Manufacturing Transformation Lead (m/w/d) (80-100%)

Lonza; Basel; On-site; Confidential; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Lifestyle benefits

Job summary

Lonza in Basel, Switzerland, seeks a Manufacturing Transformation Lead (Director level) to translate platform roadmaps into scalable future manufacturing concepts, focusing on cost, automation, and touchless operations.

Working with Platforms, R&D and Strategic Innovation, you will design and pilot advanced manufacturing approaches, then scale successful concepts across sites to improve unit cost, productivity and robustness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor or Master in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or a related discipline
• Future Manufacturing Strategy & Concept Development: Translate roadmaps into integrated future manufacturing concepts, design principles and operating requirements
• Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing & Process Knowledge: Strong understanding of manufacturing science, GMP requirements and process technologies
• Unit-Cost & Manufacturing Economics: Diagnose major cost drivers and quantify improvement potential
• End-to-End Manufacturing Systems Thinking: Integrate process technology, automation, data, facility design, people and operating-model considerations
• Cross-Functional Pilot Leadership: Mobilize and align multidisciplinary teams across platforms, sites and functions
• Executive Communication & Influence: Communicate complex future-state concepts clearly to senior stakeholders
• Pilot Governance, Risk & Decision Management: Structure hypotheses and risks for complex pilots
• Learning, Replication & Scale-Up: Convert pilot evidence into reusable manufacturing concepts for replication
• English fluent

Responsibilities

• Translate roadmaps into future manufacturing concepts and operating requirements
• Lead unit-cost diagnostics and future-state manufacturing design
• Coordinate platform, site and functional resources
• Translate future concepts into equipment, automation, data and facility requirements
• Identify enabling technologies for automation, touchless operations and process control
• Ensure integration of other workstreams into coherent manufacturing concepts
• Support replication and scaling across platforms and sites

Skills

Biopharma manufacturing

Process knowledge

Unit-cost analysis

End-to-End systems thinking

Pilot leadership

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

English fluency

Education

Bachelor/Master Life Sciences or related

Tools

Automation concepts

PAT

Cost diagnostics tools

Job description

Switzerland, Basel

A Career at Lonza

What You’ll Get

• An agile career and a dynamic work culture
• An inclusive and ethical workplace
• Compensation programs that recognize high performance
• In addition to a competitive salary, you can expect numerous lifestyle, family, and leisure benefits.
• Relocation support for eligible candidate

The Manufacturing Transformation Lead (Director level) translates the evolving scientific and process roadmaps of Integrated Biologics, Advanced Synthesis and Specialized Modalities into future manufacturing concepts that support the Advanced Industry unit-cost ambition.

The role works closely with Platforms, R&D and Strategic Innovation to understand expected process evolution and then determines how those processes should be manufactured and operated in the future. This includes the application of advanced technologies, process intensification, PAT, process equipment concepts, automation, reduced manual intervention and increasingly touchless operations.

The role leads the Manufacturing Transformation Lead pilots, starting with Mammalian DS and Bioconjugation DS, using unit-cost diagnostics and future-state design to identify where changes to the manufacturing process, equipment and way of operating can create step-change value.

The Manufacturing Transformation Lead works closely with the Program Integration & Scale-Up Lead to translate pilot and platform requirements into coordinated program increments and to integrate relevant solutions from the other Advanced Industry workstreams back into the future manufacturing concepts.

As a core member of the Advanced Industry LT, this role connects platform innovation with manufacturing transformation, ensuring that scientific progress is translated into scalable manufacturing concepts that improve unit cost, productivity, robustness and long-term competitiveness.

The role is based in Basel, Switzerland.

What You Will Do

Platform Translation & Manufacturing Concepts

• Align with Platform, R&D and Strategic Innovation roadmaps across all three business platforms
• Translate scientific and process evolution into manufacturing concepts, operating requirements and cost implications
• Identify opportunities from process intensification, PAT, advanced process equipment and reduced manual intervention
• Challenge how future processes can be manufactured more simply, efficiently and autonomously

Pilot Leadership

• Drive unit-cost diagnostic and future-state manufacturing design
• Identify and prioritize process, equipment and operating-model interventions
• Coordinate matrixed platform, site and functional resources

Manufacturing Requirements & Integration

• Translate future manufacturing concepts into requirements for equipment, automation, data, facility and lab capabilities
• Work with Advanced Manufacturing Technology to identify enabling technologies for automation, touchless operations and process control
• Ensure solutions from other Advanced Industry workstreams are integrated into coherent manufacturing concepts
• Work with Program Integration & Scale-Up to synchronize requirements and increments across the program

Value & Replication

• Ensure future-state concepts are anchored in measurable unit-cost and productivity improvement
• Translate pilot learnings into reusable manufacturing concepts and design principles
• Support replication across all three platforms, sites and future builds
• Contribute to prioritization of future Manufacturing Transformation Leadpilots and use cases

What We Are Looking For

• Bachelor or Master in the field of Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or a related discipline
• Future Manufacturing Strategy & Concept Development: Ability to translate scientific, process and technology roadmaps into integrated future manufacturing concepts, design principles and operating requirements
• Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing & Process Knowledge: Strong understanding of manufacturing science, process technologies, operations and GMP requirements, with the ability to connect process evolution to facility and operating-model implications
• Unit-Cost & Manufacturing Economics: Ability to diagnose major cost and productivity drivers, quantify improvement potential and use economics to guide concept choices and pilot priorities
• End-to-End Manufacturing Systems Thinking: Ability to integrate process technology, automation, data, facility design, people and operating-model considerations into a coherent future-state concept.
• Cross-Functional Pilot Leadership: Demonstrated ability to mobilize and align multidisciplinary teams across platforms, sites and global functions without relying on direct authority.
• Executive Communication & Influence: Ability to communicate complex future-state concepts, trade-offs, evidence and recommendations clearly to senior business, technical and operational stakeholders.
• Pilot Governance, Risk & Decision Management: Experience structuring hypotheses, decision criteria, risks and dependencies for complex pilots and driving timely resolution of issues.
• Learning, Replication & Scale-Up: Ability to convert pilot evidence into reusable manufacturing concepts, operating principles and recommendations for replication across platforms, sites and future builds
• English fluent

About Lonza

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of.

Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Reference: R80283