IT Lead, Laboratory Systems

Role overview

Title: IT Lead, Laboratory Systems

Company: iGene Laboratory Pte Ltd (INEX Innovate group), 1 Science Park Road, Singapore

Reports to: Group GM; works day-to-day with the Laboratory Director and lab team

iGene is a CAP-accredited clinical molecular diagnostics laboratory. We are looking for a hands-on IT lead who understands how a diagnostic lab works. You will own our laboratory software: the LIS, instrument middleware, results portal and NEHR integration. You will keep these systems validated, secure and audit-ready.

This is not a back-office IT role. You will be on the lab floor building test codes, fixing interface errors and training medical technologists. You will also be our single point of accountability for IT infrastructure, including oversight of the managed-service provider that runs our servers, network and end-user devices.

Key responsibilities

1. Laboratory Information System (LIS)

· Own LIS administration end to end: build and maintain test codes, panels, reference ranges and user roles.

· Map and improve end-to-end lab workflows in the LIS: order entry, specimen tracking, result validation, report release and external delivery.

· Design and maintain patient report templates, and roll out changes when new tests launch. In addition, to support and customizing lab reports.

· Manage the LIS vendor: support tickets, SLA tracking, upgrades and patch releases.

· Lead new system implementations, migrations and major upgrades from requirements through validation, go-live and handover to support.

· Plan and document validation for every LIS change (test plans, test records, sign-off) under lab change control.

2. Middleware, instrument integration and data integrity

· Configure and support middleware and instrument-to-LIS interfaces (HL7, ASTM, XML, APIs and file-based exports from sequencers and analysers).

· Own interface specifications, data mapping, interface testing and ongoing monitoring; verify results before go-live.

· Own data-integrity controls: patient identification, order-to-result matching, transmission completeness checks, reconciliation and recovery of failed transmissions.

· Troubleshoot failed transmissions, mapping errors and result discrepancies, and drive root-cause fixes with vendors.

3. Clinic management system (CMS) integration

· Support the integration between the laboratory's LIS and external clinic management systems (CMS) for electronic transmission of laboratory results.

· Maintain and monitor interfaces used to transmit laboratory results to connected clinics

· Work with CMS vendors and/or clinics to investigate and resolve result-delivery issues.

4. NEHR and external data exchange

· Own iGene's contribution of results to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR), including interface set-up, data mapping, submission monitoring and error resolution.

· Act as technical contact for NEHR operator and MOH data requirements.

· Support electronic orders and results with referring clinics, hospitals and partners.

5. Results portal

· Maintain the clinician and partner results portal: accounts, access control/cybersecurity, report delivery and issue resolution.

· Own portal security controls, including user authentication, role-based access, privileged access, session management, audit logging, failed-login monitoring and periodic access reviews.

· Monitor and coordinate remediation of security vulnerabilities affecting the portal, including web application, server, authentication and configuration issues with the relevant vendor or managed-service provider.

6. Information security and compliance

· Monitor LIS and lab-system security: user access reviews, audit trails, privileged accounts, failed log-ins and backups.

· Own the disaster recovery plan and run scheduled backup-restore tests; define availability and recovery targets for lab-critical systems.

· Lead the response to major IT incidents: assess the impact on testing and released reports, coordinate recovery, and own CAPA.

· Apply change control to every system change (assessed, tested, documented, approved, traceable), not only the LIS.

· Keep a technology risk register and carry out risk assessments with the Quality team.

· Keep IT controls audit-ready for CAP, ISO 15189, MOH licensing (HCSA) and PDPA requirements.

· Own IT-related SOPs, downtime and business-continuity procedures, and incident records.

7. IT governance and vendor oversight

· Recommend the lab-systems roadmap and investment options, with risks and costs, to the Laboratory Director and GM for decision.

· Review vendor solution designs for clinical, security and data-integrity fit.

· Maintain the IT asset and hardware register (servers, PCs, laptops, instruments' PCs, network devices, copiers).

· Be the accountable owner of the outsourced managed-IT provider (servers, databases, firewalls, cloud services, storage, Google Workspace/Gmail, Wi-Fi and network, end-user devices): define scope, track SLAs, approve changes.

· Coordinate the company website, domain and hosting (currently Vodien).

· Prepare IT budget inputs, software licence and contract renewals, and vendor evaluations.

8. Users and training

· Train lab, clinical and admin staff on new or changed software.

· Provide go-live and first-line support on the lab floor, including occasional after-hours support for critical system downtime.

9. Documentation

· Maintain the existing SOPs and create the necessary ones. And to report and support the Laboratory Director for laboratory compliance and audit events.

Requirements

· Clinical or diagnostic laboratory experience. You must have worked in, or directly supported, a clinical or diagnostic lab and understand specimen flow, test ordering, result verification and reporting.

· Minimum 3 years of experience, of which at least 1 years are hands-on in LIS and lab middleware or healthcare application support.

· Hands-on LIS configuration: test codes, report templates, user management.

· Took part in at least one LIS or lab-system implementation, migration or major upgrade.

· Proven experience managing multiple IT vendors (e.g. LIS, middleware, firewall and network, managed IT services): scoping work, reviewing quotes and contracts, holding vendors to SLAs and escalating until issues are fixed.

· Working knowledge of interface concepts (HL7, ASTM, XML, APIs or flat-file), SQL queries, Windows, and networking basics.

· Understands clinical data integrity and what a system failure does to testing and reporting.

· Experience writing SOPs and validation documents in a regulated environment with formal change control.

· Clear communicator who can explain IT issues to lab and clinical staff, and push vendors to fix problems.

· Leading IT projects or a small team, or presenting recommendations to senior management.

· Molecular diagnostics or NGS lab environment.

· NEHR onboarding or result submission experience; familiarity with Singapore HCSA, PDPA and MOH cybersecurity requirements.

· Experience with Plato or another clinic management system.

· Direct participation in CAP/ISO 15189 and Singapore MOH audits.

· Disaster recovery planning, backup-restore testing, or IT risk assessment.

· Scripting or software development for reports, interfaces or automation (Python, PowerShell, SQL).

· Google Workspace administration, basic network and endpoint security.