Head of Laboratory

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

About the job

NTNU is the foremost technical university in Norway, located in Trondheim. NTNU NanoLab is a 700 m² cleanroom facility opened in 2009, and a central part of NTNU’s strategic initiative for Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Functional Materials. The Faculty of Natural Sciences is the host faculty.

NTNU NanoLab is an open-access cleanroom serving both academia and industry, equipped for nano-structuring and characterisation using physical, chemical and biological methods. On average 300 users from diverse scientific fields use the facility each year. NTNU NanoLab is part of the Norwegian national infrastructure for micro- and nanofabrication (NorFab), the Nordic Nanolab Network (NNN) and the European cleanroom consortium EuroNanoLab. The permanent staff includes the Director, six service and process engineers, and the Head of Laboratory.

The Head of Laboratory is a technical administrator who acts as the leader of the engineering team and is the interface between our users, the University and the NanoLab. The engineers are the competence holders for the cleanroom and its instrumentation. The leader role requires in-depth knowledge of all aspects of running an advanced cleanroom infrastructure, including but not limited to chemical handling (toxic, explosive, and pyrophoric gases; nanoparticles), air filtration, gas supply systems, building management systems (BMS), and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) as well as advanced scientific equipment. Some prior experience in maintenance and repair of scientific instrumentation is therefore required.

We are a positive, international team with good opportunities for both professional and personal development. NTNU NanoLab operates as a dynamic environment with a flat hierarchy where every employee has a genuine impact on the operation.

Your immediate leader will be the Director NTNU NanoLab

Duties of the position

Job Description

The Head of Laboratory is responsible for administrating and managing the operation of NTNU’s cleanroom facilities and supporting infrastructure. The position works closely with the leader of Technical Operations and reports to the Director of NTNU NanoLab, who holds personnel responsibility. If the perfect candidate cannot be found, NanoLab would have to withdraw the position for further assessement. 

Responsibilities include:

• Main contact point for existing and prospective users, suppliers and administrative functions at the university. 
• Work management and coordination of a team comprising 6 engineers, 7 PhD duty workers and 7 student assistants
• Service management to ensure excellent service to all users of NTNU NanoLab
• Continual improvement of existing administrative and infrastructure routines, and development of new ones, to ensure an efficient and safe work environment
• Follow-up on routines and procedures established by engineers
• Development of pricing policy and coordination of invoicing routines with the finance department
• Contribution to development and implementation of the long-term investment plan
• Coordination of user training and overview of all cleanroom activities
• Coordination with NTNU and external vendors for service and maintenance of the infrastructure, and with internal and external users of NanoLab
• Promotion of NTNU NanoLab to increase utilisation of the infrastructure
• Representation of NTNU NanoLab at national and international networking meetings
• Coordination of investments and major cleanroom rebuilds
• HSE coordinator responsibilities in a challenging environment with over 300 users per year, involving use of dangerous chemicals and gases, and complex infrastructure
• Ensuring legal compliance across GDPR, export control, HSE, and other relevant regulations
• Administration of access control and the EQS deviation management system
• Supporting the NanoLab team whenever required.

Required selection criteria

• Master’s degree in a relevant technical field
• 5–10 years of relevant work experience within a cleanroom fabrication environment
• Leadership experience or documented leadership competence
• Project management experience, including competence in managing investment processes through public procurement
• Proven experience of building or maintaining management systems that ensure consistent quality and continual improvement, grounded in the fundamentals of ISO 9001 - you will be structuring our all laboratory processes and helping maintain them together with the rest of the team
• Hands-on experience building/maintaining financial models (i.e. pricing)
• Experience with managing and structuring HSE work, especially pertaining to the use of dangerous chemicals in a multi-user environment. 
• Experience/certification for safe handling of dangerous gases
• Experience in service, repair, and maintenance of advanced scientific instrumentation 
• Knowledgeable on the fundamentals of ISO 9001 certification
• Good written and spoken Norwegian and English language competence is essential.

Preferred selection criteria

• Customer service experience
• Familiarity with relevant software such as LIMS and project management tools
• Written and oral proficiency in Norwegian (to at least Level B2) and English – 
• Demonstrated ability to work in a dynamic environment with multiple deliverables and stakeholders

Personal characteristics 

• The successful candidate is service-minded and solution-oriented, with a genuine drive to optimize and develop cleanroom operations and service quality. 
• You are self-driven and tenacious, with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain momentum through challenges. 
• You have a broad set of experience pertaining to the workings of a nanofabrication cleanroom infrastructure that allow you to assess the operations as a whole and then prioritize and focus your own and the teams efforts to provide the best level of service to our users.
• You have strong organizational skills and are structured, systematic, and detail-oriented, while remaining flexible enough to adapt to a dynamic work environment. Personal suitability is of high importance for this position.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement. 

If the perfectly suited candidate cannot be found, Nanolab would of safety reasons withdraw the position.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favorable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

General information 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

----------------------

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Peter Andreas Köllensperger, telephone73593979, email p.köllensperger@ntnu.no

 If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Joakim Junge Henriksen, e-mail: joakim.henriksen@ntnu.no

We look forward to your application!

Application deadline: 16.11.2026

Salary and conditions

The gross salary for the position as Chief Engineer, code 1088, is remunerated depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above. 

The application must contain 

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• name and adress of three references
• Overview of prior employment detailing relevant skills and certificates relevant to the position

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well