Gator Bio is a biotech company located in Palo Alto, CA. We are creating innovative technologies to solve difficult problems facing today’s healthcare industries. We develop, manufacture and market instruments, biosensors, reagents, and consumables for in-vitro diagnostics and biotherapeutic development. Our mission is to simplify and accelerate biological analysis for biotherapeutic research and development.
Gator Bio’s current product portfolio includes biolayer interferometry (BLI) systems using optic fiber biosensors.
The Manager, Field Application & Technical Services is responsible for leading a team of Field Application Scientists and Service Engineers to ensure exceptional customer support, successful solution implementation, and sustained product performance in the field. This role bridges technical execution with customer success, driving satisfaction, adoption, and value realization from pre‑sales through post‑deployment support.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Leadership & Development:
Manage and mentor a team of Field Application Scientists and Service Engineers.
Set performance goals, conduct evaluations, and support professional development.
Customer Engagement & Success:
Serve as the technical point of contact for key customers throughout the lifecycle.
Support onboarding, deployment, and ongoing use of solutions to ensure customer success.
Monitor and improve customer satisfaction metrics.
Field Application Support:
Collaborate with Sales and Product teams to provide pre‑sales technical support.
Guide customers through product demonstrations, trials, and integrations.
Customize solutions based on customer requirements and feedback.
Service Engineering:
Oversee the scheduling and execution of field service activities, including installations, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Ensure compliance with service‑level agreements (SLAs) and timely resolution of technical issues.
Process & Continuous Improvement:
Identify and implement process improvements across support, deployment, and service operations.
Develop and maintain documentation, training materials, and knowledge bases.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration:
Work closely with Product, Engineering, QA, and Sales teams to relay customer feedback and contribute to product improvements.
Participate in root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives.
Perform BLI analysis of customer samples involving specificity, kinetics, and affinity of biomolecular interactions.
Develop and transfer expert knowledge through training and support of relevant hardware and software while staying current with new assay development.
Proactively address and support customer service initiatives and sales goal objectives.
Contribute to the development of application notes and teaching manuals.
Write technical documents that highlight new and innovative applications resulting in using Gator Bio’s BLI Next Generation systems and label‑free solutions.
Stay informed of new areas of technology through research, publications, and patents while partnering with collaborators and industry KOLs.
Report on competitor’s products and feedback information to the Sales and Product Management teams.
Manage, perform, and document all on‑site installations, repairs, calibrations, preventative maintenance, inspections, and test tasks in a timely and detailed manner for BLI instrumentation.
Adjust coordinates and spectrometer parameters, replace parts, etc.
Diagnose alarms, errors, or technical/mechanical problems and implement proper solutions.
Perform and document system validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) for repaired and incoming stock.
Triage, schedule, and provide customer support by telephone, email, or customer visits.
Cooperate and communicate effectively with customers, project teams, engineering team, sales team, and others.
Report and contribute DFS recommendations for products in development.
Document tasks performed at customer sites using SFDC.
Log all customer visits and generate new service‑related documents.
Report quality issues to QT9 and accomplish tasks in QT9 in a timely manner.
Represent Gator Bio in a professional manner to help build positive customer relationships.
Produce timely and accurate expense reports.
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD or experienced preferred, MS level required with 5 years’ experience with label‑free technology, such as Bio‑Layer Interferometry (BLI), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) or similar instrumentation.
Experience with immunoassay development, such as ELISA, SPR, BLI or similar technology.
Expertise in label‑free technology Bio‑Layer Interferometry or Surface Plasmon Resonance products preferred.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills to articulate effectively with customers and internal teams.
Self‑motivated, well‑organized, ability to develop contacts and build rapport at all levels.
Liquid Handler experience with Tecan, Hamilton, or Perkin Elmer a plus.
Excellent communication and presentation skills required to a diverse level of internal and external clients.
Ability to troubleshoot, test, repair and service technical and mechanical equipment.
Ability to adapt to changes in work schedule and alter travel plans accordingly.
Knowledge of IQ/OQ/PQ a plus.
Spectroscopy instrumentation a plus (UV/VIS / Fluorescence / IR/FTIR / Raman).
Highly organized and able to work independently.
Travel 50‑75 %.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Ability to lift, push, pull, carry, and/or move 50 + lbs.
This role will require long periods of standing, walking, and sitting.
Must use hands for computer work, phone calls, and pipetting.
Must pass a health screening.
125,000 CHF – 140,000 CHF a year
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