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PRODUCT MANAGER - LIFE SCIENCES - HYBRID

Role - Product Manager - Laboratory Integration

Duration - 6 months with very likely extension

Location - Hybrid

IR35 - Inside IR35

Rate - £400 - £600

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Product Manager to lead the integration of laboratory instruments across Research & Development and Manufacturing Science & Technology (MSAT) environments. This is a highly visible role focused on delivering seamless connectivity between laboratory equipment, digital laboratory platforms, and enterprise systems.

The successful candidate will own the laboratory integration roadmap, manage a diverse stakeholder community, gather and prioritise requirements, and oversee the successful delivery of integration initiatives across multiple laboratory functions.

This position would suit someone with hands-on experience delivering laboratory digital transformation programmes, particularly involving Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN), laboratory informatics platforms, and instrument integration.

Key Responsibilities

Own and deliver the product roadmap for laboratory instrument integration initiatives.Engage and manage stakeholders across R&D, Process Development (PD), MSAT, Quality, Manufacturing and IT functions.Capture, analyse and prioritise business and technical requirements.Drive end-to-end delivery of laboratory integration projects from concept through deployment.Work closely with laboratory scientists, instrument vendors, software providers and technical delivery teams.Define product vision, strategy and success metrics for laboratory connectivity solutions.Coordinate the integration of a broad range of laboratory instruments and analytical platforms.Ensure data generated by laboratory equipment is captured, standardised and integrated into digital laboratory ecosystems.Manage vendor relationships and third-party partners involved in laboratory systems and instrumentation.Facilitate governance, risk management and change control activities.Support adoption of digital laboratory capabilities through training, communication and stakeholder engagement.

Required Experience

Proven experience as a Product Manager, Product Owner or Business Product Lead within life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemical manufacturing or laboratory-based environments.Strong experience managing complex stakeholder groups across scientific and technical functions.Track record of owning product backlogs, requirements gathering and delivery management.Experience working with laboratory informatics platforms and laboratory digitalisation initiatives.Demonstrable experience integrating laboratory instruments with Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN).Understanding of laboratory data flows, scientific workflows and instrument-generated data.Experience working within Agile, Waterfall or hybrid delivery frameworks.Ability to translate scientific business requirements into technical solutions.

Highly Desirable Experience

Experience with one or more of the following:

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN) such as IDBS E-WorkBook, Signals Notebook, Benchling or LabArchives.Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).Scientific Data Management Systems (SDMS).Laboratory Execution Systems (LES).Instrument integration platforms and middleware.Data standards including Allotrope, SiLA, OPC-UA or similar laboratory connectivity frameworks.Integration technologies and APIs.Pharmaceutical, biotech or regulated laboratory environments.

Key Skills

Product ManagementStakeholder ManagementRequirements GatheringLaboratory DigitisationLaboratory Instrument IntegrationELN IntegrationAgile DeliveryRoadmap ManagementVendor ManagementBusiness AnalysisProcess ImprovementScientific Informatics

Ideal Candidate

You will be a commercially minded Product Manager with a strong understanding of laboratory operations and scientific workflows. You will have successfully delivered instrument integration programmes and understand the challenges of connecting diverse laboratory technologies into a modern digital laboratory ecosystem. Most importantly, you will be comfortable operating between scientists, business stakeholders and technical teams to drive successful outcomes.

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

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OT Architect - OutsideIR35

Contract: 6 Months
IR35: OUTSIDE IR35
Location: REMOTE - UK
On-site: 1 day per month (North Yorkshire)
Industry: Pharmaceutical / Life Sciences
Engagement: Contract
Rate: 450pd+ Outside

The Opportunity

We are working with a pharmaceutical manufacturing organisation undergoing a significant transformation across its IT, OT, automation and digital manufacturing environment.

They are looking for an experienced OT Architect to provide architectural leadership across a highly regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing environment, helping to define how IT, OT, automation, manufacturing systems, infrastructure, cybersecurity and enterprise platforms come together.

This is a genuine Outside IR35 contract, offering predominantly remote working with only 1 day per month on-site.

The successful candidate will operate at an architectural level, working across both strategic and technical domains to define target-state architecture, integration patterns, technology standards, roadmaps and governance across the manufacturing environment.

Key ResponsibilitiesDefine and maintain the OT and site architecture vision, principles, standards, reference architectures and technology roadmaps.Provide architectural leadership across pharmaceutical manufacturing, including OT, automation, MES, SCADA, DCS, PLCs, historians, BMS, EMS, laboratory systems and enterprise platforms.Define and govern IT/OT convergence and integration architectures across manufacturing and corporate environments.Develop target-state architectures and practical transition roadmaps that consider production requirements, regulatory obligations, cybersecurity, resilience and lifecycle management.Work across platforms including MES, LIMS, QMS, WMS, ERP, EDMS, serialisation, CMMS, electronic batch records and shop-floor systems.Define secure and resilient architectures covering industrial networks, segmentation, DMZs, remote access, identity, infrastructure, servers, endpoints, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery.Assess existing OT environments to identify technical debt, obsolescence, cyber risk, unsupported technologies, architectural weaknesses, unmanaged interfaces and resilience gaps.Develop architecture patterns for validated and regulated manufacturing systems, including audit trails, electronic signatures, role-based access, segregation of duties, data integrity, master data, time synchronisation and lifecycle controls.Ensure architectural decisions support GMP, GxP, data integrity, patient safety, product quality and inspection readiness.Partner with Engineering, Automation, Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Data, Applications and senior site stakeholders.Support CSV/CSA, validation, risk assessments, design reviews, change control and regulated technology implementation.Lead architecture workshops, design authorities, technical reviews and supplier design assessments.Maintain architecture documentation including system landscapes, capability maps, data flows, integration diagrams, network/segmentation views, roadmaps and architecture decision records.Provide architectural input into technology investment cases, assessing business value, production impact, compliance, risk, lifecycle, scalability, supportability and total cost of ownership.Support digital manufacturing initiatives involving cloud, edge computing, advanced analytics, AI, automation and industrial data platforms, where appropriate for a validated environment.Help establish consistent architecture practices across OT, engineering, automation and technology delivery teams.Essential Experience

We are looking for a proven OT / Industrial / Manufacturing Architect with experience operating in complex, highly regulated environments.

You should have:

Strong experience designing OT / IT architectures within pharmaceutical, life sciences, chemical, food & beverage or similarly regulated manufacturing environments.Strong understanding of GxP / GMP regulated environments and the implications these have on technology architecture.Experience with IT/OT convergence and industrial control environments.Strong understanding of ISA-95 and/or Purdue-style architectures.Practical knowledge of industrial environments including PLC, DCS, SCADA, HMI, historians, MES and industrial networks.Experience with OT network architecture, segmentation, industrial DMZs and secure remote access.Strong understanding of integration technologies including OPC UA, APIs, middleware, event-driven architecture, ETL/ELT and historian integrations.Experience working with validated systems and understanding of Computerised System Validation (CSV) / Computer Software Assurance (CSA).Strong knowledge of EU GMP Annex 11, 21 CFR Part 11, GAMP 5 and ALCOA+ / data integrity principles.Understanding of OT cybersecurity principles and frameworks, ideally including IEC 62443, NIST and/or ISO 27001.Ability to produce and communicate target-state architectures, reference architectures, roadmaps and architectural decision records.Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with engineering, automation, manufacturing, quality, cybersecurity and corporate IT.Experience operating in live manufacturing environments where changes must be carefully managed around production schedules, shutdowns, validation windows and batch campaigns.DesirableTOGAF or equivalent Enterprise / Solution Architecture certification.ISA-95 / ISA-88 experience.IEC 62443 certification or equivalent OT cybersecurity experience.Experience with pharmaceutical MES / electronic batch record environments.Experience with LIMS, QMS, WMS, serialisation or laboratory systems.Experience with cloud and edge architectures within regulated manufacturing.Experience supporting major OT transformation, digital manufacturing or IT/OT convergence programmes.Previous experience working with global pharmaceutical manufacturing organisations.Apply

If you are an experienced OT Architect, Industrial Architect, Manufacturing Architect or IT/OT Architect with a background in pharmaceutical or regulated manufacturing, we'd be keen to hear from you.

Please apply with your latest CV and we will be in touch to discuss the programme, rate and engagement in more detail.

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

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