Head of Microbiology Department (F/M)

An independent laboratory accredited in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2018, performing microbiological analyses of food, feed, water, and environmental samples, is seeking a new team member for the Microbiology Department.

The Head of Microbiology will be responsible for leading, developing, and overseeing microbiology laboratory operations to ensure high-quality testing, full regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement. This role combines strong scientific expertise with people leadership, operational excellence, and a quality-driven mindset.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage the daily operations of the Microbiology department, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and compliance with internal and external requirements.
• Supervise, coach, and develop a team of microbiologists and laboratory technicians.
• Completing and maintaining laboratory documentation in compliance with ISO 17025 requirements.
• Review, approve, and ensure timely delivery of microbiological test results and reports.
• Act as a subject matter expert for microbiological methods, investigations, deviations, and CAPAs.
• Actively participate in internal and external audits and inspections, including preparation, hosting of auditors, response coordination, and implementation of corrective and preventive actions.
• Oversee method validation, verification, and transfer activities.
• Manage laboratory resources, including staffing, training plans, equipment, materials, and budgets.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives related to process optimization, automation, and cost efficiency.
• Lead and support internal and external audits, inspections, and customer inquiries.
• Ensure proper documentation, data integrity, and compliance with laboratory IT systems (eLIMS).
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality, Operations and Customer Service teams.
• Support business growth through technical expertise, customer communication, and project execution.

• Master’s degree in microbiology, Biology, Biotechnology, or a related life science.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a microbiology laboratory, with at least 2–3 years in a leadership or managerial role.
• Strong knowledge of classical microbiological testing methods and molecular techniques (PCR).
• Proven experience working in a regulated environment (pharma, medical devices, food, or contract testing laboratories).
• Experience working in accordance with ISO 17025 standards is an advantage.
• Solid understanding of quality systems, regulatory compliance, and audit readiness.
• Experience with laboratory management systems (LIMS) and data integrity standards.
• Excellent people management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Fluency in English and Lithuanian (written and spoken).
• Quality- and compliance-focused thinking.
• Customer-oriented approach.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

What do we offer?

• A leadership role in a dynamic, international laboratory environment.
• Opportunities for professional growth and career development.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• The chance to make a real impact on quality, safety, and scientific excellence.

We support your development! Do you feel like you don’t match 100% of the requirements? Don’t hesitate to apply anyway! Eurofins companies are committed to supporting your career development.

We embrace diversity!  As an Equal Opportunity Employer, the Eurofins network of companies believes in strength and innovation through diversity. We prohibit discrimination against employees or applications based on gender identity and/or expression, race, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and everything else that makes employees of Eurofins companies unique.

Find out more on our Careers page: https://careers.eurofins.com/

Company description: Eurofins Scientific is an international network of independent life sciences companies, providing a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries, to make life and our environment safer, healthier and more sustainable. From the food you eat, to the water you drink, to the medicines you rely on, Eurofins laboratories work with the biggest companies in the world to ensure the products they supply are safe, their ingredients are authentic and labelling is accurate.
The Eurofins network of companies believes that it is a global leader in food, environment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic product testing and in discovery pharmacology, forensics, advanced material sciences and agroscience contract research services. It is also one of the market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, and in the support of clinical studies, as well as in biopharma contract development and manufacturing. It also has a rapidly developing presence in highly specialised and molecular clinical diagnostic testing and in-vitro diagnostic products.

In under 40 years, Eurofins has grown from one laboratory in Nantes, France to over 65,000 employees across a decentralised and entrepreneurial network of over 950 laboratories in over 1,000 independent companies across 59 countries. Eurofins companies offer a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of biological substances and products.

The Eurofins network generated EUR 7.296 billion revenues in FY 2025, and has been one of the fastest growing listed European companies for almost three decades.