Director, State Public Health Laboratories

The Public Health Laboratories – Where Science Protects Communities

At the Public Health Laboratories, every test matters. From hunting emerging pathogens to ensuring every newborn in the state gets life-saving screenings, your work will drive disease detection, outbreak response, and protect Washington’s most vulnerable. We’re the state’s reference lab, tracking rare threats like rabies, hantavirus, and West Nile virus, analyzing outbreaks, and safeguarding food and water safety. Here, science meets service in a collaborative, equity-driven team committed to real-world impact and public health at scale.

The Opportunity:

As the Director of State Public Health Laboratories, you will provide executive, scientific, and operational leadership for Washington’s multi-disciplinary Public Health Laboratories (PHL). You will oversee more than 250 employees and laboratory programs spanning public health microbiology, environmental laboratory sciences, newborn screening, quality assurance, safety, operations, and central services. You will set strategic direction, lead senior laboratory leaders, and ensure the PHL has the workforce, systems, resources, and scientific capabilities needed to deliver reliable laboratory services.

This role is accountable for the overall administration and performance of the PHL, including laboratory quality and accreditation, regulatory compliance, workforce and organizational development, financial stewardship, laboratory modernization, emergency preparedness, and implementation of new testing methods and technologies. You will oversee a biennial operating budget of approximately $66 million and help guide significant investments in laboratory infrastructure, equipment, information systems, and scientific capabilities.

As Washington's senior public health laboratory leader, you will also serve as a scientific advisor and represent the PHL with Tribal Nations, local health jurisdictions, health care and laboratory partners, and state and federal agencies. Your leadership helps ensure Washington has a strong, coordinated laboratory system capable of detecting disease, supporting newborn screening and environmental health programs, informing outbreak investigations, and responding to biological, chemical, and other public health emergencies.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Lead the strategic direction and overall operation of Washington's Public Health Laboratories, aligning scientific capabilities, workforce, resources, and services with current and emerging public health needs.
Direct a multi-disciplinary laboratory organization of more than 250 employees, providing executive leadership to senior leaders responsible for microbiology, environmental laboratory sciences, newborn screening, operations, quality assurance, safety, and administrative services.
Ensure laboratory quality, safety, regulatory compliance, and accreditation by establishing organizational standards and maintaining effective quality management, security, training, and performance systems.
Guide the development, validation, modernization, and implementation of laboratory methods, technologies, information systems, and testing capabilities to improve quality, capacity, turnaround time, and operational effectiveness.
Strengthen organizational culture and workforce sustainability by developing leaders, promoting employee growth and well-being, addressing performance and organizational challenges, and creating an environment grounded in transparency, accountability, inclusion, and respect for scientific expertise.
Direct strategic and operational planning, including stewardship of a $66 million biennial operating budget and significant capital investments, to ensure resources are aligned with laboratory priorities and long-term needs.
Lead laboratory preparedness and response for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, outbreaks, and biological and chemical threats, including maintaining critical laboratory response capabilities.
Build partnerships with Tribal Nations, local health jurisdictions, health care and laboratory communities, federal agencies, policymakers, and national public health organizations to strengthen Washington's laboratory system and advance coordinated public health priorities.

Why You’ll Love This Role:

Lead at scale. You'll guide a large, multidisciplinary scientific organization where decisions span people, operations, technology, quality, finance, and long-term strategy.
Shape the future of laboratory services. You'll have the opportunity to advance laboratory modernization, scientific capabilities, infrastructure, and organizational practices while preparing the PHL for emerging public health needs.
Strengthen Washington's public health response. The laboratory services you lead provide critical information for disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, newborn screening, environmental health, and emergency response.
Build partnerships beyond the laboratory. You'll work with Tribal, local, state, and federal partners to strengthen the broader laboratory system and ensure Washington has the scientific capacity needed to protect communities across the state.

What You Bring:

You are an experienced scientific and organizational leader who can balance the technical demands of complex laboratory operations with the responsibility of leading people, resources, and long-term strategy. You understand that strong laboratory performance depends not only on scientific excellence, but also on effective systems, thoughtful resource decisions, capable leaders, and a workforce that feels respected and supported.

You lead with transparency, accountability, and curiosity, and you are comfortable making consequential decisions in complex or rapidly changing environments. You value diverse perspectives, recognize and address barriers within systems and practices, and build relationships across disciplines, organizations, and communities. You can translate complex scientific and operational issues for executives, policymakers, public health partners, and other audiences while keeping the PHL focused on delivering accurate, timely, and trusted laboratory services for the people of Washington.