Overview
The Public Health Laboratories Microbiology Office supports a wide range of testing that protects communities across Washington State, from routine surveillance to urgent outbreak response. Testing demand shifts constantly due to seasonal patterns, emerging public health issues, and staffing variability, making flexibility and technical depth essential.
This Flex Lead Microbiologist 3 role is built for that reality. You will rotate across microbiology laboratory sections, performing high impact bench testing, maintaining critical testing capacity, and stepping in when volumes surge or gaps arise. By maintaining competency in key methods across multiple sections, you help ensure testing continues without delay and results reach partners when they matter most.
The work is hands on, fast paced, and highly collaborative. You will integrate quickly into different lab teams, apply strong quality and safety practices, support result review when needed, and contribute to validation and verification efforts that keep testing reliable and ready. This role is central to maintaining continuity of operations and strengthening the lab’s ability to respond when public health demands change quickly.
Key Responsibilities Include:
Perform high impact bench testing across multiple microbiology laboratory sections to support surge capacity and continuity of operations
Maintain technical competency in one to two critical methods per lab section through ongoing training and rotation
Review data and support timely release of laboratory results when needed
Provide mentorship and day to day technical guidance to junior laboratory staff
Support method validation and verification efforts including documentation, data review, and quality checks
Apply quality assurance and laboratory safety principles consistently across all assigned work
Contribute to outbreak response and emergency surge testing efforts as required
Why You’ll Love This Role:
You make an immediate, visible impact when labs need support the most
Your work directly supports statewide public health response and preparedness
You work alongside skilled microbiologists who value collaboration and professionalism
You help strengthen the lab system by mentoring others and modeling best practices
What You Bring:
You thrive in environments where priorities shift quickly and your ability to adapt is a strength, not a stressor. You are confident stepping into new lab settings, applying sound judgment, and getting up to speed fast without needing to be the subject matter expert for every assay. You value quality, safety, and teamwork, and you lead by example through calm problem solving and strong interpersonal skills. You enjoy mentoring others, supporting shared goals, and being the person teams can rely on when things get busy.
About Washington Department of Health
At DOH, we safeguard public health in an ever-evolving world. Through collaboration with local health jurisdictions and state, federal, and private partners, our programs, and services impact every Washingtonian and visitor daily. We're driven by Equity, Innovation, and Engagement, as outlined in our Transformational Plan for the future of Washington health.
