Lab Technician

How to Apply: We do not read traditional cover letters. To apply for the Lab Technician role, please submit your resume and complete the following three steps. Send your responses in a single email to nick@lightlabs.com with the exact subject line: Lab Tech Application: [Your Full Name] - [Your Favorite Element].

Step 1: The Broken SOP (Attention to Detail & First Principles)

You are running a time-sensitive batch of 50 consumer goods samples through the ICP-MS to test for heavy metals. Halfway through the run, you notice the internal standard recovery has dropped to 40% (our SOP requires >95%). The Lab Director is out of the office, and the client needs these results by end of day.In 150 words or less, explain exactly what you do next. Walk us through your troubleshooting process and how you handle the client deadline.

Step 2: The Efficiency Audit (Speed & Ownership)

We are currently processing 200 samples per day, but we need to scale to 350 per day next month without adding headcount.Identify one common bottleneck in sample intake or preparation (based on your experience or research). Propose a specific, actionable change to eliminate or automate this bottleneck. Do not suggest "buying a faster machine" or "working longer hours." Focus on process, workflow, or software. (Max 200 words).

Step 3: The Mission Alignment (Ambition & Conviction)

Light Labs is not a typical lab. We are building the infrastructure to bring transparency to the food system — so that the brands doing things right can prove it, win their market, and set a new standard for what clean products look like. This requires a team that operates with high ownership, low ego, and a standard of excellence.In 200 words or less, tell us why you want to build this specific future with us. What about our mission to give clean brands the tools to win makes you want to work harder here than anywhere else?

Role Overview:

We’re hiring a Laboratory Technician to join our growing team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This role is critical to managing the intake, tracking, preparation, and testing of a high volume of samples each day for our new supplements division.

As a Laboratory Technician, you’ll help build and maintain efficient workflows, ensuring seamless sample management and timely testing. This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced, startup lab environment where you’ll have the chance to shape processes, contribute to the lab’s success, and grow with the business.

This role reports to the Lab Director and works closely with the team in person. It’s a full-time position with competitive pay, benefits, and quick career growth.

Responsibilities:

• Perform sample intake and ensure proper documentation and labeling
• Prepare samples for analysis following standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Operate and maintain ICP-MS, LC/MS, and GC/MS instruments
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with instruments and assays
• Maintain accurate records of all analyses and generate reports (COAs)
• Adhere to laboratory safety protocols and maintain a clean and organized work environment
• Participate in the development and validation of new analytical methods
• Collaborate with team members to ensure efficient workflow and timely completion of projects
• Assist in inventory management and ordering of laboratory supplies

Qualifications:

• BS, AB, and/or technical work experience in a relevant field (e.g., Chemistry, Biology, Medical, etc.)
• 1+ years of experience in a high-throughput laboratory setting is a major advantage
• Proficiency in sample preparation techniques and instrument maintenance
• Experience with LIMS and QMS programs, especially QBench
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational abilities
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal

Benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off and holidays
• Professional development opportunities

We’re also setting the new standard for compensation and coverage in lab testing. Every employee gets a competitive salary and excellent employee benefits. We offer excellent full-time employee benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance, paid holidays and vacation, and professional development opportunities. Our goal is to have a small team of founder-minded professionals aligned with our mission to bring transparency to our food system.

Who We Are

Light Labs is building the modern platform for lab testing, starting with consumer goods brands. We help companies test more cheaply, quickly, and enable them to use lab results to automate regulatory compliance and grow revenue.

We believe consumers deserve to know the purity and accuracy of every product that affects their families’ health. Improving our food system starts with increasing transparency and creating a more informed customer. Not only are we building a lab that makes testing faster, cheaper, and easier, but also the infrastructure that allows brands to:

• Market and highlight their lab results by making it easy to push lab data directly to product display pages. Here, brands will highlight what’s in their product (active ingredients + they meet their claims) and what’s not in their product (heavy metals, environmental toxins, PFAs, etc)
• Automatically comply with regulations like Prop 65, CA AB 899, Amazon testing requirements, etc.

By integrating the full experience – from testing to the data sharing with customers – we’re building a more efficient and streamlined process. Brands can now differentiate themselves and become the no-brainer choice in their category through testing and great transparency.

We’re a team of experienced founders that have raised $12M from top VCs (8VC and Valor), with top CPG founders and strategics also coming into the round. Whether you’re lab tech, engineer, sales, marketing, or customer support, you’ll have a seat at the table as we work to increase transparency in the food system.

Our Mission

Almost everything people consume is becoming increasingly toxic (and bereft of nutrition) which leads to massive health dysfunction while simultaneously destroying our planet. No one knows about it because you can’t see, taste, smell, or quantify the problem:

• Cinnamon Apple Puree pouches, marketed for children and labeled as preservative-free, kosher, and gluten-free, contained lead levels 200 times greater than the FDA’s proposed guidelines
• Over 1300 chemicals are banned in cosmetics in the EU, while only 11 are in the United States
• The US also allows thousands of food additives which are banned in other countries
• A study of 168 baby foods revealed that 95% contained at least one heavy metal (arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium), with a quarter containing all four
• Seven out eight samples of kale contained ‘disturbing’ levels of PFAs, with organic kale containing higher levels of the toxic compounds

Today, even if consumer brands or manufacturers wanted to test for purity of their products, the experience is slow, cumbersome, expensive, and nearly impossible to interpret or share the lab results unless you have a PhD in the area you’re testing for.

Because there is no feedback loop or standardized transparency that brands offer, there is no consumer pressure on change of practices and sourcing. If people knew what was in their food, they’d be shocked. They would shop differently.

Our mission is to bring this transparency to the food system. Allow customers to buy products and brands that are free of toxic ingredients. Transparency is the first step in creating demand for cleaner products, and ultimately a cleaner supply chain.

Pay: From $55,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person