Planning Engineer

POSITION SUMMARY:

 

The Planning Engineer drives optimal lifecycle management of critical lab instrumentation by expertly scheduling and technically coordinating maintenance, calibration, and repairs, managing vendors, and ensuring data integrity for maximum equipment uptime. This individual integrates a deep understanding of laboratory equipment functionality and technical requirements with sophisticated planning and organizational skills. 

 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

Technical Vendor & Strategic Stakeholder Engagement:

• Primary technical vendor contact, expertly managing orders, coordinating complex installations, and providing technical troubleshooting and support.

• Foster collaborative relationships with key vendor technical contacts to secure timely expert support and ensure accountability.

• Proactively inform lab managers and leadership about technical maintenance plans, equipment risks, and service timelines to ensure production alignment and expectation management

Equipment Lifecycle Management:

• Drive peak performance and longevity of sophisticated lab instrumentation (e.g., automated liquid handlers, NGS) through expert maintenance and calibration strategies

• Lead technical integration of new, complex laboratory instruments, collaborating with vendors and scientific teams to define specifications, resolve challenges, and ensure seamless alignment with laboratory workflows and data systems.

• Align equipment maintenance with operational needs and timelines through proactive collaboration with cross-functional teams (e.g., R&D, QC)

• Liaise with Facilities and Engineering to define and implement complex MEP infrastructure needed for advanced laboratory equipment installations.

Advanced Work Order & Service Workflow Optimization:

• Strategically convert service requests into actionable JIRA tickets, prioritizing by impact and urgency for optimal Service Engineering workflow.

• Develop comprehensive maintenance work plans with technical specifications for procedures, tools, spares, and personnel to ensure efficient service.

• Provide technical oversight of work order progress, anticipating roadblocks and adjusting schedules/resources to ensure timely completion.

Integrated Inventory & Data Integrity Management:

• Manage robust equipment inventory in LIMS and relevant systems, ensuring accuracy of technical specifications, service history, and calibration data.

• Oversee technical inventory entry of complex equipment, resolve data discrepancies through investigation, and maintain data integrity for lab reliability and compliance.

• Proactively manage critical spare parts inventory by forecasting needs and coordinating procurement to prevent equipment downtime.

Documentation & Compliance Leadership:

• Create and maintain detailed technical documentation of service activities, troubleshooting, performance metrics, and calibration records to facilitate knowledge retention and improvement.

• Ensure service documentation and practices meet or exceed regulatory and organizational standards, including HIPAA and quality protocols..

• Proactively complete and maintain all mandatory training, including PHI, privacy, and security compliance relevant to equipment service and data

QUALIFICATIONS:

 

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related technical field; or equivalent technical experience required.

• 5+ years of experience as a Planner in Engineering or related technical field required.

• Strong organizational and multitasking skills, with the ability to prioritize in a fast-paced environment.

• Proficiency with LIMS, JIRA, Excel, inventory and maintenance management systems (e.g., CMMS).

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Analytical mindset with strong troubleshooting skills, particularly related to laboratory equipment.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Experience working with laboratory equipment, especially liquid handling automation.

• Knowledge of preventive and reliability-centered maintenance practices.

• Familiarity with vendor management and service procurement processes.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• This position requires the ability to use a computer keyboard, communicate over the telephone and read printed material in English. 

• Duties may require working outside normal working hours (evenings and weekends) at times.

• Primarily conducted in a laboratory setting with adherence to safety, regulatory, and compliance standards.

 

Travel required for this position:

 

No _ or Yes __X_:  If yes state anticipated percent for travel: Up to 25%

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!

For more information, visit www.natera.com.

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents. 

Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-residents/

Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.

For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams 
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page