What does a senior microbiologist do?
A senior microbiologist specializes in conducting studies and research, focusing on microorganisms. Their workplace responsibilities usually revolve around spearheading research projects, gathering and analyzing samples through various laboratory procedures, performing experiments and assessments, maintaining records of all operations, and drawing conclusions and recommendations according to the research findings. As a senior microbiologist, it is also their duty to lead and serve as a mentor to junior microbiologists in the joint effort to reach project goals. Moreover, when it comes to employment, a senior microbiologist may work for government agencies, private laboratories, and even teach at universities.
Senior microbiologist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior microbiologist resumes:
- Develop and manage cost effective qualification studies of disinfectant efficacy for contamination control follow by USP guidelines and ISO regulations.
- Manage and implement microbiological efforts with the goal of FDA market approval of a low temperature vaporize hydrogen peroxide terminal sterilizer.
- Perform microbiological tests (including pathogens) on the ingredients and final product.
- Integrate GLP with GMP practices and protocols for overlap in lab and manufacturing duties.
- Perform microbial identification and Bioburden, quality control and growth promotion of microbiological media.
- Implement and develop CAPA s.
- Perform several supplier audits with QA.
- Screen samples using various PCR platforms including GDS and BAX.
- Lead investigator in major lab OOS reports (sterile positive).
- Help in various departments throughout the company including testing of USP samples.
- Demonstrate mastery of analytical chemistry through FPLC (Bio-Rad NGC) instrument.
- Perform molecular biology procedures including DNA/RNA extractions, gel electrophoresis, PCR and RT-PCR.
- Train subordinate employees in molecular identification of microorganisms.
- Perform CAPA investigations; implement corrective actions and tracking of effectiveness.
- Develop necessary submission documentation, for the FDA and/or other regulatory bodies.
Senior microbiologist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Senior Microbiologists are proficient in FDA, Environmental Monitoring, and Microbiology Lab. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Microbiologists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- FDA, 7%
Managed and implemented microbiological efforts with the goal of FDA market approval of a low temperature vaporized hydrogen peroxide terminal sterilizer.
- Environmental Monitoring, 7%
Crafted a formula driven tool which provides visibility of periodic activities within the environmental monitoring program to ensure timely product release.
- Microbiology Lab, 6%
Perform daily temperature monitoring of all GMP incubators and refrigerators in the Microbiology Laboratory to support GLP.
- Test Methods, 6%
Perform revision and/ or development of laboratory Standard Operation Procedures and Test Methods.
- ISO, 5%
Assisted with regulatory submissions - Performed internal audits - Participated in ISO 9001, ISO 13485 certifications
- QC, 4%
Perform a Laboratory Investigations and QC Evaluations generated during manufacturing, packaging and QC/QA operations.
Common skills that a senior microbiologist uses to do their job include "fda," "environmental monitoring," and "microbiology lab." You can find details on the most important senior microbiologist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior microbiologist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what senior microbiologists do because "microbiologists should be able to effectively communicate their research processes and findings so that knowledge may be applied correctly." Additionally, a senior microbiologist resume shows how senior microbiologists use communication skills: "recognized for effective communications with physicians, nursing, and pathologist concerning test results/interpretation. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform senior microbiologist duties is detail oriented. Senior microbiologists responsibilities require that "microbiologists must be able to conduct scientific experiments and analyses with accuracy and precision." Senior microbiologists also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained detailed data records according to usda regulatory standards. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for senior microbiologists to perform their duties. For an example of how senior microbiologist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "microbiologists regularly use complex mathematical equations and formulas in their work." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior microbiologist: "performed quantitative and qualitative analysis * microbial limit testing * environmental monitoring * media preparation * gram staining * organism identification".
Observation skills. senior microbiologist responsibilities often require "observation skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "microbiologists must constantly monitor their experiments." This resume example shows what senior microbiologists do with observation skills on a typical day: "manage investigations, capa and audit observations in trackwise. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a senior microbiologist to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what senior microbiologists relies on this skill, since "microbiologists use scientific experiments and analysis to find solutions to complex scientific problems." How this skill relates to senior microbiologist duties can be seen in an example from a senior microbiologist resume snippet: "trained in cgmp, glp.199-2003 caribbean bio-labs., inc., san german, p.r.laboratory analyst i* media and solutions preparation. "
Time-management skills. Another skill commonly found on senior microbiologist job descriptions is "time-management skills." It can come up quite often in senior microbiologist duties, since "microbiologists usually need to meet deadlines when conducting research and laboratory tests." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day senior microbiologist responsibilities: "transfer samples into selective and secondary enrichments using aseptic technique and storing in proper locations for incubation times. "
The three companies that hire the most senior microbiologists are:
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Compare different senior microbiologists
Senior microbiologist vs. Bacteriologist
Public health administrators are like health administrators, except that their focus is on population health. When working at an office, outreach is a critical part of their work. They will need to interface with the community they serve. They travel outside of the office for fundraising, public speaking, and public engagement on a regular basis. Their responsibilities include developing community programs that improve public health, assessing community health issues, and creating budgets related to public health operations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior microbiologist responsibilities require skills like "microbiology lab," "test methods," "qc," and "usp." Meanwhile a typical bacteriologist has skills in areas such as "molecular biology techniques," "clinical chemistry," "lab equipment," and "body fluids." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Bacteriologists tend to reach similar levels of education than senior microbiologists. In fact, bacteriologists are 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior microbiologist vs. Virologist
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior microbiologist responsibilities requires skills like "environmental monitoring," "microbiology lab," "test methods," and "iso." But a virologist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cell culture," "biosafety," "molecular biology," and "immunology."
Virologists earn similar levels of education than senior microbiologists in general. They're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior microbiologists in the next 3-5 years?
Bryan Spiegelberg Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Molecular Sciences, Rider University
Senior microbiologist vs. Microbiology supervisor
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior microbiologist is likely to be skilled in "test methods," "qc," "laboratory equipment," and "oos," while a typical microbiology supervisor is skilled in "clinical laboratory," "ascp," "medical technology," and "chemistry."
Microbiology supervisors typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior microbiologists. Specifically, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior microbiologist vs. Public health microbiologist
Updated January 8, 2025
