Sr. Application Systems Specialist - STARLIMS Functional

Job Purpose

The Senior LIMS Functional Consultant / Business Analyst supports Valvoline Global's laboratory and quality operations by translating business needs into effective LIMS (Laboratory Information Management) solutions. This role partners closely with laboratory users, business stakeholders, IT teams, vendors, and an internal LIMS programmer to deliver enhancements, resolve issues, implement new sites, and drive continuous improvement. The position is responsible for requirements gathering, laboratory workflow analysis, functional specifications, testing/UAT coordination, documentation, training support, and production support. This role requires strong LIMS/LIMS functional knowledge, business relationship skills, analytical problem solving, and the ability to bridge business needs with technical delivery.

How You Make an Impact (Job Accountabilities)

• Partner with laboratory, quality, manufacturing, and business users to understand LIMS needs, analyze current-state and future-state workflows, identify process improvement opportunities, and document business requirements. Build strong relationships with business partners and serve as a trusted functional point of contact for LIMS-related needs.
• Translate business and laboratory requirements into clear functional specifications, process flows, user stories, acceptance criteria, and solution documentation. Work closely with the internal LIMS programmer and other technical resources to clarify design intent, support development, and ensure delivered solutions meet business expectations.
• Support LIMS continuous improvement projects and new site implementations. Participate in discovery, fit/gap analysis, solution design, configuration decisions, reporting/data needs, implementation planning, training support, deployment readiness, cutover, and post-go-live support.
• Develop, coordinate, and support testing activities for LIMS changes. Create or support test plans, test scripts, regression testing, UAT scenarios, defect tracking, validation support, business signoff, and release readiness activities.
• Provide production support for LIMS applications. Triage incidents and service desk tickets, diagnose issues, coordinate root cause analysis, document resolutions, communicate impacts to business partners, and participate in after-hours support as needed.
• Follow Corporate and IT policies, standards, and procedures. Ensure appropriate engagement with IT security, infrastructure, audit, data privacy, change management, and compliance teams for LIMS changes, new technology, integrations, and site implementations.

What You Bring to the Role (Job Qualifications / Education / Skills / Requirements / Capabilities)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, Laboratory Science, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field required.
• Equivalent experience may be considered where appropriate.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience as a business analyst, functional consultant, application analyst, systems analyst, or similar role supporting enterprise business applications.

Preferred experience includes:

• 5+ years of hands-on STARLIMS or similar LIMS (LabWare, SampleManager, LabVantage, etc.) experience, including requirements gathering, functional design, testing/UAT, support, and enhancement delivery.
• Experience supporting laboratories, quality, manufacturing, product testing, R&D, or related business processes.
• Experience working directly with business users to analyze workflows, document requirements, and implement process/system improvements.
• Experience writing functional specifications, process flows, user stories, test scripts, acceptance criteria, and support documentation.
• Experience collaborating with application developers, programmers, database resources, infrastructure teams, vendors, and managed service providers.
• Basic SQL experience for data analysis, troubleshooting, validation, and issue investigation.
• Preferred: experience implementing or rolling out LIMS or another LIMS solution to new sites.
• Preferred: 2+ years of experience with SAP QM processes, integrations, or support.
• Preferred: experience supporting integrations between LIMS and ERP, laboratory instruments, middleware, reporting tools, databases, or other enterprise applications.

Competencies Desired

• Business partnership and stakeholder management
• Requirements analysis and functional design
• Process improvement and continuous improvement mindset
• Technical curiosity and ability to learn new systems quickly
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Analytical and systematic approach to problem solving
• Accountability and ownership
• Collaboration across business, IT, vendor, and site teams
• Ability to influence without direct authority
• Ability to prioritize work based on business impact, urgency, risk, and available resources

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Strong functional knowledge of LIMS or similar LIMS applications.
• Understanding of laboratory workflows, sample/test lifecycle, quality processes, reporting needs, and laboratory data management.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and document business and functional requirements.
• Ability to translate business needs into functional specifications, user stories, process flows, acceptance criteria, and test scenarios.
• Ability to partner effectively with LIMS programmers and technical resources without needing to be the primary developer.
• Basic SQL knowledge for troubleshooting, data review, validation, and issue analysis.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong business relationship management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, support issues, and enhancement requests.
• Understanding of incident, problem, change, release, and service management processes.
• Ability to work independently under general supervision and use sound judgment to resolve complex issues.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
• Strong documentation skills, including process documentation, support procedures, functional specifications, and training materials.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

• Experience with LIMS configuration, administration, workflows, reports, or master data.
• Experience supporting LIMS upgrades, enhancements, integrations, or site deployments.
• Experience with SAP QM or related quality management processes.
• Experience with laboratory instruments, data capture, reporting tools, middleware, or enterprise integrations.
• Experience with Agile delivery methods, DevOps practices, Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar tools.
• Experience with validation, audit readiness, data integrity, security, and controlled change management practices.
• Experience creating end-user training materials or supporting training sessions.
• Familiarity with Office 365 tools, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and PowerPoint.

Working Conditions / Physical Requirements / Travel Requirements

• Remote w/travel as needed 0-10%