Site Ms&T Head Smo - Drug Substance

Novartis; Rhode Island; On-site; USD 139,000 - 257,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis AG in Morrisville, NC seeks a Site MS&T DS Head, Associate Director, to lead the scientific and technical strategy of the site. You will oversee Manufacturing Science & Technology for Drug Substance, drive process innovation, validation, and lifecycle stewardship across products, and partner with global teams to enable launches and transfers.

You will develop technical talent, shape site strategy, and ensure quality, reliability, and speed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required; Master's degree in Science, Pharmacy, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Technology, or equivalent scientific discipline preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in manufacturing; additional specialist experience in pharma formulation, process development, or manufacturing technology preferred.
• Proven experience driving quality and compliance in an organization.
• Strong working knowledge of applied statistics, quality systems and regulatory requirements across multiple health authorities.
• Fundamental understanding of standard pharmaceutical analytical testing.
• Demonstrated leadership experience building, developing, and leading high-performing technical and scientific teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the site MS&T DS organization, setting vision, priorities, and technical strategy aligned with site objectives.
• Ensure end-to-end product stewardship and technical oversight throughout the commercial product lifecycle.
• Drive process robustness, continuous improvement, and manufacturing excellence across products, processes, and technologies.
• Oversee technical changes, validation programs, and compliance activities to maintain inspection readiness.
• Lead technology transfers, product launches, and scale-up activities to deliver successful implementation outcomes.
• Partner with site and global teams to resolve technical challenges and strengthen process capability.
• Develop technical talent, succession plans, and knowledge-sharing programs to build organizational capability.

Skills

Leadership

Quality systems

Regulatory knowledge

Applied statistics

Analytical testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Summary

Location: Morrisville, NC

The Site, Manufacturing, Science & Technology Head - Small Molecule Drug Substance is an Associate Director level role.

Imagine leading the scientific and technical strategy behind a cutting-edge manufacturing site that delivers life-changing medicines to patients around the world. As the Site MS&T Head for Drug Substance (DS), you will play a critical leadership role in shaping manufacturing excellence, driving innovation, and ensuring robust product stewardship across the full product lifecycle. You will lead a highly skilled Manufacturing Science & Technology DS organization, partnering across site functions and global teams to optimize processes, enable successful product launches and transfers, strengthen validation and compliance programs, and build the technical capabilities that support the future growth of the Morrisville site. In this highly visible position, you will influence site strategy, develop top talent, and help bring breakthrough therapies to patients with quality, reliability, and speed.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the site MS&T DS organization, setting vision, priorities, and technical strategy aligned with site objectives.
• Ensure end-to-end product stewardship and technical oversight throughout the commercial product lifecycle.
• Drive process robustness, continuous improvement, and manufacturing excellence across products, processes, and technologies.
• Oversee technical changes, validation programs, and compliance activities to maintain inspection readiness.
• Lead technology transfers, product launches, and scale-up activities to deliver successful implementation outcomes.
• Partner with site and global teams to resolve technical challenges and strengthen process capability.
• Develop technical talent, succession plans, and knowledge-sharing programs to build organizational capability.

Essential Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree Required. Master's degree in Science, Pharmacy, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Technology, or equivalent scientific discipline preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in manufacturing. Additional specialist experience is preferred (e.g., pharmaceutical formulation, process development, manufacturing technology).
• Proven experience driving quality and compliance in an organization.
• Strong working knowledge of applied statistics, quality systems and regulatory requirements across multiple health authorities.
• Fundamental understanding of standard pharmaceutical analytical testing. .
• Demonstrated leadership experience building, developing, and leading high-performing technical and scientific teams.

Desirable Requirements

• Diverse pharmaceutical experience needed. Specifically, Small Molecule experience - API/Drug Substance/Oligonucleotide is highly preferred.

The salary for this position is expected to range between $138,600 and $257,400 per year. The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors. Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards. US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.

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The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

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