Senior Director, Oral Solid Dose Manufacturing Strategy

Eli Lilly and Company; Katwijk; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Eli Lilly and Company in Katwijk, Netherlands, seeks an accomplished senior leader to own the technical strategy and process excellence for Oral Solid Dosage manufacturing at a state-of-the-art site. You will oversee tech transfer, scale-up, and manufacturing science for tablets and capsules, partnering across R&D, Operations, and Quality to ensure regulatory readiness and robust processes.

You will shape the site’s long-term technical agenda, recruit and develop talent, drive continuous

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related field (strongly preferred)
• Master’s degree acceptable with significantly higher experience
• Experience: Minimum 10 years in production, engineering, technical services, or supply chain (At least 10 years in the pharmaceutical or chemical synthesis industry with a strong focus in manufacturing operations); 5 of those years should be in management positions
• 15+ years in pharmaceutical manufacturing and development roles
• Significant leadership experience in TS/MS, MS&T, Process Development, Tech Services, or Manufacturing Science functions
• Prior roles in technical support of manufacturing, leading tech transfer projects, validation, or process engineering
• Progressive responsibility with experience managing large technical teams or projects
• Preferred: Experience in API manufacturing, spray dried dispersion (SDD) processing, or chemical plant manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the site’s technical agenda and strategic direction for medium and long-term planning
• Develop and execute plans aligned with corporate goals and future product pipelines
• Participate as a key member in setting strategic direction for the manufacturing site
• Develop recruitment & start up strategies for areas under his/her responsibilities, ensuring the Site is delivered without accidents, compliant, on budget and according to schedule
• Oversee the transfer of new oral solid dose formulations from development into commercial production
• Ensure smooth tech transfers from R&D to manufacturing, guiding scale-up from lab/pilot scale to full production
• Conduct equipment fit assessments and process characterization
• Ensure processes are robust at commercial scale
• Ensure all tablet/capsule manufacturing processes are optimized and remain in a validated state
• Drive continuous improvement of granulation, compression, coating processes to improve yields and efficiency
• Lead process validation, including initial process qualification for new products
• Oversee ongoing continued process verification to meet cGMP requirements
• Solve processing issues and enhance operational efficiency
• Guarantee GMP compliance and regulatory readiness of all technical operations
• Define control strategies for critical quality attributes including drug product intermediates from spray dried dispersion, blend uniformity, tablet hardness, and dissolution profiles
• Support preparation of regulatory submissions
• Provide front-line scientific support for troubleshooting manufacturing issues and investigations
• Drive risk management and CAPA initiatives
• Build strong technical partnerships with Formulation Development/R&D, Global TS/MS network, Operations, Quality, Engineering, and external partners
• Represent TS/MS in site leadership forums and decision-making committees
• Ensure technical considerations shape business decisions
• Liaise with Contract Manufacturing Organizations as needed
• Oversee generation and timely completion of all technical documents and reports
• Ensure compliant documentation including process development reports, validation documentation, technical protocols, and annual product reviews
• Maintain audit readiness and knowledge management standards
• Lead and mentor the TS/MS team of scientists and engineers
• Ensure the organization has appropriate capability and capacity through recruiting and developing talent
• Allocate resources effectively and build a culture of technical excellence
• Coach team members, manage performance, and prepare future technical leaders

Skills

Tech leadership

OSD manufacturing

Process validation

Tech transfer

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional collab

Education

PhD in Chemistry

Master's degree acceptable

Job description

Eli Lilly and Company in Katwijk, Netherlands, seeks an accomplished senior leader to own the technical strategy and process excellence for Oral Solid Dosage manufacturing at a state-of-the-art site. You will oversee tech transfer, scale-up, and manufacturing science for tablets and capsules, partnering across R&D, Operations, and Quality to ensure regulatory readiness and robust processes.

You will shape the site’s long-term technical agenda, recruit and develop talent, drive continuous