Senior Director, Technical Services — Cell Therapy GMP Ops

Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex is seeking a Senior Director, Head of Technical Services for T1D Cell Therapy External Manufacturing Operations in Boston. This role leads manufacturing-facing technical support, troubleshooting, investigations, and readiness for process changes across clinical and commercial programs.

You will partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, MSAT, Regulatory, and Supply Chain to enable compliant, efficient execution and ensure product quality in a fast-paced, highly regulated

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Cell Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, cell therapy, or related manufacturing environments.
• 8+ years of progressive people leadership across cross-functional technical teams.
• Experience leading manufacturing-facing technical support in a GMP-regulated environment.
• Strong experience with deviations, investigations, troubleshooting, batch support, and change implementation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Technical Services function supporting GMP manufacturing of cell-derived therapies for Type 1 Diabetes.
• Provide technical leadership for cell therapy manufacturing operations.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for manufacturing issues affecting batch execution, product quality, cycle time, or supply reliability.
• Lead technical troubleshooting and support timely resolution of deviations, investigations, atypical events, and process excursions.
• Drive operational process monitoring and trend review to identify emerging risks, improve execution, and enhance performance.
• Own Technical Services readiness for process changes, campaign startup, new product introduction, and transferred processes entering GMP manufacturing.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Engineering, Supply Chain, Regulatory, and CMC teams to support robust execution and inspection readiness.
• Build, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of technical subject matter experts.
• Foster a culture of quality, accountability, technical rigor, collaboration, inclusion, and patient focus.

Skills

Cell therapy

GMP compliance

Troubleshooting

Cross-functional leadership

Process improvement

Team development

Education

Advanced degree in Bioengineering or related field

Job description

Vertex is seeking a Senior Director, Head of Technical Services for T1D Cell Therapy External Manufacturing Operations in Boston. This role leads manufacturing-facing technical support, troubleshooting, investigations, and readiness for process changes across clinical and commercial programs.

You will partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, MSAT, Regulatory, and Supply Chain to enable compliant, efficient execution and ensure product quality in a fast-paced, highly regulated