Laboratory Supervisor

Salary: $99,236.80 - $119,100.80 Annually
Location : 260 W Seeboth St, Milwaukee, WI
Job Type: Full Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number:
Department: Central Laboratory
Opening Date: 11/04/2026
Closing Date: 11/18/2026 11:59 PM Central
Hybrid Policy: With both managerial approval and the successful completion of the six-month qualification period, an employee may work from home up to two days per week.

Description

MMSD is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Laboratory Supervisor in the Water Quality Protection Division. Reporting to the Laboratory Manager, you will provide the proper allocation of staff and resources to accomplish all laboratory analyses and operations. You will be responsible for providing scientifically valid and defensible analytical data, of known and documented quality, in response to regulatory requirements and to provide an accurate measure of how well MMSD is achieving its mission.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Prioritize, schedule, and delegate work assignments. Supervise laboratory staff to ensure compliance in performing, analyzing, and logging of collected samples.
• Ensure the quality of the data reported is documented and in compliance with regulatory agencies.
• Secure the necessary resources such as equipment and supplies. Ensure that facilities are adequate and maintained to meet testing requirements.
• Review laboratory-generated data and assessment reports to recognize trends, qualifiers, or indicators of technical or quality issues and take action to resolve them.
• Implement and foster a system of cross-training for coverage in all assigned areas, weekend and holiday coverage, and special needs. Ensure team members are adequately trained and have demonstrated capabilities in the activities for which they are responsible and that such demonstration is documented.
• Determine laboratory needs, oversee purchase orders and vendor accounts, and research the economic and analytical requirements needed for the annual laboratory budget.
• Complete special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, microbiology, biology, or a related field.
• Four years of job-related experience (advanced education degrees will be considered in lieu of experience).
• Two years of experience analyzing environmental samples.
• Previous supervisory experience, leadership training, or transferable operational management skills.
• Knowledge of laboratory certification requirements from regulatory agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and accreditation through the National Environmental Laboratories Accreditation Program (NELAP).
• High degree of interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to resolve conflict.
• Ability to understand laboratory analytical methods, statistics, and complex reporting.
• Computer software proficiency.

Supplemental Information

Supervisory Responsibilities:
Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with MMSD policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities may include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

The position requires being on call during selected weekends and holidays.

Physical Requirements:

• This work requires occasional exertion of up to 25 lbs. of force.
• Work regularly requires using hands. Work frequently requires sitting, speaking, and hearing. Work occasionally requires standing, walking, climbing or balancing, kneeling or crawling, reaching with hands and arms, pushing or pulling, and repetitive motions.

Sensory Requirements:

• Work has standard vision requirements. Vocal communication is required for expressing ideas by means of the spoken word and hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels.
• Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, use of measuring devices, operating machinery, and observing general surroundings and activities.

Environmental Exposures:

• Work frequently requires exposure to fumes or airborne particles and toxic or caustic chemicals. Work occasionally requires exposure to extreme cold (non-weather), extreme heat (non-weather), to the risk of electrical shock, and to bloodborne pathogens.
• Work is generally in a moderately noisy location.

Requires the use of safety glasses and other personal protective equipment as dictated by the nature of work being performed.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

SUMMARY OF MMSD EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
MMSD provides a competitive benefits package for employees, based on Commission Policy, that include the following:

• Annual vacation: Earn three to five weeks of vacation based on years of service
• Personal Days: Earn four personal days annually.
• Sick Leave: Earn 10 days annually.
• Holidays: 10 days annually.
• Insurance Benefits: Health, dental, vision, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance benefits as well as an employee assistance program and flexible spending accounts. Some employee contributions may be required to participate in these benefits.
• Retirement Benefit: Participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System (among the best funded and best managed public pension systems in the country), which requires an employee contribution.
  • Voluntary Retirement Benefit: Nationwide 457(b) deferred compensation plans, which require an employee contribution.
• Paid Parental Leave: Employees meeting the eligibility requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will receive a maximum of six weeks (240 hours) of paid parental leave for the birth, adoption, or placement of a child or children.
• Educational Reimbursement Program: Employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement up to $5,000 annually based on degree level being pursued.
• Wages: Employees are paid biweekly.
• Parking: Free parking in MMSD's lot.

01

Please describe your experience in the following areas. Detail the scope of your involvement or expertise in each of them and summarize it using this scale: NONE, MINIMAL, INTERMEDIATE, or EXTENSIVE.1. Operating an inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES).2. Onboarding a new ICP-OES.3. Reviewing and reporting data generated by an ICP-OES.4. Operating an inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS).5. Onboarding a new ICP-MS.6. Reviewing and reporting data generated by an ICP-MS.7. Performing digestions of environmental samples for metals analyses. 8. Performing, analyzing, or reviewing data generated by other analytical techniques used for determining metals in environmental samples.
02

Please describe your experience directly supervising analysts in an environmental laboratory.
03

Please describe any leadership development courses you have taken, or any certificates of training for emerging supervisors or leaders that you have earned.
04

Please describe any special assignments you have taken or projects you have led that enhanced your leadership skills.
05

Please describe any other skills you have developed or have that would qualify you to lead a team of analysts effectively.
Required Question