Operational Excellence & Business Analytics Associate Director

Vertex Pharmaceuticals LLC; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals LLC is seeking an Associate Director for Operational Excellence & Business Analytics. This role leads cross-functional initiatives to optimize Vertex's external commercial manufacturing network, translating performance data into actionable insights and governance-ready recommendations.

Responsibilities include strategy development, portfolio execution, and the deployment of standardized metrics, dashboards, and analytics to enable data-driven decisions across CMTO.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success implementing Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, FMEA, Hoshin Kanri, and Change Management in GMP environments.
• Proven experience leading improvement initiatives targeting lead-time reduction, launch optimization, yield improvements, and COGM/COGs reduction.
• Strong experience developing and deploying KPIs, dashboards, and standard metrics frameworks across multi-site or multi-partner networks.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to setting CMTO's operational excellence strategy, priorities, and success measures.
• Identify, prioritize, and drive execution of a portfolio of commercial manufacturing improvement and transformation initiatives.
• Lead initiatives targeting lead-time reduction, launch optimization, yield, and COGM reduction through structured problem definition and ROI calculations.
• Lead Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, and structured problem-solving initiatives across technical and business processes.
• Build and maintain an integrated performance view across network performance, asset execution, readiness, cost, and delivery.
• Establish and maintain standard dashboards, metrics, and systems of record for CMTO visibility; translate standards into reportable views.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Kaizen

Value Stream Mapping

FMEA

Hoshin Kanri

Change Management

Data Analytics

Job description

Job Description

Company Overview

Vertex is a global biotechnology company focused on investing in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. Across our organization, we work with urgency, rigor, and collaboration to deliver therapies that improve patient outcomes and create long-term value.

General Summary

The Operational Excellence & Business Analytics team serves as the process improvement and performance enablement backbone of CMTO, providing the integrated performance visibility, standardized metrics, and improvement discipline required to run, grow, and optimize Vertex's external commercial manufacturing network.

The Associate Director, Operational Excellence & Business Analytics is an end-to-end role that combines capabilities into a single accountability: the ability to (1) translate enterprise- and asset-level performance data into a coherent, decision-ready view of the network and its individual components, and (2) prioritize and drive the improvement initiatives those insights demand, and (3) present to cross-functional leadership. The role partners closely with Network Performance, Manufacturing Operations, MS&T, Business Operations Leads, and Finance to embed data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement into CMTO's governance and operating rhythms.

This position will serve as a strategic change agent and analytics translator, advancing CMTO's operational excellence culture by demonstrating quantifiable benefits from improvement initiatives, mentoring teams on lean methods and data fluency, and ensuring decisions across the network are traceable, measurable, and reviewable.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Operational Excellence Strategy & Initiative Execution

Contribute to setting CMTO's operational excellence strategy, priorities, and success measures, aligned to enterprise and functional priorities

Identify, prioritize, and drive execution of a portfolio of commercial manufacturing improvement and transformation initiatives - partnering with sites and functions while avoiding ownership of routine operations

Lead initiatives targeting lead-time reduction, launch optimization, yield, and manufacturing success-rate improvements and COGM reduction through structured problem definition, root-cause analysis, options analysis, and ROI calculation

Lead Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, and structured problem-solving initiatives across technical and business processes

Performance Visibility & Standardized Metrics

Build and maintain an integrated performance view across network performance, asset execution, readiness, cost, and delivery - ensuring defined KPIs are observable in practice through consistent data availability, structure, and integrity

Establish and maintain standard dashboards, metrics, and systems of record that enable consistent CMTO LT and enterprise-level visibility and comparability

Partner with Network Performance to translate performance standards into reportable, automated views; partner with Digital Technology & Engineering on digital transformation plans that improve access to accurate, timely data

Decision & Governance Enablement

Support scenario analysis and trade-off evaluations for network, asset, and portfolio decisions by making assumptions, options, and implications transparent - without owning execution

Enable data-driven governance by ensuring decisions, assumptions, and outcomes are traceable, measurable, and reviewable in CMTO and enterprise governance forums

Prepare executive-ready materials, performance narratives, and recommendations for governance reviews and leadership decisions

Continuous Improvement & Change Execution

Embed learning, improvement discipline, and change execution into CMTO governance and operating rhythms, using insights and performance signals from Business Analytics and Network Performance

Ensure sustainability of improvements through robust change management, control plans, and performance monitoring

Identify and deploy AI, automation, and advanced analytics solutions to improve operational performance and analytics scalability

Community of Practice & Capability Building

Operate as a community-of-practice leader for manufacturing operational excellence across internal manufacturing and supply chain, driving common standards, methods, and ways of working

Mentor teams on lean processes, problem-solving tools, and data fluency, and benchmark industry best practices to inform innovative approaches

Knowledge and Skills

Demonstrated success implementing Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, FMEA, Hoshin Kanri, and Change Management methodologies in GMP environments

Proven experience leading improvement initiatives targeting lead-time reduction, launch optimization, yield improvement and COGM/COGs reduction

Strong experience developing and deploying KPIs, performance dashboards, and standard metrics frameworks across multi-site or multi-partner networks

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