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What does a senior laboratory specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted expert
Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D.
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Senior laboratory specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior laboratory specialist resumes:

  • Manage supply inventory and maintain cleanliness.
  • Experience as an ISO train auditor.
  • Maintain, calibrate, and troubleshot GC equipment in the polymerization methods.
  • Assist in monitoring and controlling the requirements of ISO 17025 and ISO 9001:2000.
  • Develop and validate HPLC methods to quantify the aerosolized drugs and their degradation products.
  • Execute and analyze tests in various areas including hematology, chemistry, immunology, histology and bacteriology culture analysis.
  • Provide technical expertise for customer support services as they respond to inquiries for various immunological assays for external and internal clients.
  • Perform HPLC, electrophoresis, and enzyme activity analysis.
  • Set rights, establishes directory structure, windows environment, and drive parameters.
  • Implement an in-house immunofluorescent and special chemistry department, including electrophoresis and fluorescent microscopy, resulting in lower overhead costs.

Senior laboratory specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Senior Laboratory Specialists are proficient in Technical Support, Test Results, and Lab Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Interpersonal skills, and Analytical skills.

We break down the percentage of Senior Laboratory Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Technical Support, 8%

    Provided technical support and agricultural information for purchasing, product development and international operations.

  • Test Results, 8%

    Recorded, collected data, prepared test results and summarized data with graphs.

  • Lab Equipment, 7%

    Performed daily maintenance and management of lab equipment and environment in a senior design lab of the electrical engineering department.

  • Cell Culture, 6%

    Received cross-training in PCR LAB and Cell culture laboratories to obtain the knowledge in DNA extraction and cell cultures.

  • Data Analysis, 6%

    Coordinate with IT department to troubleshoot existing problems as well as to develop new statistical data analysis programs.

  • Molecular Biology, 5%

    Supervised undergraduate laboratory exercises in the fields of Molecular Microbiology, Human Molecular Biology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Common skills that a senior laboratory specialist uses to do their job include "technical support," "test results," and "lab equipment." You can find details on the most important senior laboratory specialist responsibilities below.

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior laboratory specialist to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." Senior laboratory specialists often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepared and entered detailed analysis into database tested and evaluated laboratory techniques for iso 9000 conformance. "

Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior laboratory specialists is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior laboratory specialist duties, as "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "managed planned maintenance, repairs, calibration, tester schedules, lab inventory, iso 9000 procedures, msds data. "

See the full list of senior laboratory specialist skills

The three companies that hire the most senior laboratory specialists are:

  • University of Colorado26 senior laboratory specialists jobs
  • Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs
  • University of Colorado Boulder

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Compare different senior laboratory specialists

Senior laboratory specialist 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.

We looked at the average senior laboratory specialist salary and compared it with the wages of a medical technologist, generalist. Generally speaking, medical technologists, generalist are paid $2,690 higher than senior laboratory specialists per year.Even though senior laboratory specialists and medical technologists, generalist are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require technical support, lab equipment, and electrophoresis in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior laboratory specialists and medical technologist, generalist. For instance, senior laboratory specialist responsibilities require skills such as "test results," "cell culture," "data analysis," and "molecular biology." Whereas a medical technologist, generalist is skilled in "patients," "clinical laboratory," "hematology," and "patient care." 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 specialists make the biggest average salary, $69,262, in the technology industry.The education levels that medical technologists, generalist earn slightly differ from senior laboratory specialists. In particular, medical technologists, generalist are 8.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior laboratory specialist. Additionally, they're 5.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior laboratory specialist 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.

A career as a medical technologist-microbiology brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a senior laboratory specialist. In fact, medical technologist-microbiologies salary is $115 lower than the salary of senior laboratory specialists per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Senior laboratory specialists and medical technologist-microbiologies both require similar skills like "test results," "lab equipment," and "electrophoresis" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior laboratory specialist resumes. While senior laboratory specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "technical support," "cell culture," "data analysis," and "molecular biology," medical technologist-microbiologies use skills like "ascp," "clinical laboratory," "medical technology," and "specimen handling."

On average, medical technologist-microbiologies earn a lower salary than senior laboratory specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, medical technologist-microbiologies earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $55,220. Whereas senior laboratory specialists have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $69,262.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Medical technologist-microbiologies tend to reach lower levels of education than senior laboratory specialists. In fact, they're 8.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior laboratory specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D.Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Department Head, Southeastern Louisiana University

IoT and automation.

Senior laboratory specialist 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.

On average, medical technologist leads earn higher salaries than senior laboratory specialists, with a $12,538 difference per year.By looking over several senior laboratory specialists and medical technologist leads resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "test results," "electrophoresis," and "dna." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior laboratory specialists are more likely to have skills like "technical support," "lab equipment," "cell culture," and "data analysis." But a medical technologist lead is more likely to have skills like "patients," "clinical laboratory," "proficiency testing," and "hematology."

Medical technologist leads make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $75,985. On the other hand, senior laboratory specialists are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $69,262.When it comes to education, medical technologist leads tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior laboratory specialists. In fact, they're 8.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior laboratory specialist 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.

Medical technologists average a lower salary than the annual salary of senior laboratory specialists. The difference is about $2,307 per year.While both senior laboratory specialists and medical technologists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like lab equipment, electrophoresis, and dna, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A senior laboratory specialist uses "technical support," "test results," "cell culture," and "data analysis." Medical technologists are more likely to have duties that require skills in "patients," "clinical laboratory," "ascp," and "customer service. "In general, medical technologists earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,453. The highest-paying industry for a senior laboratory specialist is the technology industry.In general, medical technologists hold lower degree levels compared to senior laboratory specialists. Medical technologists are 9.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of senior laboratory specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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