Director of Clinical Genomics

Director of Clinical Genomics

Location: Austin, TX Work Arrangement: Hybrid or Onsite Employment Type: Full-Time Schedule: Monday–Friday, 1st Shift

About the Opportunity

Lighthouse Lab Services is partnering with an innovative genetic diagnostics organization to identify a Director of Clinical Genomics to help build and lead its U.S. clinical genomics operations.

This organization specializes in advanced genetic testing for patients with rare and complex genetic conditions. Through next-generation sequencing (NGS), whole-exome sequencing (WES), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and advanced bioinformatics technology, the company helps physicians identify the genetic causes of rare diseases and provide answers to patients and families who may have spent years searching for a diagnosis.

This is a unique opportunity to join a growing organization as it establishes its U.S. clinical laboratory operations. The Director will play a foundational role in developing clinical genomics workflows, building a high-performing team, and adapting established genomic analysis and reporting capabilities for the U.S. market.

Position Overview

The Director of Clinical Genomics will lead the clinical operations supporting the full genomic testing process, from incoming test order review and clinical information verification through variant interpretation, reporting workflows, and post-test consultation.

This individual will oversee a multidisciplinary team of Variant Scientists, Genetic Counselors, and clinical operations professionals. Responsibilities will include ensuring the quality and consistency of variant interpretation, managing clinical order exceptions, optimizing tertiary analysis workflows, and developing scalable processes for clinical reporting and physician support.

The Director will serve as a key connection point between clinical teams, bioinformatics, engineering, and laboratory leadership. The role will also help adapt existing genomic analysis technology and workflows to meet U.S. clinical and regulatory requirements.

This position reports closely with the CLIA Laboratory Director, who retains final responsibility for clinical report sign-out. The Director of Clinical Genomics will not serve as the CLIA Laboratory Director and will not independently sign out clinical reports.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced Genetic Counselor with strong clinical genomics knowledge, hands-on variant interpretation experience, and a background leading teams in a clinical laboratory or commercial genetic testing environment.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Genomics Leadership & Team Development

Build, lead, and develop a multidisciplinary team of Variant Scientists, Genetic Counselors, and clinical operations specialists.

Establish team structure, workflows, performance expectations, and operational metrics.

Oversee hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing professional development.

Foster a culture of scientific rigor, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Develop scalable clinical operations to support future growth in testing volume and service offerings.

Variant Interpretation & Clinical Assessment

Oversee variant interpretation and classification activities in accordance with ACMG/AMP guidelines and established gene-disease validity standards.

Serve as the primary clinical escalation point for complex or challenging variant interpretation cases.

Ensure consistent and accurate variant curation practices across the team.

Oversee the use of genomic databases and resources, including ClinVar, HGMD, gnomAD, and OMIM.

Support appropriate interpretation of genetic findings in the context of patient phenotypes and clinical history.

Ensure variant assessment workflows are scientifically sound, consistent, and appropriately documented.

Clinical Order Review & Triage

Oversee incoming clinical test orders and ensure appropriate review of patient information before testing begins.

Manage order exceptions, including incomplete clinical information, insufficient phenotype details, and other documentation concerns.

Lead Genetic Counselors responsible for verifying clinical information and ensuring relevant phenotype data is accurately captured in the laboratory information management system (LIMS).

Establish processes to resolve order issues efficiently and minimize delays in testing.

Partner with laboratory operations to ensure smooth coordination between clinical order intake and downstream testing workflows.

Genomic Analysis Pipeline & Workflow Optimization

Support the adaptation and optimization of tertiary genomic analysis workflows for the U.S. clinical market.

Oversee processes supporting the transition from genomic data files, including VCFs, through variant annotation, filtering, classification, and clinical reporting.

Partner with bioinformatics and engineering teams to improve workflow efficiency, scalability, and consistency.

Identify opportunities to optimize automated variant filtering, annotation, and report generation.

Ensure clinical requirements are appropriately incorporated into genomic analysis tools and reporting systems.

Clinical Reporting & Evidence Generation

Serve as a primary clinical stakeholder for report design, interpretation logic, and clinical content.

Ensure clinical reports translate complex genomic findings into clear, accurate, and actionable information for healthcare providers.

Partner with technical teams to improve automated reporting workflows and documentation.

Support the development of structured genomic data and curation databases that can contribute to Medical Affairs initiatives, clinical utility studies, and real-world evidence generation.

Maintain consistency and quality across clinical reporting practices.

Genetic Counseling & Physician Consultation

Establish and oversee post-test consultation workflows.

Lead Genetic Counselors serving as clinical liaisons for ordering physicians.

Support physician questions regarding variant interpretation, clinical significance, and potential next steps.

Ensure appropriate communication of recommendations for parental testing, family testing, and additional clinical evaluation.

Develop consistent processes for communicating complex genomic findings to providers who may not specialize in genetics.

Quality Assurance & Regulatory Compliance

Ensure clinical interpretation, dry-lab analysis, reporting, and consultation workflows comply with applicable CAP, CLIA, HIPAA, and state-specific requirements.

Maintain awareness of relevant California CDPH and New York State Department of Health requirements.

Develop and maintain SOPs covering clinical order intake, variant curation, reporting workflows, and related clinical processes.

Collaborate with laboratory leadership and quality teams to support regulatory readiness and ongoing compliance.

Monitor clinical quality metrics and implement improvements as needed.

Required Qualifications

Master's degree in Genetic Counseling from an ACGC-accredited program.

Certification as a Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) through the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC), or applicable genetic counseling certification through the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG).

Must hold, or be eligible to obtain, genetic counselor licensure in states where required.

Minimum of 5 years of experience in a clinical genomics laboratory, molecular diagnostics, or commercial genetic testing environment.

At least 2 years of direct people management experience leading clinical, scientific, or genetic counseling teams.

Strong hands-on experience with ACMG/AMP variant classification guidelines and gene-disease validity assessments.

Familiarity with genomic interpretation resources, including ClinVar, HGMD, gnomAD, and OMIM.

Experience supporting or optimizing tertiary clinical NGS workflows, including variant annotation, filtering, classification, and reporting for exome sequencing, genome sequencing, or large gene panels.

Working knowledge of CAP, CLIA, California CDPH, and New York State Department of Health requirements as they relate to clinical genomics and reporting.

Strong understanding of clinical reporting practices and experience providing consultations to healthcare providers.

Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage complex workflows, and collaborate across clinical and technical functions.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience partnering with bioinformatics and engineering teams to improve genomic analysis software, variant curation tools, and reporting pipelines.

Previous experience in a startup or high-growth organization, particularly supporting the launch or expansion of clinical genomics services.

Ability to translate clinical requirements into technical specifications and communicate technical limitations to clinical and medical leadership.

Familiarity with Agile project management methodologies and tools such as Jira, Confluence, or Asana.

Experience with pediatric rare disease testing, including whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing.

Familiarity with trio analysis, de novo variant assessment, and phenotype-driven case review using Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO).

Compensation & Benefits

The organization offers a competitive compensation package, including:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and eligible family members.

401(k) retirement plan.

Paid time off.

Paid sick leave.

Company holidays.

Professional liability and medical malpractice insurance.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of clinical genomics within a growing genetic diagnostics organization.

You'll have the ability to build and lead a multidisciplinary team, influence clinical interpretation and reporting strategy, and help bring advanced genomic testing capabilities to the U.S. market.

For an experienced Genetic Counselor with leadership experience and a strong background in rare disease genomics, this position offers the opportunity to take on a meaningful leadership role at the intersection of clinical genetics, bioinformatics, and precision medicine.

Interested? Apply today or contact Lighthouse Lab Services to learn more about this opportunity.

About Us

At Lighthouse Lab Services, we offer solutions to help start, grow, and run clinical laboratories. Our recruiting team has over 22 years of proven success placing job seekers in positions ranging from entry-level Medical Technologists to seasoned Laboratory Directors. We recruit nationwide for permanent and travel positions with clients ranging from small hospitals to large reference laboratories.

It is the policy of Lighthouse Lab Services to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual

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