Sr. Director, Capital Projects & Program Delivery

Avid Bioservices, Inc.; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 288,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Avid Bioservices, Inc. seeks a Senior Director of Capital Projects & Program Delivery to drive planning, governance, and delivery across a portfolio of complex manufacturing and infrastructure initiatives.

You will oversee budgets, schedules, and cross-functional teams to ensure GMP readiness and regulatory compliance. In this role, you will partner with executive leadership to set strategic priorities, manage enterprise-wide capital programs, and deliver safely on time and within budget.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level or higher degree in a technical field as required.
• 15+ years leading capital projects/programs in life sciences or regulated manufacturing.
• Experience managing large $20M+ projects or portfolios of $100M+.

Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale capital projects from concept through handover.
• Provide portfolio-level leadership across multiple programs (Airway, DBx, AMPLIFY).
• Establish execution strategies and governance; manage stakeholder communications.

Skills

Capital project leadership

Owner-side leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Regulated manufacturing knowledge

Project controls

Executive reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Life Sciences, Architecture, or related field

Master's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business Administration, or related field

PMP or equivalent credential

Job description

Looking to join a passionate team dedicated to developing and manufacturing life-saving biopharmaceuticals? Avid Bioservices is a leading clinical and commercial biologics CDMO focused on creating innovative solutions to meet the needs of our clients and improve patient outcomes.

Senior Director, Capital Projects & Program Delivery

The Senior Director, Capital Projects & Program Delivery leads the planning, execution, governance, and delivery of Avid Bioservices' most critical capital projects and strategic growth initiatives.

The role provides enterprise owner-side leadership across a portfolio of complex, multidisciplinary programs supporting manufacturing expansion, development operations, infrastructure modernization, operational readiness, and long-term site development.

The role sets portfolio priorities and governance across the Airway Early-Phase Center of Excellence program, DBx expansion initiatives, Project AMPLIFY, and future assignments based on enterprise business priorities.

The Senior Director is accountable for portfolio strategy, governance, prioritization, and delivery of programs safely, on schedule, within budget, and in compliance with regulatory, quality, safety, business, and operational-readiness requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale capital projects from concept development through detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, startup, and operational handover.
• Provide portfolio-level leadership across Airway, DBx, AMPLIFY, and other manufacturing, laboratory, infrastructure, warehouse, utility, and campus-development initiatives.
• Establish project-execution strategies and governance structures, manage stakeholder communications, and implement project-control processes appropriate for GMP capital programs.
• Lead cross-functional project teams spanning Engineering, Facilities, Manufacturing, Process Development, Quality, Validation, Supply Chain, IT, EHS, Finance, Regulatory Affairs, and external partners.
• Develop and manage project budgets, forecasts, cash-flow plans, funding requests, and contingency plans.
• Drive integrated project schedules, identify critical-path risks and dependencies, and implement practical mitigation and recovery plans.
• Lead selection and oversight of architects, engineers, construction managers, commissioning and qualification partners, equipment vendors, developers, landlords, and other delivery partners.
• Ensure project decisions and deliverables support GMP, quality, safety, regulatory, commissioning, qualification, data-integrity, and operational-readiness expectations.
• Provide clear executive reporting on project performance, risks, decisions, budget, schedule, quality, safety, and readiness for operations.
• Advise executive and functional leaders on capital strategy, portfolio prioritization, investment sequencing, governance decisions, and enterprise tradeoffs to align capital delivery with company priorities.
• Decision-Making and Role Scope

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Life Sciences, Architecture, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 15 or more years of progressive capital-project and program leadership experience, including significant leadership of enterprise-scale capital portfolios in life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, CDMO, regulated manufacturing, or comparable advanced-manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated responsibility for individual capital projects of $20 million or more or aggregate project portfolios of $100 million or more.
• Demonstrated owner-side leadership of complex capital projects from planning through design, construction, commissioning, qualification, startup, and operational handover.
• Experience managing EPC firms, construction managers, design consultants, commissioning partners, equipment vendors, developers, landlords, and cross-functional owner teams.
• Demonstrated ability to set direction across multiple concurrent programs, resolve enterprise-level priorities, and lead through competing stakeholder needs, resource constraints, budgets, schedules, and business objectives.
• Strong working knowledge of project controls, risk management, capital governance, contract management, and executive reporting.
• Ability to work effectively in regulated manufacturing and project-site environments and to communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• PMP, Professional Engineer, architecture, construction-management, or comparable professional credential.
• Experience with biologics, CDMO operations, GMP manufacturing, clean utilities, laboratories, warehouses, and campus-development programs.
• Experience with facility master planning, stage-gate governance, commissioning, qualification, validation, and operational-readiness programs.

Position Type / Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time, on-site position supporting the Tustin and Costa Mesa locations. Standard business hours apply; project milestones, shutdowns, inspections, commissioning, startup, and other critical activities may occasionally require work outside normal business hours. Occasional travel to vendor, contractor, partner, or project locations is expected, generally fewer than two days per month, although actual travel may vary by project phase.

Compensation

We offer competitive compensation packages for this role, including a base salary, performance-based bonuses, and comprehensive benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) matching, and paid time off.

The compensation range for this role is $230,400 to $288,000 annually depending on experience and qualifications. Additionally, we offer opportunities for career growth and development as well as a supportive and inclusive work environment.

Who you are

• You translate complex capital-program requirements into clear priorities, decisions, and practical execution plans.
• You communicate effectively with executive leaders, technical teams, operations, quality partners, and external delivery organizations.
• You exercise sound judgment, identify risk early, and elevate decisions with clear options and recommendations.
• You build alignment across functions while maintaining accountability for safety, quality, budget, schedule, and operational readiness.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

This role combines office and computer-based work with regular meetings and project-site activities. The position requires the ability to move through office, manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, utility, and active construction environments; stand and walk during site reviews; use stairs and ladders when necessary and authorized; and wear required personal protective equipment. The role may occasionally encounter noise, airborne particles, temperature variation, wet or humid conditions, chemicals, electrical or mechanical hazards, and other conditions typical of regulated manufacturing and construction environments. Travel to vendor, contractor, partner, or project locations may also be required.

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations for those with differing abilities to perform essential job functions.