Global Operations & Asset Management Lead, Pharma Solutions

Croda; Plainsboro Township (NJ); On-site; USD 137,000 - 228,000; Full time

Job summary

Croda's Pharma Solutions seeks a Global Operations & Asset Management Lead to shape and implement the manufacturing and asset strategy for a global network.

You will personally drive network analysis, technology-transfer governance, and capital prioritization across a complex matrix, delivering reliable supply and growth.

Qualifications

• Significant pharma/biopharma manufacturing operations experience.
• Proven ability to design and optimize multi-site networks.
• Experience leading technology-transfer governance and scale-up processes.
• Strong capability in ROI-based capital-project governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global manufacturing-network strategy for Pharma Solutions.
• Govern technology transfer and manufacturing-readiness decisions.
• Drive capital prioritization and asset deployment across sites.
• Influence sites and external partners through matrix leadership.
• Develop and execute make-vs-buy considerations for resilience.

Skills

Global operations

Manufacturing network design

Technology transfer

Stakeholder alignment

Capital governance

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Job description

Global Operations & Asset Management Lead, Pharma Solutions

Build the Manufacturing Network That Powers the Future of Pharma Solutions

Pharma Solutions is a growing global business within Croda, supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and veterinary-health customers through innovative excipients, vaccine adjuvants, peptide technology, lipid technologies, and formulation expertise. As demand continues to grow, the business requires a manufacturing and asset network capable of delivering reliable supply, operational excellence, and scalable growth.

The Global Operations & Asset Management Lead will shape and implement the manufacturing and asset strategy for Pharma Solutions, connecting sites, technologies, capabilities, capital priorities, technology transfer, and external partners through one coordinated operating model.

This is a hands-on individual-contributor leadership role focused on creating capability rather than managing a large existing organization. The successful candidate will personally drive network analysis, technology-transfer governance, manufacturing-readiness decisions, capital prioritization, stakeholder alignment, and implementation across a complex global matrix.

Why Join Pharma Solutions Now?

Pharma Solutions is at a pivotal stage in its evolution. As a growing business within Croda, we are bringing together industry-leading capabilities across pharmaceutical excipients, vaccine adjuvants, innovative lipid delivery systems, and formulation expertise to create a more integrated and scalable global organization. With strong customer demand, ambitious growth plans, and continued investment across the business, this is an opportunity to help shape the future of Pharma Solutions.

This role offers the opportunity to personally transform a collection of manufacturing assets into an integrated network capable of reliably supporting future growth.

Operating Style

• Create network processes, governance, standards, and decision routines where capability is still evolving.
• Personally drive implementation, technology-transfer readiness, stakeholder alignment, and adoption through to sustainable results.
• Influence sites, functions, regions, and external partners without relying on formal authority.
• Balance strategic thinking with a willingness to stay close to the technical detail and solve problems directly.

What Success Looks Like

Manufacturing Network & Asset Strategy

• Establish a globally aligned manufacturing and site-role architecture across the Pharma Solutions network.
• Personally assess capability, capacity, quality, resilience, economics, and customer requirements to recommend where products should be manufactured.
• Create practical visibility into asset utilization, network constraints, and future capacity requirements.
• Translate network strategy into executable priorities, decisions, and actions that make Operations an enabler of growth.

Technology Transfer & Manufacturing Readiness

• Build and personally implement a repeatable global technology-transfer framework with clear governance, standards, readiness criteria, and performance measures.
• Lead readiness reviews, resolve cross-functional barriers, and improve the speed, quality, and predictability of transfers.
• Ensure manufacturing readiness for growth opportunities, product launches, and strategic customer commitments.
• Stay close to scale-up, validation, capacity, and transfer decisions until risks are resolved and execution is sustainable.

Operational Performance, Capital & Resilience

• Improve right-first-time performance, reduce deviations, and strengthen predictable execution across GMP manufacturing operations.
• Personally develop and challenge ROI-based business cases for capital investment, asset deployment, and network priorities.
• Strengthen business continuity, redundancy planning, and multi-site manufacturing resilience.
• Define a practical make-versus-buy strategy and optimize CMO/CDMO partners for flexibility, scalability, and security of supply.

Builder Mindset & Execution

• Build manufacturing-network and asset-management capability from the ground up while carrying the work needed to make it effective.
• Convert ambiguity and incomplete data into structured analysis, clear choices, and practical next steps.
• Take personal accountability for progress rather than waiting for additional organization or resources.
• Operate comfortably as both strategist and technical practitioner in a resource-conscious environment.

Core Capabilities

• Builder Mindset: Creates structure where none exists, turns ambiguity into action, and remains involved until outcomes are embedded.
• Strategic Perspective: Connect long-term business priorities with practical manufacturing, asset, and network choices that enable sustainable growth.
• Delivery: Convert strategy into measurable operational outcomes through disciplined personal execution and accountability.
• Working Together: Build alignment across Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, Procurement, Commercial, Technical, sites, and external partners without relying on direct authority.
• Curiosity: Challenge assumptions, analyze root causes, and identify better approaches to technology transfer, network performance, and asset utilization.
• Adaptability: Navigate complexity, incomplete information, changing priorities, and organizational transformation while maintaining momentum.

Experience & Expertise

• Significant experience in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, CDMO, or similarly regulated manufacturing operations, with strong GMP knowledge.
• Proven success personally building or improving multi-site manufacturing networks, technology-transfer governance, scale-up, and manufacturing-readiness processes.
• Demonstrated success leading complex work through influence and personal execution rather than through a large team or multiple management layers.
• Comfort operating as both strategist and practitioner, including analysis, business-case development, governance design, and issue resolution.
• Experience developing manufacturing-network strategies, site-role architecture, asset-utilization models, and capacity plans.
• Strong capital-project governance and ROI-based business-case development experience.
• Experience managing external manufacturing partners, CMO/CDMO networks, and make-versus-buy decisions.
• Deep understanding of GMP operations, technology transfer, process validation, manufacturing readiness, operational excellence, and capacity planning.
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Process, Mechanical, or a related Engineering discipline; an advanced technical qualification is advantageous.

Role Scope

Global responsibility across the Pharma Solutions manufacturing and asset network, including internal GMP operations, technology transfer, asset strategy, capital governance, and selected external manufacturing partners. The role reports to the Vice President, Pharma Solutions, with a dotted-line relationship into Operations.

This role does not initially lead a large dedicated direct-report organization. Results will be delivered primarily through personal execution, matrix influence, technical credibility, and the ability to align sites and functions around shared priorities.

Why Croda

At Croda, our purpose is Smart science to improve lives.

As a global leader in specialty ingredients and life sciences innovation, we partner with customers to solve complex challenges that improve health, sustainability, and quality of life around the world.

Our success is built on the expertise of our people and a culture grounded in our values of Responsible, Innovative, and Together. We believe diverse perspectives, scientific curiosity, collaborative leadership, and practical execution create the conditions for sustainable growth and meaningful impact.

Joining Croda means becoming part of a business where your work will directly contribute to customer success, business performance, and innovations that improve lives globally.

Additional Information

This is an on-site position with associated travel based at our corporate headquarters in Princeton, NJ.

Annual Base Salary Range: $137,000 to $228,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on geographic location, experience, education, and skill level. Additional compensation may be offered based on eligibility and company policies.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veterans. This organization participates in E-Verify. If you require a reasonable adjustment during the hiring process or experience issues with the online application process, please email [e-mail].