Technical Director Anatomic Pathology

Arkana Laboratories is packed with people who are dedicated to teamwork and excellence. Join us to help us fulfill our mission of advancing understanding of disease and providing world-class care to our patients.

The Role

As the AP Technical Director, you'll be responsible for the technical operations and continuous improvement of our anatomic pathology laboratory across multiple modalities: light microscopy (LM), immunofluorescence (IF), immunohistochemistry (IHC), electron microscopy (EM), neuropathology, and digital pathology.

This isn't a desk job. You'll spend time on the floor in the lab, in meetings with pathologists, coaching managers, redesigning workflows, and figuring out how to make our lab better tomorrow than it is today.

Your job is to translate our strategic vision into day-to-day reality, to design systems that work without constant firefighting, and to build a team that takes real pride in their technical expertise.

Important note: You don't need to be an AP lab expert today. If you have strong leadership experience in clinical labs, research labs, or related technical fields—and you're willing to learn the specifics of anatomic pathology—we want to hear from you. We value leadership ability and a learning mindset as much as we value domain expertise.

What You'll Do

• Build and improve the systems that make great work possible. You'll own technical quality and workflow design across every AP section; not just maintaining what exists, but actively making it better.
• Run Excellent Operations. Specimens should move through each section with the right quality and turnaround time, every day without the need for heroics on the part of our team.
• Develop managers who develop their people. You'll lead and mentor section managers, setting clear expectations, delivering honest feedback, and holding people accountable in a way that's direct without being punitive.
• Build Training That Works. You'll own the technical curriculum across all sections, working with our training manager to translate our SOPs and workflows into a training curriculum.
• Own Quality and Compliance. You'll partner with QA and physician leads to keep our quality systems strong, our scientific rigor uncompromising, and our lab ready for CAP, CLIA, FDA, and NY State inspections at all times.
• Drive Continuous Improvement. You'll lead initiatives that reduce manual work, cut variability, and prevent errors before they reach patients.
• Use Data to Make Better Decisions. You'll track the metrics that matter—quality, turnaround time, rework rates, errors, training completion—and actually use them.
• Collaborate Across Teams. You'll be the bridge between lab leadership strategy and what actually happens on the bench.

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in laboratory science, biology, or related field (HT/HTL ASCP certification is a plus).
• At least 7 years leading teams in clinical labs, research labs, or technical operations.
• Strong technical background—ideally in AP lab work, but we're open to leaders from other lab settings who are eager to learn.
• Track record of holding people accountable while developing their capabilities.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements (CAP, CLIA, state regulations).
• Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly in writing and conversation.

Preferred Background

• PhD in a relevant scientific field.
• Experience running high-volume labs where quality and speed both matter.
• Success building training programs.
• Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, or other structured improvement methods and a desire to use it in practice.
• Familiarity with digital pathology, automation, or AI applications in lab settings.
• Comfort with laboratory information systems and digital workflows.

What Really Matters To Us

• You generate ideas for improvement and are not shy about proposing changes.
• You enable others by removing obstacles and giving people what they need to do their best work.
• You bring people together and create momentum for change.
• You build systems, not band‑aids.
• You coach with hard conversations when performance isn't where it needs to be.
• You communicate clearly and can explain technical concepts to non-technical people and vice versa.
• You act with integrity and follow through on commitments.
• You put patients first and remember that our work affects real people facing serious health challenges.
• You are comfortable with automation and AI as tools that improve work.
• You are ready to learn and remain genuinely curious, committed to mastering anatomic pathology.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Generous PTO and holidays.
• Real investment in your professional development and leadership growth.
• The chance to build something exceptional and see the direct impact of your work on patient care.

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