We asked some of our employees to talk about their career journey and what it’s like to be a part of the Illumina team. Whether they’re driving research, focusing on bringing our products to the clinic, or testing and maintaining our products and processes, they all understand how their work impacts our mission.
Scroll down to hear from our team, we hope you’ll be inspired to follow in their footsteps, and explore a career with us!
Job Title & Role: Associate Director, Scientific Research in Protein Engineering
Career journey in a word: Impactful
Sergio began his career at Illumina in 2009 as a staff scientist in the research department. Today, he leads a team of protein engineers working to further the research and development of novel protein reagents for next generation sequencing. Sergio has also taught genetics and protein sciences at the University of Toronto. Listen as Sergio shares the real world applications of protein-based technologies and what makes his career so rewarding.
Job Title & Role: Director, Clinical Genomics
Career journey in a word: Unbelievably-fulfilling
Jay joined Illumina in 2006 as a scientist in Technical Support after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute. He has also held positions in Product Support and Supply Chain, where he was instrumental in driving improvements for Illumina’s next generation sequencing and microarray platforms and led the implementation of a third party distribution center for warehousing Illumina’s array and sequencing consumable products. As Director, Clinical Genomics, Jay helps to drive infrastructure improvements across the organization for us to achieve our clinical business objectives. Listen as Jay takes us through his career progression and life at Illumina.
Job Title & Role: Senior Engineer, Process Development, Life Cycle Management
Career journey in a word: Wild Ride
Kat started at Illumina in 2011 as a scientist in Research and Development. She has since held positions in Consumables Product Development, Genomic Applications—where she worked on organ typing for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing, and Oncology. In her current role as a senior engineer in Process Development, Kat streamlines processes and diagnostic products to better align with the evolving needs of our customers. Before joining Illumina, Kat used the Solexa Genome Analyzer as a graduate student at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Listen as Kat talks about Illumina’s boundless opportunities for growth and development.
Job Title & Role: Manager, Engineering, Digital Systems
Career journey in a word: Unexpected
Phill joined Illumina in 2012 as a software systems engineer in Development, designing and implementing instrumentation software for Illumina products and automated solutions for internal Iabs and manufacturing sites. In his current role of Manager, Engineering, Phill leads a cross-functional software development team charged with designing and delivering highly complex digital systems for customer facing platforms. Listen as Phill shares why he chose Illumina and our impact on the world.
Job Title & Role: Quality Assurance Engineer, Quality Assurance
Career journey in a word: Unexpected
Gemma began her journey with Illumina as a lab assistant within Microarray Production in 2014. In her current role as a quality assurance engineer, she helps to ensure we deliver excellent products to our customers. Listen as Gemma shares why she chose Illumina and how she managed her career journey to land her current role.
Job Title & Role: Process Engineer, Life Cycle Management
Career journey in a word: Rewarding
Tapi joined Illumina in 2016, after completing her Ph.D. at the National Center for Imaging and Microscopy Research. She looks forward to applying her doctoral training and experience in integrating biology, with computational science and microscopic imaging technologies to Illumina’s Life Cycle Management Consumables team. Listen as Tapi shares what it’s like to be a recent hire at Illumina and how her role in advancing flow cell technology impacts Illumina’s mission.
Job Title & Role: Process Development Engineer, Life Cycle Management
Career journey in a word: Fulfilling
Mathangi began her career as a sustaining engineer in 2012. She has since grown to manage and develop complex projects and processes in her current role within Reagent Life Cycle Management. Mathangi also enjoys mentoring new engineers by helping them solve problems and achieve their professional goals. In this video, Mathangi shares why she chose Illumina and what she enjoys most about being here.
Job Title & Role: Engineer II, Packaging, Life Cycle Management
Career journey in a word: Exciting
Patrick started at Illumina after graduation in 2014 as an engineer. Shortly after, he took on an expat assignment in Singapore, where he works on global development and sustaining projects for both instrument and consumable packaging. This role interfaces with a wide range of teams—from R&D, supply chain, to marketing—to provide the best possible packaging solutions for our customers. Listen as Patrick shares why he chose Illumina.
Job Title & Role: Associate Integration Scientist II, Systems Integration, Instrument
Career journey in a word: Extraordinary
Seng Keat joined Illumina in July 2013 as a senior research associate. In this role, he was involved in the early development and integration of the NextSeq 500 System. He has since contributed to the development of the MiniSeq and NeoPrep Systems as well. Hear Lee Seng talk about what keeps him at Illumina.
Job Title & Role: Manager, Technical Support
Career journey in a word: Growing
Lei Tong came to Illumina in 2011 as a technical applications scientist. In her current role as Manager, Technical Support, Lei Tong leads a team that provides technical assistance and remote training to our customers. In this video, Lei Tong takes us through her career journey and shares what she enjoys most about working at Illumina.
Job Title & Role: Territory Account Manager, Segment Sales
Career journey in a word: Fast
Donalda joined Illumina as an inside sales representative covering the Nordics and Baltics region in 2015. She has since grown into the role of territory account manager supporting London. In her video, Donalda shares the surprising way she came to know Illumina and one thing she could not do anywhere else but here.
Job Title & Role: Research Associate, Product Development
Career journey in a word: High-speed
Dominic came to Illumina in 2015 to kick off his career as a research associate. As part of the Product Development team within R+D, Dominic focuses on the development and robustness of our reagents and assay instruments. Check out the video to learn more about Dominic’s role and what compelled him to pursue a career with Illumina.