Senior Director, Commercial Bioconjugation Operations

Lonza; Oberwallis; Remote; CHF 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Lonza is seeking a strategic Head of Operations for Commercial Bioconjugation at the Visp site. You will lead a large-scale manufacturing unit with end-to-end accountability for operational performance, safety, quality, compliance, customer delivery and asset management.

You will manage 400–500 employees within a Site-in-Site framework, ensuring alignment with site-wide functions and global strategy. Experience in pharma/biopharma manufacturing, process development and technology transfer is

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Technology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Process Engineering or related field. An MBA or Executive MBA is an advantage.
• 10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical manufacturing operations, ideally drug substance manufacturing with exposure to process development and tech transfer.
• Proven senior leadership experience managing large, multilayered manufacturing organizations in complex, matrix-driven environments.
• Strong understanding of GMP manufacturing, regulatory compliance, operational excellence and manufacturing performance management.
• Demonstrated experience managing significant operational budgets, capital investments, asset strategies and organizational transformation.

Responsibilities

• Lead a dedicated manufacturing unit within the Visp site, owning operational performance and leveraging shared infrastructure and governance.
• Define and execute operational strategies aligned with business priorities, optimize capacity, productivity, workforce planning and resource allocation.
• Foster a strong safety and quality culture, ensuring GMP compliance and data integrity.
• Drive production performance, reliability, right-first-time execution and continuous improvement via Lean, automation and process optimization.
• Own operational budgets and controllable costs, oversee asset lifecycle strategies and sponsor capex for growth and efficiency.
• Inspire and develop a multidisciplinary leadership team, strengthening capabilities and succession planning.
• Partner with Quality, Engineering, MSAT, Supply Chain and Visp site leadership for seamless execution and resource allocation.
• Represent Operations in strategic discussions, audits and regulatory inspections with internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Chemical Eng./Pharma/related field

MBA or Exec MBA (advantage)

Tools

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Automation

Job description

Lonza is seeking a strategic Head of Operations for Commercial Bioconjugation at the Visp site. You will lead a large-scale manufacturing unit with end-to-end accountability for operational performance, safety, quality, compliance, customer delivery and asset management.

You will manage 400–500 employees within a Site-in-Site framework, ensuring alignment with site-wide functions and global strategy. Experience in pharma/biopharma manufacturing, process development and technology transfer is