Critical Environment Instrumentation Supervisor (Biosafety Labs)

The Junior Critical Environment Instrumentation Supervisor plays a key role in ensuring the proper operation, calibration, and maintenance of environmental and process instrumentation within biosafety laboratories. This entry-level supervisory role supports senior engineers by coordinating a small team of technicians, assisting in maintaining compliance with biosafety standards, and responding promptly to instrumentation-related issues that could affect lab safety or research integrity.

The role demands a fundamental understanding of biosafety lab operations, instrumentation calibration, HVAC integration, and environmental monitoring systems.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supervise and support daily tasks related to the calibration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of lab-critical instruments and sensors.

• Monitor the performance of critical equipment such as:

  • HEPA filter differential pressure sensors

  • Biosafety cabinet (BSC) airflow monitors

  • Room pressure, temperature, humidity, and gas sensors

• Assist with scheduling and execution of periodic inspections, calibrations, and system verifications.

• Support the management of documentation and logs required for regulatory compliance (CDC, NIH, WHO, etc.).

• Coordinate with biosafety officers, HVAC teams, and QA to ensure instruments maintain safe operating parameters.

• Help maintain asset data in Calibration Management Systems (CMS) or Building Automation Systems (BAS/BMS).

• Respond to non-conformances and support investigations into equipment or instrumentation-related deviations.

Key Focus Areas:

1. Biosafety Compliance Support

   • Maintain instruments used in BSL-2/3/4 environments according to CDC, NIH, and institutional biosafety guidelines.

   • Ensure instrumentation supports containment validation and airflow integrity checks.

2. Environmental & Containment Monitoring

   • Focus on pressure monitoring systems, differential gauges, CO₂/O₂/volatile gas detectors, and alarms.

   • Ensure real-time data monitoring aligns with lab safety protocols.

3. Calibration & Preventive Maintenance

   • Support calibration of environmental sensors using NIST-traceable equipment.

   • Assist with execution and logging of PM schedules for biosafety instrumentation.

4. Documentation & Records

   • Maintain accurate logs, SOP adherence records, calibration certificates, and deviation reports.

   • Learn and help enforce GMP, GLP, and ISO 17025-aligned practices.

5. Team Coordination

   • Oversee junior techs and interns on routine tasks; report escalations to senior supervisors.

   • Conduct safety briefings and ensure PPE and protocol compliance during interventions.

6. Emergency Readiness

   • Participate in rapid response when containment parameters are breached due to sensor/instrument failure.

   • Help coordinate service providers or internal teams for urgent instrumentation issues.

Qualifications:

• Education:

  • Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Instrumentation, Electronics, Biomedical, or Mechanical Engineering.

• Experience:

  • 1–3 years of hands-on experience with instrumentation in controlled environments; familiarity with biosafety standards is a plus.

• Preferred Certifications (not mandatory):

  • OSHA Lab Safety / Biosafety Level Certification (e.g., BSL-2/3 Training)

  • Calibration or Metrology Basics

Technical Skills:

• Basic understanding of HVAC-integrated monitoring systems, BMS, and SCADA.

• Familiarity with GMP documentation, electronic record-keeping, and validation processes.

• Exposure to calibration equipment (multimeters, manometers, data loggers, RTDs).