Laboratory Director, IVF & ART

<h1><strong>Laboratory Director, IVF &amp; ART</strong></h1> <p><em>DiRezze Family Office — South Florida (premium IVF network, hub-and-spoke)</em></p> <h2><strong>The opportunity</strong></h2> <p>DiRezze Family Office is building a premium IVF network in South Florida, anchored by a flagship hub clinic now in site selection in the Brickell-to-Hallandale corridor, with a spoke already operating in Bay Harbor Islands. The Laboratory Director will own the design, build, accreditation, and ongoing operation of the flagship lab — and will set the technical standard that future spokes inherit.</p> <p>This is a founding role. The Laboratory Director is on the critical path of the build, reports directly to the founding partner, and is expected to have a defining voice on facility design, equipment selection, staffing, SOPs, and the long-term technology roadmap.</p> <h2><strong>Engagement model</strong></h2> <p>We are open to two paths and invite candidates to self-select:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Full-time, Day 1.</strong> Hired as the founding Laboratory Director with executive-level compensation and meaningful equity. Begin with facility feasibility and design; transition into operational leadership through accreditation, opening, and scale.</li> <li><strong>Consulting-to-hire.</strong> Begin with a paid feasibility and design engagement (typically 8–12 weeks) covering site walk-through, technical memo, facility spec, and equipment plan. Convert to full-time Laboratory Director ahead of construction kickoff. This path is designed for candidates currently in director roles who want to validate the opportunity before transitioning.</li> </ul> <p>Both paths lead to the same destination. The recruiter can route candidate preferences.</p> <h2><strong>What you will own</strong></h2> <h3><strong>Phase 1 — Facility design and pre-construction (months 0–6)</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Walk candidate sites and produce technical feasibility memos covering floor-to-floor height, floor load, HVAC capacity, electrical service, LN2 routing, medical gas infrastructure, and adjacent-tenant risk.</li> <li>Define the lab program: square footage, room adjacencies, ISO classification targets, equipment footprint, cryostorage capacity, andrology and procedure room layout.</li> <li>Select and brief the IVF facility consultant; review schematic and construction documents from the architect of record; sign off on HVAC, air quality, and cryostorage engineering.</li> <li>Build the Day 1 equipment plan, including time-lapse incubation (EmbryoScope+ or equivalent), electronic witnessing (RI Witness or Matcher), LIMS (eIVF or equivalent), and andrology workstation specifications.</li> <li>Design the lab to be automation-ready for future robotic IVF deployment (e.g., Conceivable/AURA) without committing premature capital.</li> </ul> <h3><strong>Phase 2 — Construction, commissioning, and accreditation (months 6–12)</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Oversee construction, commissioning, equipment installation, and validation.</li> <li>Recruit and onboard senior embryology and andrology staff (the Laboratory Director chooses these hires).</li> <li>Author all SOPs, quality systems documentation, and the QA/QC program.</li> <li>Drive CLIA, CAP, and Florida licensure; lead the SART membership application.</li> <li>Establish PGT outsourcing relationships for Years 1–2, with a defined pathway to in-house NGS at 600+ cycles/year.</li> </ul> <h3><strong>Phase 3 — Operations and scale (months 12+)</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Direct day-to-day lab operations: clinical outcomes, staffing, quality, regulatory compliance, vendor management.</li> <li>Set the technical standard for spoke lab integrations and future acquisition diligence.</li> <li>Lead the Year 2–3 evaluation of automation partnerships and PGT in-sourcing.</li> <li>Mentor junior embryologists; build a pipeline that supports network expansion.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Required qualifications</strong></h2> <ul> <li><strong>Certification:</strong> HCLD (High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director) through ABB, or equivalent PhD-track credential with ELD. Required for CLIA Lab Director of record.</li> <li><strong>Greenfield build experience:</strong> Has commissioned at least one IVF lab from shell space through CAP/CLIA accreditation. We will ask for specifics: square footage, cycle volume at launch, lease-to-first-transfer timeline.</li> <li><strong>Technology fluency:</strong> Direct operating experience with time-lapse incubation (EmbryoScope+ specifically), electronic witnessing (RI Witness and/or Matcher), and a modern LIMS. Informed opinions on tradeoffs, not brand familiarity.</li> <li><strong>Volume scaling:</strong> Has run a lab through the 200 → 600+ annual cycle inflection, with the staffing, equipment redundancy, and quality systems that come with it.</li> <li><strong>Quality systems leadership:</strong> Has authored SOPs from scratch, led CAP inspections, and operated under current witnessing and traceability standards. Familiar with post-Alabama regulatory environment and lessons from recent IVF mix-up incidents.</li> <li><strong>Automation literacy:</strong> Familiar with the current automation landscape (Conceivable/AURA, CHLOE, Life Whisperer, ALife) without being a true believer. Builds automation-ready, not automation-dependent.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Preferred</strong></h2> <ul> <li>Florida operating experience, including familiarity with Office Surgery Registration pathway.</li> <li>Prior tenure at a premium-segment network (CCRM, Shady Grove, RMA, Boston IVF, Spring Fertility, or equivalent).</li> <li>Direct experience opening or scaling a network lab (multi-site, hub-and-spoke).</li> <li>Published research or society leadership (ASRM, SART, ABB).</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p>