Kevin Vilchis

Laboratory operations and asset management professional with 10+ years of experience across biotechnology, therapeutics, clinical laboratories, and manufacturing environments.

Current Lead Site

Specialist supporting Novartis Therapeutics through Thermo Fisher Scientific Unity Lab Services, coordinating preventive and corrective maintenance, inventory and asset data, vendors, work orders, and cross-functional teams for a laboratory environment with 1,000+ instruments. Experienced in regulated operations, team leadership and mentoring, multi-site cycle counts, continuous improvement, and translating scientific workflows into reliable service operations.

Lead Site Specialist | Supporting Novartis Therapeutics - Thermo Fisher Scientific - Unity Lab Services

(2025-03)

• Oversee preventive maintenance (PM) activities for 1,000+ laboratory instruments, coordinating annual service requirements, work orders, scheduling, vendors, and internal stakeholders to support equipment availability and compliance.
• Coordinate corrective maintenance (CM) for instrument failures by initiating service requests, engaging vendors, tracking repairs, and communicating status to laboratory end users to help minimize downtime and operational disruption.
• Perform expanded Inventory Specialist and asset-management responsibilities, maintaining data integrity, resolving inventory discrepancies, and creating, updating, and validating instrument records in IBM Resource Center and CMS.
• Manage complex parent-child asset relationships and equipment groupings, including HPLC stacks, mass spectrometry systems, and associated components, to support accurate maintenance tracking and service history.
• Lead recurring meetings with a Costa Rica-based dispatch/back-office team; provide workflow guidance, resolve asset and service issues, and use bilingual English/Spanish communication to strengthen alignment with site and client priorities.
• Selected for the Ambassador Program as a mentor, providing training, constructive feedback, troubleshooting support, and ongoing guidance to help a new team member acclimate to the role.
• Support multi-site operations, including annual travel to Emeryville for comprehensive instrument cycle counts completed within a one-week window with 100% completion for two consecutive years, while also supporting cycle counts at the San Diego site.
• Review and track service requests, work orders, asset records, purchase orders, vendor service reports, and invoices; escalate issues and participate in PPI initiatives to improve workflow, data quality, and operational performance.
• Support safety, regulatory, and inspection readiness through accurate maintenance documentation, asset records, established workflows, and coordination with clients, engineers, vendors, and internal teams; contribute to a program that received positive client feedback and a five-year contract extension.

Research Associate - Nano-Antibody Team - Allele Biotechnology

(2022-04 - 2024-12)

• Executed research and product-development workflows involving fibroblast cell culture, killing and blocking assays, phage panning, plasmid transformation, DNA sequencing analysis, and nano-antibody development.
• Performed protein purification using chromatography columns and enzyme cleavage workflows; supported SDS-PAGE and conjugation of monoclonal and polyclonal nano-antibodies to agarose glyoxal beads.
• Supported facility and laboratory operations, including environmental monitoring in clean rooms, RO/DI water testing, inventory quarantine/release in LIMS, CO2 and liquid nitrogen management, and equipment readiness.
• Coordinated third-party manufacturing activities and supported development of fluorescent-protein nano-antibody products targeting GFP and mNeonGreen; troubleshot protocols and communicated findings through weekly presentations.
• Trained coworkers on instrument operation and supported vendor/sales communications, laboratory technology adoption, and transition toward electronic laboratory notebooks.

Analytical Chemist, Preclinical - Poseida Therapeutics

(2021-04 - 2022-04)

• Performed analytical characterization of lipid nanoparticles, including DLS, zeta potential, NanoSight particle sizing, RNA extraction, and stability studies in a preclinical research environment.
• Executed and supported assay validation and method-development activities, including quantitative RiboGreen, gel electrophoresis/TapeStation workflows, ELISA troubleshooting, and sample preparation for ELSD/HPLC.
• Documented experiments in LabVantage electronic lab notebooks and analyzed/presented data using GraphPad Prism and PowerPoint.
• Cross-trained on analytical technologies and trained team members on DLS Wyatt workflows while maintaining safe hazardous-waste and laboratory practices.

Lead Clinical Lab Technician - Helix - San Diego, CA

(2020-10 - 2021-03)

• Led clinical laboratory workflow for high-volume COVID-19 qPCR testing, directing personnel across accessioning, sample preparation, and plating operations to maintain production continuity.
• Trained employees on laboratory safety, cGMP, SOPs, documentation, and security requirements; conducted quality and safety checks and communicated work-in-progress between shifts.
• Operated and troubleshot Hamilton liquid-handling robotics, Scinomix systems, ViaFlow automation, LIMS/HAMUI workflows, and 384-well sample plating processes.
• Monitored equipment and freezer data, documented automation issues through ticketing systems, escalated laboratory incidents, and supported compliant handling of biohazardous/PHI materials.

Manufacturing Lab Technician (Contract) - ChromaCode - San Diego, CA

(2020-05 - 2020-08)

• Manufactured qPCR reagents and COVID-19 test kits under SOP-controlled processes; created and revised production documentation and specification sheets.
• Managed material receiving, verification, inventory, cycle counts, storage, and ERP transactions in GP.
• Coordinated equipment maintenance/calibration and supported production readiness in a regulated laboratory manufacturing environment.

Medical Technician / Phlebotomist - Octapharma Plasma Inc. - San Diego, CA

(2018-04 - 2020-04)

• Supported regulated plasma-collection operations, donor monitoring, aseptic blood handling, equipment QC, cGMP practices, and biohazard controls.

Chemistry Technician II / Manufacturing - Nude Nicotine - San Diego, CA

(2015-04 - 2017-04)

• Performed chemical formulation and dilution, clean-room material handling, laboratory equipment maintenance, inventory management, and SOP/safety compliance.

Associate Degree - Biology - San Diego Miramar College (2018)

Certificate of Performance - Biotechnology (Microbiology focus) - San Diego Miramar College (2019)

Generative AI with Machine Learning coursework - generative AI and large language models (LLMs) - Coursera (2025)