Senior Director, Process Tech & Eng – Hybrid

AstraZeneca plc; Durham (NC); Hybrid; USD 260,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc in Durham, NC is seeking a Senior Director for Process Technology & Engineering to lead an organization of 20–30 engineers across the US, UK and Sweden, designing and scaling manufacturing processes for oral and inhalation products and overseeing late-stage technology transfer.

You will drive strategic and operational leadership, advance digital tools, data science and AI in process engineering, and partner with CMC Project Leadership to deliver regulatory submissions, tech

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline (chemical/process engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry or related).
• At least 12 years experience in CMC, pharmaceutical product development, process development, scale‑up, or manufacturing science for synthetic molecules.
• Substantial experience with oral and/or inhaled drug product development and taking products from late‑stage development through regulatory submission, tech transfer, process validation and launch.
• Experience leading technical teams across late‑stage development programmes and supporting regulatory submissions and commercialization activities.
• Demonstrated people leadership including motivation, empowerment, coaching, and development of diverse teams across locations and cultures.
• Strong knowledge of pharmaceutical sciences and scalable manufacturing process development and process control strategies.
• Experience working in a matrix organisation, influencing decisions across functions and boundaries.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills for engagement with senior leaders.
• Familiarity with digital tools, data science, predictive modelling, automation, or AI to aid product development.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership to the Oral and Inhalation Process Engineering group to support the late-stage development portfolio.
• Manage a group of approximately 20–30 people via 5–6 direct reports locally and globally, including succession and workforce planning.
• Guide teams in developing robust strategies to deliver late-stage development goals across oral and inhalation projects.
• Take responsibility for the full drug product package within Module 3 of clinical and commercial regulatory submissions on 2–4 late stage CMC projects.
• Lead the implementation of new practices that enable the group to achieve flexibility, agility, efficiency and delivery.
• Develop and implement future-focused, digitally oriented approaches to process engineering, using data science, predictive modelling and AI.
• Work in partnership with CMC Project Leadership to develop the strategy for delivery of the project portfolio.
• Set clear direction and objectives while motivating and engaging all staff.

Skills

Strategic leadership

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Data science awareness

AI knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Master's degree or PhD (Desirable)

Job description

AstraZeneca plc in Durham, NC is seeking a Senior Director for Process Technology & Engineering to lead an organization of 20–30 engineers across the US, UK and Sweden, designing and scaling manufacturing processes for oral and inhalation products and overseeing late-stage technology transfer.

You will drive strategic and operational leadership, advance digital tools, data science and AI in process engineering, and partner with CMC Project Leadership to deliver regulatory submissions, tech