Staff Scientific Project Manager at Illumina, Inc. in San Diego, California

Job Description:

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity?

At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.

Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

Position Summary:

The Staff Scientific Project Manager will provide best-in-class program and project management and execution of associated tasks of Illumina's portfolio of products; engage with key personnel to streamline customer onboarding and maximize their success. Their work will span the customer life cycle with responsibilities during pre-sales, install, onboarding and post implementation phases to ensure that a complete solution is provided to customers. They will be expected to closely collaborate with Sales, Field Service and Support, ACE, and Product development to develop new innovative strategies to implement customer solutions at an expedited rate. The Staff SPM functions as a laboratory project and account manager to facilitate implementations for high value sales growth opportunities.

The successful applicant will be part of an award-winning customer support team that leads the industry in customer and employee satisfaction.

This role requires excellent communication, time management, situational awareness, poise under pressure, project management, and collaboration skills.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as lead workflow enablement resource providing effective and efficient program management of product installation and integration utilizing implementation Best Practices.


• Manage projects spanning all products in Illumina's portfolio, with a focus on oncology, to drive overall business goals.


• Coordinate involvement of customer, local field teams, Sales specialists, and other resources for executing successful adoption, utilization, and scaling of Illumina products at an accelerated rate.


• Partner with third party vendors, including clinical consulting, automation, and analysis, to provide a smooth workflow implementation for customers.


• Understand customer goals, create project plans, establish milestone targets, and set appropriate product and performance expectations, while utilizing competitive intel to remove barriers and identify new sales opportunities.


• Maintain knowledge of competitor activities and innovations within the marketplace and ability to incorporate market trends in business decisions.


• Cultivate growth opportunities in project accounts.


• Improve efficiencies resulting in shortened implementation timelines of large volume, high priority, and/or highly complex engagements.


• Drive program initiatives in alignment to and support of Illumina's strategic goals.


• Lead and/or participate on cross-functional teams. Ensure project goals are aligned with business/departmental objectives and work collaboratively to drive successful execution of project plans and track, manage, and communicate progress to team and stakeholders.


• Represent the company professionally, ethically, and morally always. Adhere to and promote Illumina's Code of Business Conduct.

Additional Position Responsibilities:

• Develop strategies and direct necessary resources to deliver superior front-line customer support.


• Understand key customer needs and articulate current gaps to internal stakeholders with action plans to address issues.


• Track and monitor customer and project issues and pursue their resolution in a timely manner. Report issues internally to drive product and program improvement.


• Assess project risks, anticipate challenges, and provide escalation management when necessary.


• Maintain consistent momentum with multiple products and across multiple projects and sales cycles.


• Communicate effectively to all stakeholders including executive leadership.


• Creative thinking to propose solutions and mitigations to roadblocks and challenges impeding KPI's and milestones.


• Mentor/train new staff; serve as lead implementation personnel and peer leader within the commercial organization.


• Willing and able to travel by all means of transportation, including overnight travel, up to 50% of the time to support business goals.

Listed responsibilities are an essential, but not exhaustive list, of the usual duties associated with the position. Changes to individual responsibilities may occur due to business needs.

Requirements:

• Deep knowledge of Illumina's instruments, genomics, sequencing applications, and methods that apply to Illumina technology.


• Prior field experience supporting customers in a highly technical field required.


• Practical knowledge of Illumina's oncology portfolio and experience with onboarding at customer site.


• Exceptional written and verbal communication and excellent presentation and training skills.


• Strong organization, time, and project management skills.


• Ability to influence and show strong leadership skills both with and without direct authority.


• Successfully operate as an independent contributor and as a cooperative member of a team.


• Demonstrated ability to implement successful project from start to finish.


• Strong networking skills and ability to form and develop long-term strategic and professional relationships; display socially and professionally appropriate behavior.


• Clear vision of and commitment to providing outstanding customer support.


• Ability to prioritize, multitask and successfully operate in a fast paced, rapidly changing environment.


• Capacity to maintain composure in stressful situations.

All listed requirements are deemed as essential functions to this position; however, business conditions may require reasonable accommodations for additional task and responsibilities.

Additional Skills Preferred:

• Knowledge of Illumina's genotyping array portfolio and prior implementation experience.


• Experience programming and implementing automation and liquid handlers.


• Bilingual Proficiency (e.g. English and Spanish or French).


• Experience with using project management software tools such as Asana or Microsoft Project.

Experience/Education:

• For Staff level, typically requires a BS/BA degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, or related healthcare field and 7+ years of practical experience; or a MS/MA degree and 5+ years of practical experience.


• For Senior level, typically requires a BS/BA degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, or related healthcare field and 5+ years of practical experience, or a MS/MA degree and 3+ years of practical experience.

The estimated base salary range for the Staff Scientific Project Manager role based in the United States of America is: $115,800 - $173,800. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process, the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. Compensation decisions are dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, an individual's qualifications, location where the role is to be performed, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Additionally, all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work, including access to genomics sequencing, family planning, health/dental/vision, retirement benefits, and paid time off.

At Illumina, we strive to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace by cultivating an environment in which everyone contributes to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always been rooted in openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative views and perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and demonstrate our collective commitment to diversity and inclusion in the communities we live and work. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact accommodations@illumina.com. To learn more, visit: https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf. The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.