology
A Medical Technologist-Microbiology helps in the detection and diagnosis of diseases and infections through appropriate laboratory analyses. They perform a wide range of virological, mycological, bacteriological, and parasitological tests to provide information on the causes and progress of diseases.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior laboratory associates are more likely to have skills like "process improvement," "laboratory equipment," "lims," and "data acquisition." But a medical technologist-microbiology is more likely to have skills like "ascp," "test results," "medical technology," and "specimen handling."
Medical technologist-microbiologies earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $55,220. Senior laboratory associates earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $72,378.Most medical technologist-microbiologies achieve a lower degree level compared to senior laboratory associates. For example, they're 7.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior laboratory associate vs. Medical technologist lead
A Medical Technologist Lead oversees the daily operational activities and functions of a clinical laboratory. They ensure quality patient care in accordance with established professional, regulatory, and governmental standards.
Types of senior laboratory associate
Updated January 8, 2025
