Director, Manufacturing - Cell Therapy

Director Of Cell Therapy Manufacturing

We are looking for a visionary and execution-driven Director of Cell Therapy Manufacturing to lead and scale GMP manufacturing operations across our Santa Monica and Tarzana sites overseeing clinical and commercial manufacturing of autologous and / or allogeneic cell therapy products. You will be both strategic and hands-onaccountable for building and sustaining world-class operations that deliver high-quality, life-saving cell therapies to patients globally.

You will be responsible for site readiness, operational execution, team leadership, and cross-functional integration to ensure delivery of safe, high-quality therapies to patients.

The Director will be an important member of the Site Leadership Team, driving network readiness, operational excellence, and cross-site alignment to support an expanding clinical and commercial pipeline.

Responsibilities :

• Lead end-to-end GMP manufacturing across Santa Monica and Tarzana sites, ensuring execution of clinical and commercial production goals.
• Improve accountability for safety, compliance, and product quality while promoting a culture of excellence and ownership.
• Translate enterprise manufacturing strategy into site-level execution, ensuring seamless integration of new product introductions (NPIs), scale-up activities, and capacity expansions.
• Design and evolve site governance, organizational structures, roles, and interfaces to support growth, multi-product operations, and a scaling commercial pipeline.
• Contribute to global capacity planning through modeling, resource forecasting, and scenario-based planning.
• Lead operating model implementation across both sites, including change management, communication, and team agreement.
• Be a voice in long-range planning (LRP), network optimization, and facility readiness plans.
• Use data and operating model to inform strategic decisions on staffing, capacity, and technology deployment.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing team of manufacturing leaders; build leadership bench strength and succession readiness.
• Cultivate a high-engagement environment through empowerment, recognition, and performance management.
• Partner with MS&T, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Regulatory Affairs to lead seamless tech transfers, scale-up, and process robustness.
• Champion Lean principles and continuous improvement across both sitesdriving efficiency, cost competitiveness, and throughput gains.
• Ensure inspection readiness and support health authority interactions (e.g., PAI, HA responses).
• Identify and mitigate risks through deviation management, CAPA oversight, and quality culture reinforcement.
• Apply lessons learned across sites and contribute to network standardization and continuous improvement efforts.

Education and Experience :

Leadership & Technical Skills :

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $162,682.40 - $244,023.60. However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles), to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles), and commission payment eligibility (sales roles).

Our Benefits :

Benefits offered include :