Director of the Hartwell Center for… at St. Jude · Memphis

Job Description

At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we know what can be achieved when the brightest scientific minds face the fewest barriers. That’s why we provide world-class facilities, state-of-the-art technologies, and exceptional support for our researchers to ensure scientific progress is never halted due to a lack of resources. At St. Jude, you will be part of a collaborative, bench-to-bedside environment where you can directly witness how our science translates into survival for the children we serve. We are seeking a dynamic Director with advanced expertise in cutting‑edge genomics and genome sequencing technologies to lead the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology Shared Resource. The Hartwell Center is a major core research facility at St. Jude that provides advanced genome technologies to scientists studying pediatric catastrophic diseases, and is a driver of innovation and research excellence. In 2025, the Center processed over 46,000 samples collected from 135 labs and generated approximately 1.35 Pb of Illumina short-read and 11 Tb of PacBio long-read data. This effort contributed to 122 publications in 2025, including four co-authored by Hartwell staff members. In addition, the Hartwell Center incorporates functional genomics and peptide synthesis. It also provides computational support for basecalling and alignment. The director will oversee 20 multi-disciplinary team members distributed across 6 domains: Illumina, PacBio, Genotyping, Functional/Arrays, RNA, and Peptide Synthesis.

The successful candidate will lead this team of researchers and scientists supporting the research laboratories at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with a clear vision to fulfill our mission to improve the treatment and care of children with catastrophic diseases. The director will work with staff to create clearly defined roles that foster engagement and allow for appropriate career advancement. The director will maintain extensive and up-to-date knowledge of genomics and genome sequencing platforms and emerging applications to sustain and evolve a cutting-edge research facility. In this role, the successful candidate will employ and maintain effective communication with investigators, shared resource staff, and other personnel involved in relevant projects and activities. The director will implement systems to routinely assess quality, consistency, and opportunities for innovation. The director will advise and interact with faculty and other research staff and trainees on the management, design, technical needs, and execution of projects served by the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology. The successful candidate will oversee operations and quality of the services provided by the shared resource and develop annual budgets and recommendations for future capital acquisitions and growth.

Infrastructure and Equipment

The Hartwell Center for Biotechnology Shared Resource is housed within our state-of-the-art Shared Resource Center building in approximately 6,500 sq. ft. of space encompassing dedicated office, workstation, wet-lab and instrumentation spaces.

Genome Sequencing Facility:

Supported by four Illumina NovaSeq X Plus genome-scale production systems, one NextSeq 2000 mid-range sequencer, three MiSeq i100 Plus sequencers, two MiSeq sequencers, and one iSeq 100 benchtop system. Long-read sequencing workflows are supported by two PacBio Revio systems. Genomic workflows are also supported by multiple liquid handling robots and QA instruments to ensure consistent high-quality analysis of over 30,000 samples per year.

Genotyping:

Supported by a Perkin Elmer Janus liquid handling robotics system, 11 Applied Biosystems Veriti thermal cyclers for sample preparation and an Applied Biosystems 3500xl DNA Analyzer.

Microarray:

Hosts a variety of equipment including an Illumina iScan system equipped with an array loading robot plus three complete Affymetrix GeneChip cartridge analysis systems comprising three GeneChip 640 hybridization ovens, eight automated GeneChip 450 fluidics wash stations, and three high-resolution (7G) Affymetrix GeneChip 3000 scanners each with 48-place autoloaders, one HiScan bead array scanner with autoloader, and a Tecan Evo robot for automated processing of arrays.

Macromolecular Synthesis:

Instrumentation includes two Protein Technologies Symphony X 24 column peptide synthesizers, two Protein Technologies PurePrep Chorus peptide synthesizers, one CEM Multipep 1 peptide synthesizer, and one CEM Liberty Blue microwave peptide synthesizer

Preferred skills and experience

• Deep expertise in standard and emerging Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms and data processing pipelines (e.g. FastQC, alignments, IGV, multiomic workflows)
• Experience in library preparation methods: RNA-seq, WGS, WES, ATAC-seq, ChIP-Seq, scRNA-seq, etc
• Experience in developing/integrating new sequencing techniques
• Vision for relevant technology adoption and long-term center growth
• Track record of building new services or leading major upgrades
• Participation in the genomics community nationwide
• Proven record of accomplishment leading a team
• Exceptional communication skills
• Service-oriented and mission-driven mindset
• Strong ability to support staff career development and promote a collaborative, innovative culture.
• Ability to organize work, manage time effectively, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency
• Demonstrates ethical leadership that builds trust and positively influences others
• Strong interpersonal skills, including effective listening and the ability to adapt communication to different audiences
• Experience in providing instruction to students, postdoctoral fellows, and other researchers concerning technical procedures and solutions related to the functions and services
• Ability to implement systematic and rigorous quality control systems to ensure excellence
• Effectively manages workflow and collaborates with investigators to understand needs, offer solutions, and strengthen relationships

Responsibilities

1. Manages day-to-day activities of the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology and its staff.

• Maintains high level of proficiency in current and evolving technologies relevant to Hartwell Center for Biotechnology goals
• Keeps up to date with emerging technology applicable to the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology and ensures it is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
• Oversees new equipment testing, demonstration, and acquisition.
• Analyzes workflow and determines, recommends, and oversees implementation of methods to increase effectiveness and efficiency of operations.

2. Supervises laboratory staff.

• Ensures that all Hartwell Center for Biotechnology employees are knowledgeable in current technologies and skills.
• Obtains feedback on and evaluates performance of Hartwell Center for Biotechnology employees.
• Mentors and disciplines employees. Seeks advice/consent of supervisor as needed.
• Interviews and makes decisions when hiring new employees.
• Conducts and promotes staff continuing education and development

3. Supervises performance of laboratory activities.

• Advises and interacts with faculty and other research staff on the management, design, and technical needs of projects serviced by the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology.
• Ensures accuracy, reproducibility, and timeliness of results.
• Reviews problems in reagent and instrument quality control.
• Serves as a resource for troubleshooting laboratory problems.
• Reviews and ensures cost recovery through chargebacks in compliance with established institutional guidelines.
• Effectively manages capital resources and prepares reports in collaboration Shared Resource Administration.
• Monitors quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA), and quality management (QM) of activities and resolves any deficiencies.

4. Performs other related duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and institution.

5. Attends department/ institute-specific program meetings and retreats to ensure members are well informed about services offered and learn the needs of members across the institution.

6. Maintains regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant scientific discipline is required.

Minimum Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in relevant technical field (industry or academia) is required.
• 8+ years of experience in relevant technical field is required with a Master’s degree.
• 5+ years of experience in relevant technical field is required with a PHD.
• Significant experience in a research functional area with experience managing mid-large teams in a leadership capacity with focus on both achievement of objectives as well as critical skill-building preferred.
• Experience having led large-scale projects/processes through to implementation preferred.
• Experience with operational mgmt., budget planning, & stakeholder and resource management preferred.
• Prior experience in building external connections with peers, emerging technology communities, and expert networks preferred.
• Experience driving research objectives across area through collaboration with internal and external stakeholders preferred.
• Proven performance in earlier role/comparable role.

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $125,840 - $238,160 per year for the role of Director of the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology Shared Resource.

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St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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