Research Operations Lead, Biology
About the team
Anthropic's Life Sciences team is building a world-class research group focused on making fundamental biological discoveries. The team combines cutting-edge AI with hands-on biological research, positioning Anthropic at the forefront of AI-accelerated scientific discovery.
About the role
We are hiring a Research Operations Lead to be the operational backbone of our team: the person who makes sure scientists can walk in every morning and get straight to science. You'll take on the operational systems we've started — procurement, inventory, safety, equipment, space — make them better, and scale them as the lab and its needs grow. We're hiring for trajectory as much as for what you've already done: the scope of this role will grow with the size of the team, and we want someone who's excited by that. This role is a rare opportunity to build the operational foundation of Anthropic's biology team and to grow with it. The systems you put in place will shape how a frontier AI company does experimental biology for years to come. If you're energized by high-ownership operational work in the service of ambitious science, we'd love to hear from you.
Key responsibilities
Own day-to-day operations end to end: ordering and inventory, equipment scheduling and upkeep, consumables, shipping and receiving, and general space organization
Build on and extend the operational systems a growing group needs: procurement workflows, inventory and sample tracking, equipment maintenance and calibration schedules, onboarding and training, SOPs
Manage facilities and space: coordinate buildouts, moves, and equipment installs; act as the primary interface to building management, contractors, and Anthropic's central Workplace and IT teams
Own the operating budget: track spend against plan, run the capital equipment purchasing process, and partner with Finance on forecasting and reporting
Manage vendor and supplier relationships: including contract research organizations: source and qualify vendors, negotiate quotes and service contracts, schedule preventive maintenance and field-service visits, and hold suppliers to their commitments
Minimum qualifications
Have managed the day-to-day operations of a life sciences lab — equipment, inventory, ordering, safety, space, and scheduling
Have hands-on procurement and vendor management experience: sourcing suppliers, negotiating quotes and service contracts, and coordinating field-service and maintenance technicians
Have tracked and managed an operating budget: purchase orders, invoices, spend-vs-plan, and capital requests
Preferred qualifications
Are the person everyone in your group already comes to when something is broken, missing, late, or unclear — and you like being that person
Enjoy engaging with scientists on the science itself — you want to understand what's happening at the bench well enough to anticipate needs
Are results-oriented and practical and pick up slack even when it goes outside your job description
Enjoy a role that stretches from the hands-on to the strategic, and are comfortable when priorities shift quickly and feedback is direct
Lab operations or lab management experience in a biotech, pharma, diagnostics, or life-sciences startup environment, including exposure to how those organizations build new functions and processes end to end
A degree in the life sciences and prior research experience at the bench
People-management experience: hiring, onboarding, and supervising operations or facilities staff
Experience supporting a team through significant growth in headcount, footprint, or capability, including utilities, permitting, and equipment
Familiarity with liquid-handling platforms, including their service, calibration, and consumable needs
Experience selecting and administering inventory management, sample tracking, equipment scheduling, or ELN systems
Capital equipment lifecycle management experience — evaluation, purchase, qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ), service contracts, and decommissioning
Experience with regulated shipping and receiving of biological materials, including import/export, permits, and material transfer agreements
Experience using AI tools for efficient team and process management (e.g., Claude Cowork)
The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.
For sales roles, the range provided is the role’s On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.
Annual Salary:
$210,000—$260,000 USD