LIMS System Director

Laboratory Data Exchange System Director

Under the supervision of UCD Program Manager and the daily operational direction of the Center for Laboratory Sciences (CLS) Leadership, the incumbent is recognized as an organization-wide subject matter expert and has significant impact and influence on Laboratory Data Exchange (LDX) program policy and development. The incumbent works directly with the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) executive team and will closely coordinate Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) project activities in collaboration with the other senior executive level administrators across CDPH. The incumbent, as the LIMS System Director, will interact with state organizations, industry representatives, researchers and others in carrying out the broad responsibilities of this position and is responsible for overall leadership and oversight of all operations across the LDX project.

Must understand government administration and how projects which may cross a wide variety of fields can be implemented and be able to express these concepts in a compelling way to statewide stakeholders, business partners, officers and trustees. Provides program and technical leadership and guidance to the LIMS Specialist team responsible for implementing and maintaining the LIMS solutions. Oversee the design, development, configuration, and deployment of the LIMS solutions, ensuring alignment with project goals and industry best practices.

This is a full-time career position located at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), based in Richmond, CA at CDPH's laboratory campus. This position is state funded through December 1, 2027; renewal is contingent upon the availability of state funding.

Minimum Qualifications - For full consideration, applicants are encouraged to upload license and/or certification if required of the position:

• Bachelor's degree in MIS or Computer Science, or bachelor's degree in life sciences with training and experience in Information Technology, or equivalent experience.
• At least six (6) years of experience within a senior role in complex data integration and the specification of data services.
• At least six (6) years of experience managing and coordinating organization wide, complex application development efforts with a diverse technical team.
• At least five (5) years of subject matter expert (SME) experience with troubleshooting and resolving organization wide application performance issues.
• Broad organizational skills in developing, authoring, and launching business initiatives for large strategic projects.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, understand, analyze, and interpret complex written material, business contracts, data design and integration and effectively synthesize and communicate results of analyses.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a technical leader and information resource, working collaboratively with senior staff and management across departments to provide advice, counsel, and analysis on policy, functionality, system efficiency, upgrades, business analytics, and industry trends.
• Demonstrated strategic and critical thinking to executives from within and outside a large public or government organization, and skills to think strategically and serve as a sounding board for executive managers.
• Expert analytical and design skills, including the ability to abstract information requirements from real-world processes to understand information flows in computer systems to clearly describe to potential programs, partners and collaborators.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation, and public speaking skills.
• Extensive technical skills to provide leadership of designing complex systems, data products and / or data production processes while focusing on data curation, data exchange, data security, data integrity and information environments.
• Knowledge of statistical analysis with ability to provide organizational leadership and recommendations.
• Expert level facilitation of leadership and innovation strategy to high level management, colleagues and other diverse stakeholders.
• Expert knowledge of procedures, practices, laws, rules, regulations, standards and policies of the State of California related to information technology and data management.
• Knowledge of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) or software development processes for maintaining information technology systems, and the models and methodologies used to develop these systems.
• Expertise in data engineering and informatics, including knowledge of data flows and workflows in public health contexts.

Key Responsibilities:

• 40% - Leadership and Oversight of Electronic Laboratory Data Exchange (LDX) System
• 25% - Quality Assurance and Compliance of Laboratory Information System
• 20% - Cal-LIMS/E-LIMS Business & Stakeholder Management
• 15% - Oversight of System Administration, Training & Technical Support

Department Overview:

The position is funded by the California Department of Public Health through (CDPH) an inter-agency agreement with University of California, Davis (UCD). The position reports to the UCD Department of Public Health Sciences. The Department of Public Health Sciences is a large, complex teaching, research, and clinical department in the UC Davis School of Medicine. The mission of the Department of Public Health Sciences is to improve the health of people using approaches based in epidemiology, biostatistics, economics, and behavioral science through research, educational programs, clinical programs, public service, and policy development. This position supports the mission of the Laboratory Data Exchange (LDX) contract to support the system expansion, which aims to enhance data interoperability between the Public Health Laboratories (PHLs) and the CDPH state laboratories.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) established the Center for Laboratory Sciences (CLS) in January 2023 to unify infectious disease and environmental testing programs under one structure, improving collaboration and capabilities statewide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CDPH and local Public Health Laboratories (PHLs) faced significant challenges due to fragmented Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), lack of standardized HL7 interfaces, and manual data entry processes. These gaps hindered specimen rerouting, slowed accessioning, and limited emergency response capabilities. To address these issues, CDPH initiated the Laboratory Data Exchange (LDX) Expansion and Improvement Project. The Laboratory Data Exchange (LDX) project aims to enhance data interoperability between public health laboratories (PHLs) and the CDPH state lab, improving the efficiency and timeliness of specimen re-routing and enhancing data quality for public health surveillance.

Salary or Pay Range: $10,466.66-$22,333.33 Salary Frequency: Monthly Salary Grade: 258 UC Job Title: DATA SYS ANL 5 TX UC Job Code: 006433 Number of Positions: 1 Appointment Type: Staff: Career Percentage of Time: 100 Shift (Work Schedule): M-F 8am to 5pm Location: No Physical Access (NOPHYSACC) Union Representation: TX-Technical Professionals Benefits Eligible: Yes