---
title: 'Lab Manager at MaverickX'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/lab-manager-maverickx-austin-417da955g5cf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-11'
---

# Lab Manager at MaverickX

- **Company:** MaverickX
- **Location:** Austin, TX
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/maverickx/2114d73b-1450-463c-be59-14140ab3c58e

## Job description

The Company MaverickX is revitalizing critical resource extraction with precision biologics. We are a team of scientists, engineers, and business operators who are bringing cutting-edge biotechnology products to the world’s most critical industries.

## The Role

The Lab Manager is a key role at MaverickX with a comprehensive scope: you will own lab operations for the entire company — our Austin R&D lab, our Pleasanton manufacturing facility, and any additional labs we stand up at new facilities as we grow. That means owning the systems that keep every lab running — inventory, equipment, lab organization, and safety — and setting the standard so each site operates the same way. On a team of 20, you will set up and run the lab’s operating systems, work directly with scientists and plant staff, and pitch in on bench and production work when the team needs it. The ideal candidate has run lab operations in a biology or chemistry lab, builds systems other people can follow, and is comfortable with changing priorities in a small, fast-moving company. This is a multi-site, on-site role. You are required to be physically present at both the Austin and Pleasanton sites every week, which means regular weekly travel between the two locations (roughly 1.5 hours apart), plus travel to any new facilities as they come online. You can be based in either Austin or the San Antonio/Pleasanton area and will typically spend three days a week at your home site and two days a week at the other site, adjusted to what each lab needs that week. Candidates who cannot commit to being on site at both locations every week will not be a fit for this role.

## Key Responsibilities

- Inventory and purchasing – Own ordering for lab consumables, chemicals, media, and PPE across all company lab sites – Maintain the chemical and media inventory system and Safety Data Sheets – Run regular inventory counts and set reorder points for critical materials – Manage vendor accounts, request quotes, and track purchase orders through delivery – Handle receiving and shipping, including packaging and documentation for samples and hazardous materials
- Equipment – Maintain the equipment register: certifications, calibrations, service contracts, and due dates

– Schedule and coordinate vendor service, calibrations, and certifications – Perform routine maintenance and first-line troubleshooting on lab equipment (autoclaves, biosafety cabinets, incubators, shakers, freezers, balances, pH meters); repairs go through vendors – Onboard new equipment: installation, qualification records, and training the

## team on its use

- Lab organization and readiness – Keep every company lab organized, labeled, and ready for work, including freezer and strain stock organization – Run glassware washing, autoclaving, and media preparation, and keep those schedules staffed – Organize regularly scheduled lab cleanings and maintain lab standards – Serve as the lab’s point of contact with Operations for facilities issues (HVAC, water, gas, power, pest control) – Stand up lab operations at new facilities as the company expands: layout, equipment, inventory systems, and safety programs, so a new lab opens ready to run
- Safety and compliance – Own the chemical hygiene plan, biosafety documentation, and safety training records for all company lab sites – Maintain compliance with applicable federal and state regulations, including the OSHA Hazard Communication and Laboratory Standards, EPA and TCEQ hazardous waste rules, and DOT requirements for shipping hazardous materials, and follow CDC/NIH BSL-2 guidelines – Inspect safety equipment on a set schedule (eyewash stations, showers, fire extinguishers, spill kits) and keep every lab inspection-ready – Manage hazardous and biological waste: segregation, labeling, storage, and scheduled pickups – Deliver safety training and lab onboarding for new employees and visitors, and lead incident reporting and follow-up

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

- Working knowledge of BSL-2 practices and chemical safety
- Knowledge of laboratory instrumentation and testing procedures
- Strong organization and attention to detail; builds systems other people can follow
- Good time management, prioritization, and independent judgment
- Clear written and verbal communication
- Ability to work under sustained high pressure and collaborate in a small team
- Comfortable with changing priorities in a start-up
- Able to lift up to 40 pounds, stand for extended periods, work in PPE, and work with chemicals and BSL-2 organisms following established safety procedures

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, or a related life sciences field
- 3+ years of hands-on experience in a laboratory setting, including at least 1 year with responsibility for lab operations (inventory, equipment, or safety)
- Experience maintaining inventory, calibration, or compliance records
- Valid driver’s license and the ability and willingness to be on site at both Austin and Pleasanton every week (typically three days at your home site and two at the other), including travel to any additional lab locations the company opens

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience in a bioprocess, fermentation, or industrial microbiology lab
- Prior experience running a lab safety or chemical hygiene program
- Experience setting up a new lab or lab operating system from scratch
- Familiarity with DOT/IATA shipping of hazardous materials
- Experience supervising technicians or coordinating work across a team
- Experience with an electronic inventory or ELN system

## Our Values

- Customer First: Our first and foremost priority is to give customers technology that makes their business more valuable. There is no deviation from this north star
- Play to Win: This is a professional team, not a family. Hardcore work ethic is a baseline; measurable impact is how we define success
- Extreme Ownership: We are self-starters who learn voraciously, master our domain, and take full accountability for the outcomes of our work
- Relentless Execution: A good idea is meaningless until it is solving a customer problem. Moving with speed, focus, and determination is how we win in our industry
- Radical Candor: Focused, direct, and impactful communication is our language. No time for beating around the bush
- Shared Success: Meaningful equity participation for employees means that when MaverickX wins, everyone wins
- Uncompromised Integrity: We do first-class business in a first-class way, while staying loyal to our customers, shareholders, employees, and country

## Benefits

- At Maverick X, our compensation packages reflect our recognition of the value our employees bring to our success and our commitment to recruiting top talent. We cater our benefits to ensure our team succeeds both in and out of the office
- Premium health insurance: With medical, dental, and optical options, we offer some of the best coverage on the market
- Continuing education: We take employee development seriously and strive to unlock our team’s full potential through continuous learning initiatives

## About MaverickX

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: MaverickX develops advanced specialty chemicals that unlock oil, critical metals, and water from existing oilfield and mining infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage, Y Combinator S22, total raised $54.81M)
- **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Eric Herrera (CEO) and Jesse Evans (COO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Oil & Gas, Mining, Critical Minerals / Rare Earth Elements, Chemical Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: B2B – oil and gas operators, mining companies, industrial refineries; primarily enterprise-level operators in North America
- **Mission/purpose**: To unlock more oil and higher-value metals from existing wells cheaper, faster, and safer than legacy treatments, supporting global resource security and sustainability.

## Products & Services
- **PetroX™**: Specialty chemical solution for oil & gas wells that removes scale, paraffin, and iron, increases shale porosity up to 40x, and can liberate 50%+ more hydrocarbons. Reduces operating costs and downtime.
- **LithX™**: Chemistry for extracting lithium and other critical metals from low-grade ores and brine streams.
- **HydroX™**: Solution for treating produced water and recovering clean water alongside metals and oil.

All three are chemical formulations (not hardware or SaaS) deployed directly into client operations.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $54.81M (latest round: $7.5M unattributed VC, ~Q2 2026); earlier seed round of $19M led by Olive Tree Capital
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Olive Tree Capital (lead), Y Combinator, Chord Energy (strategic investment)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Rebranded from Maverick Labs to MaverickX in January 2026, unifying oil & gas and metals divisions
  - Opened a 10,000 sq ft chemical production facility in Pleasanton, TX (reached capacity milestone)
  - Multiple major operators under contract for PetroX™
  - Headcount grew from ~30 to 29 (LinkedIn) with +3.8% monthly growth; 5 active job postings
  - Department of Energy contract to extract metals from old oil wells

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary chemistry**: Novel reaction pathways that increase shale porosity by up to 40x, enabling oil to flow where it previously couldn’t – not just swapping chemicals but rewriting reservoir physics.
- **Multi-commodity extraction**: Ability to co-produce oil, critical metals (REEs, gold, copper), and clean water from the same wells and infrastructure, turning stranded streams into high-value barrels and concentrates.
- **Non-toxic, safer chemistry**: Differentiated from legacy treatments that are hazardous; complies with ESG mandates and lowers operating costs.
- **First-mover in “mine old wells”**: Contracted by the Department of Energy to extract metals from legacy wells, giving unique expertise and credibility.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale PetroX™ deployment**: Expanding contracts with major operators in South Texas and beyond.
- **Cross-industry growth**: Leveraging unified brand (MaverickX) to serve oil & gas, mining, and industrial sectors with integrated chemical solutions.
- **Production capacity**: Scaling manufacturing at the Pleasanton facility to meet growing demand.
- **Resource security narrative**: Tapping into the $100B+ market for critical minerals from existing oil and gas infrastructure, essential for EVs, tech, and national security.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Small, mission-driven startup (team ~30) with a “maverick” spirit – high autonomy, direct impact, and cutting-edge chemistry.
- **Work model**: On-site in Austin, TX (all current job listings are on-site). No remote/hybrid mentioned.
- **Engineering culture**: Hands-on chemistry and process engineering; work spans from lab to field deployment. Tech stack includes Python, SQL, Tableau, and automation tools.
- **Growth opportunity**: Early-stage company with strong investor backing, rapid revenue growth, and expansion into new verticals – chance to shape processes and take on broad responsibilities.
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but YC startup environment often includes equity, flexible PTO, and a tight-knit team.

## Sources
1. [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/maverickx)
2. [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/maverickx-company)
3. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/maverick-bioworks)
4. [globenewswire.com](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/13/3217830/0/en/Maverick-Labs-Becomes-MaverickX-Unlocking-Oil-Metals-and-Water-from-Existing-Oilfields-and-Waste.html)
5. [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/maverickx)

## Other roles at MaverickX

- [Director](https://feeny.ai/job/director-maverickx-pleasanton-9qf073bxp600) — Pleasanton, TX
- [Research Associate - Analytical Chemistry](https://feeny.ai/job/research-associate-analytical-chemistry-maverickx-austin-77ymzc1pfn08) — Austin, TX
- [Manufacturing Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-associate-maverickx-pleasanton-mt9f02q4p0a2) — Pleasanton, TX
- [Research Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/research-associate-maverickx-austin-msac071znvj2) — Austin, TX
- [Senior BioProcess Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-bioprocess-engineer-maverickx-austin-2a7z86yy381q) — Austin, TX
- [Sr. Stimulation Chemist](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-stimulation-chemist-maverickx-austin-28pvdjkk1gp9) — Austin, TX
- [Director of Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-applications-maverickx-austin-4j9t0svx3f8e) — Austin, TX