Specimen Accessioning Technician

W2 Contract 9 Months

Onsite, Chaska, MN

As a Specimen Accessioning Technician within our Global Clinical Procurement team, you will support the clinical development programs by performing high-quality specimen accessioning, processing, storage, retrieval, and distribution within a regulated IVD development environment. This role ensures accurate, compliant, and efficient handling of biological specimens and contributes directly to the timely execution of clinical study activities across the organization.

In this role, you will contribute to:

• Receive and accession frozen biospecimen shipments (e.g., plasma, serum) in accordance with established biorepository procedures, temperature‑control requirements, and quality standards.
• Perform technical specimen‑handling activities, including verifying shipment conditions (e.g., temperature loggers, dry ice levels), unpacking and sorting specimens, relabeling when appropriate, and preparing aliquots or primary containers for storage.
• Place specimens into designated ultralow (ULT) freezer storage locations following defined layout maps, rack/box management systems, and biosafety guidelines.
• Maintain accurate chain‑of‑custody and temperature‑traceability records, ensuring timely and precise data entry into biorepository inventory management or LIMS systems.
• Prepare and route biospecimens for internal processing teams or outbound shipments, ensuring adherence to cold‑chain, dry ice packing, and IATA / DOT hazardous material requirements.
• Retrieve and return frozen specimens from ULT freezers to support testing requests, research studies, and routine biorepository operations, while minimizing freeze‑thaw cycles.
• Identify, document, and escalate specimen issues, such as temperature excursions, damaged vials, labeling discrepancies, or incomplete manifests, according to established incident management procedures.
• Monitor and maintain inventory of stored biospecimens, racks, consumables, and cold‑chain supplies, ensuring that daily accessioning, retrieval, and shipment activities proceed without interruption.
• Maintain clean, organized, and inspection‑ready workspaces.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on accessioning accuracy, workflow efficiency, freezer capacity optimization, cold‑chain handling, and documentation best practices.

The essential requirements of the job include:

• Technical diploma, vocational qualification, or relevant training in a laboratory, biomedical, or health‑science field; a bachelor’s degree is beneficial but not required.
• 1–3 years of experience with frozen specimen handling, biorepository or biobank operations, cold‑chain logistics, laboratory accessioning, or related sample‑management workflows.
• Demonstrated experience with biospecimen accessioning procedures, including inspection of incoming shipments, verification of manifests, container and aliquot labeling, chain‑of‑custody documentation, and inventory tracking using spreadsheets, sample‑management tools, or LIMS.
• Experience preparing or packaging frozen specimens for outbound shipment, including working with dry ice.
• Ability to follow detailed work instructions and operate consistently within a regulated, quality‑controlled laboratory environment.
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills to handle multiple tasks and maintain accurate records in a high‑throughput setting.
• High attention to detail, reliability, and accuracy when working with irreplaceable tissue materials and documentation.
• Comfort working in ULT freezer environments, including adherence to PPE requirements and the physical demands of handling racks, boxes, and dry ice in cold‑chain workflows.