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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cell Technician

💰 $ - $

BiotechnologyLaboratoryCell CultureTechnical

🎯 Role Definition

A Cell Technician (Cell Culture Technician / Cell Line Technician) is a hands-on laboratory professional responsible for maintaining, expanding and characterizing cell lines used in research, process development, or manufacturing. This role emphasizes strict adherence to SOPs and safety, high-quality documentation, routine quality control, and collaboration across R&D, QC and manufacturing teams. Ideal candidates combine practical cell culture experience with strong data recording, equipment maintenance, and compliance awareness.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Laboratory Assistant or Lab Technician (general)
  • Biology/Biotechnology undergraduate internship
  • QC/Production Support Technician

Advancement To:

  • Senior Cell Culture Technician or Cell Culture Specialist
  • Process Development Associate / Scientist
  • Biomanufacturing Technician or Production Lead
  • Quality Control (QC) Analyst or Microbiology Specialist

Lateral Moves:

  • QC/Analytical Technician
  • Sterility/Environmental Monitoring Technician
  • Laboratory Operations or Inventory Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Maintain and expand mammalian, microbial or insect cell lines under aseptic conditions according to written SOPs and biosafety requirements, ensuring cell line identity, viability and morphology meet project and QC acceptance criteria.
  • Perform routine cell culture tasks such as feeding, passaging, monitoring confluency and morphology, and documenting culture conditions and observations in electronic and paper lab records consistent with GLP/GMP documentation practices.
  • Execute cryopreservation and thawing of cell lines using approved protocols and maintain accurate inventory records for frozen cell banks and working stocks.
  • Conduct routine viability and cell count assessments using hemocytometers or automated cell counters and record quantitative results for trend analysis and batch records.
  • Prepare and maintain sterile reagents, media, and buffers following validated formulations and lot traceability requirements, and maintain reagent qualification and expiry tracking.
  • Operate, calibrate and perform basic preventative maintenance on core laboratory equipment such as biosafety cabinets, CO2 incubators, centrifuges, microscopes and automated cell counters, logging maintenance activities in equipment records.
  • Follow environmental and contamination control procedures, perform cell line mycoplasma and contamination screening (sample handling and submission), and escalate contamination events per SOPs.
  • Support in-process and release testing by preparing samples, running QC assays (e.g., viability, sterility, morphology checks), and delivering timely, accurate data to QC or project leads.
  • Prepare and label biological samples, aliquots and experimental materials with correct identifiers and chain-of-custody information; ensure secure sample storage with appropriate temperature monitoring and alarm response.
  • Maintain meticulous batch records, daily logs and electronic lab notebook entries; complete data entry in LIMS or other tracking systems with attention to auditability and data integrity.
  • Adhere to biosafety and hazardous materials handling policies (Biosafety Level 1–2) and participate in routine safety inspections, PPE checks and waste management procedures.
  • Participate in cell line characterization activities including basic phenotypic checks, documentation of passage history, and coordination of identity verification with senior staff or external providers.
  • Support small-scale process development and tech transfer activities by executing defined culture protocols, collecting process data, and communicating deviations or process improvements to scientists and engineers.
  • Assist with reagent and consumable inventory management: order reagents, reconcile stock levels, and ensure critical items (serum, media, cryo vials) are available to avoid production delays.
  • Participate in internal and external audits by preparing requested documentation, demonstrating processes and implementing corrective actions under guidance from quality teams.
  • Train junior technicians and interns on lab safety, basic cell culture techniques, documentation standards and equipment operation, and provide hands-on oversight until competency is demonstrated.
  • Implement continuous improvement suggestions by documenting inefficiencies, proposing workflow changes, and participating in small projects to improve throughput, contamination control or data quality.
  • Manage daily scheduling and prioritization of cell culture workflows across multiple projects to meet experimental timelines and manufacturing windows while minimizing cross-contamination risk.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams including R&D scientists, process development engineers and quality assurance to troubleshoot culture issues and support experimental design with operational insights.
  • Ensure cold-chain and sample integrity during transfers, packaging and shipping of biological materials to internal teams or external collaborators following regulatory and institutional shipping guidelines.
  • Record and report deviations, non-conformances and accidental exposures following incident reporting procedures; assist in root-cause investigations and implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs).
  • Participate in method validations and protocol updates by providing operational feedback, performing side-by-side comparisons and documenting performance under supervision of senior staff.
  • Maintain awareness of cell line provenance, authentication requirements and regulatory constraints (e.g., donor consent, cell line licensing), and escalate potential compliance concerns to supervising scientists.

Secondary Functions

  • Support laboratory housekeeping, inventory audits and consumable sourcing to optimize lab operations and reduce downtime.
  • Assist in preparing materials and setups for scientists and production runs, including media prep, solution sterilization, and equipment staging consistent with SOPs.
  • Provide input on facility and equipment purchase decisions based on hands-on experience and throughput needs.
  • Participate in cross-training initiatives to broaden team skillsets and backfill during peak workload or absence.
  • Contribute to internal knowledge bases by writing or updating SOPs, work instructions and training checklists under the direction of the team lead.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proven hands-on cell culture experience (mammalian and/or microbial/insect) with routine maintenance and aseptic handling.
  • Strong understanding of aseptic technique and contamination control in a laboratory environment.
  • Competence with cell viability assessments and cell counting (hemocytometer and automated counters).
  • Familiarity with cryopreservation, frozen cell bank management and controlled-rate freezing concepts.
  • Experience operating and performing basic maintenance on CO2 incubators, biosafety cabinets, centrifuges and microscopes.
  • Working knowledge of GLP/GMP principles, documentation practices and traceability for regulated environments.
  • Ability to use LIMS, electronic lab notebooks (ELN) or other sample/inventory management systems for data entry and retrieval.
  • Experience with basic QC assays and sample preparation for sterility/mycoplasma screening and downstream analytical testing.
  • Proficiency in microscopy for routine morphology checks and basic imaging documentation.
  • Basic data literacy: recording observations, plotting simple trends, and reporting deviations with quantitative support.
  • Familiarity with reagent/media preparation, filtration sterilization and lot control.
  • Experience with cold storage management (freezers, LN2 tanks) and temperature monitoring systems.
  • Knowledge of biosafety requirements and hazardous waste handling for biological materials.
  • Exposure to process development or tech transfer workflows in a lab or pilot-plant setting (preferred).

Soft Skills

  • Strong attention to detail and discipline with documentation and record keeping.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for handoffs, sample labeling and cross-team coordination.
  • Team player who collaborates effectively with scientists, engineers and quality personnel.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to manage multiple projects and shifting deadlines.
  • Proactive problem-solver who escalates issues and proposes practical process improvements.
  • Reliability and dependability in meeting scheduled shifts, cold-chain requirements and production windows.
  • Adaptability to evolving SOPs, new assays or scale-up requirements.
  • Strong ethical standards and respect for confidentiality, sample provenance and regulatory compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree (A.S.) in Biotechnology, Biology, Microbiology or related laboratory science; or High School Diploma/GED with significant, documented on-the-job cell culture experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) in Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Cell Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Biotechnology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • Entry-level: 0–2 years of laboratory experience with relevant internships or coursework.
  • Mid-level: 2–5 years of direct cell culture experience.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years hands-on cell culture or biomanufacturing experience, with exposure to GMP or regulated environments and familiarity with LIMS/ELN systems.
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