Lab Director

Valius overview

At Valius, we believe that the future of cancer care will be defined by “maximalist” diagnostics: deep, comprehensive assessments of DNA, RNA, and protein designed to give patients and their care teams the best possible understanding of how their tumor works and what its vulnerabilities are.

We’re building the diagnostics and bioinformatics company to power this future, starting by applying this approach to patients with challenging cancers. In our first year, we worked with over 75 of these patients and, in many cases, identified plausible therapeutic targets which had not been discovered previously. This coming year, we’re on track to scale our patient volume significantly, all while bringing new diagnostic modalities (e.g., single-cell transcriptomics) and analytical approaches into clinical care for the very first time.

We’ve just raised a $13.5M seed round, led by 8VC and Basis Set Ventures, and are looking for people passionate about changing cancer care to join our growing team.

Lab Director role

We're hiring a Lab Director to join our team in Boston to lead the buildout and operation of Valius’s first lab. You’ll own the strategy and day-to-day operations end-to-end, including finding the right space, procuring the relevant equipment, hiring and supervising the lab talent, and overseeing the development and validation of our spatial/single-cell transcriptomic assays (using 10x Genomics instruments).

This is a rare opportunity to build a new capability from scratch in a mission-driven, high-ownership environment.

This is an in-person role in Boston.

What you’ll do

Lab design and buildout

Lead the design, buildout, and commissioning of Valius’s laboratory, from physical space planning through instrument installation and workflow validation

Define lab infrastructure requirements including equipment, consumables, LIMS, and workflow automation to support clinical-grade reproducibility and scale

Establish and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training programs from the ground up

Laboratory operations

Direct day-to-day clinical lab operations, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant processing of patient samples and reporting of results

Oversee development and validation of complex molecular assays, including 10x Genomics spatial/single-cell RNA sequencing

Manage technical transfer of assays from R&D into clinical operations

Implement metrics for assay performance, turnaround time, and quality

Team and cross-functional leadership

Recruit, train, and lead a team of clinical laboratory scientists, supervisors, and technologists

Collaborate closely with computational biologists and translational scientists to integrate lab outputs into patient-facing reports

Partner with bioinformatics and operations teams to ensure data integrity and compliant reporting of high-complexity results

Contribute to scientific and operational strategy as a senior leader within Valius

What you’ll bring

Advanced degree in a relevant scientific discipline (molecular biology, genomics, clinical laboratory science, or related field)

Minimum 8-10 years of experience in clinical laboratory operations

Proven track record of successfully establishing or scaling a molecular or clinical lab

Experience overseeing the development of advanced molecular diagnostic assays such as bulk RNA sequencing, whole exome sequencing, and/or spatial/single-cell RNA sequencing using a 10x Genomics platform

Strong ability to recruit, develop, and retain scientific staff

Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex laboratory data into clear, actionable information for clinical, scientific, and executive stakeholders

Commitment to our patient-focused mission

Interest in working for a small, early-stage startup

What we’ll bring

Competitive salary and equity compensation

Generous refresh grants

Comprehensive benefits (health, dental, vision, 401(k))

Genuine investment in your professional development

Fun, mission-driven team culture