Facilities & Lab Manager

Lab And Facilities Manager

Astera is a private foundation on a mission to steer science and technology toward an abundant future for all. Our flagship Residency is a one-year program that supports extraordinary technologists who are producing public goods. As of July 2025, we have six residents from our first cohort working on projects that range from growing microbes that can exist on Mars to harnessing the anti-oxidant effects of fermented foods to designing open source telescopes. We support not only residents' salaries, but also budgets for them to hire a team and meet other needs to accelerate their work. We also support the physical space needs of these residents : opened a life science lab earlier this year and are in the process of developing an engineering space. With our Residency program, we aim to create new pathways for brilliant scientists pursuing discoveries that don't fit neatly into academia or industry.

We are seeking a mission- and culturally-aligned lab and facilities manager to support the evolving physical needs of our residents across diverse scientific disciplines. Cohorts rotate twice a year, and their needs can range from building a tissue culture space for a fermented foods project, to setting up optical experiments in a warehouse, to enabling a design studio.

The role includes frequent stakeholder management and communications, hands-on day-to-day facility management, equipment procurement, and management of vendors. Reporting to the COO, you'll take ownership of two experimental spaces and partner closely with residents to help them succeed.

This role is ideal for someone with laboratory and / or workshop experience who is eager to broaden their skillset, thrives on solving novel problems, and is energized by enabling ambitious science.

Responsibilities

• Maintain laboratory and warehouse spaces, including equipment, utilities, repairs, office needs, and snacks.
• Maintain lines of communication with Astera leadership and residents to provide insight into the status of the lab facilities
• Work with the landlord on maintenance and tenant improvements.
• Work with science residents to outfit Astera facilities with new capabilities to meet the needs of new cohorts
• Lead medium- and long-term space planning to adapt to shifting program needs.
• Partner with new residents to identify solutions for their R&D space needs, both inside and outside of Astera facilities
• Oversee EH&S and emergency response planning.
• Flex to "unknown unknowns," such as helping with maintenance at our main office (3 blocks away), covering when the office manager is out, or outfitting buildouts of new spaces.

Essential Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

We expect that competitive candidates may have additional qualifications that make them especially well suited to this role, potentially including :

Example backgrounds that could be strong fit :

Attributes

More important than substantial experience is cultural alignment. Key attributes that are critical for success include :

Location : This role will be in person in Emeryville, California.

Compensation : $130-$150k, commensurate with experience