Director of Operational & Quality Excellence

PHIL•San Francisco, CA

2d•$170,000 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

PHIL is a health-tech company building a platform that connects patients, prescribers, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers to facilitate quick and affordable medication access. Their digital hub and pharmacy platform manages enrollment, benefits verification, prior authorization, copay support, and home delivery. PHIL is seeking a Director of Operational & Quality Excellence to drive a best-in-class operational and technical platform, utilizing automation and AI. This is a leadership role focused on building and improving systems, not solely managing audits or Six Sigma processes. The operations involve patient support, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians, where manual review is no longer scalable. This role is crucial for expanding coverage without a linear increase in headcount. The Director will report to the VP of Operational Excellence and collaborate with Operations, Engineering, Product, and Client Success teams. They will be responsible for setting the quality and process agenda and owning the outcomes, with Engineering and Product serving as partners for system development.

Requirements

10+ years in operational quality, quality engineering, operational excellence, or process improvement in a complex, high-volume environment.
5+ years leading and building a team or function, not just managing an existing one.
Hands-on experience deploying AI, LLM, or automation tools to address a real quality or operational problem, with the ability to specify the tools used and the results achieved.
Experience transitioning work from manual, after-the-fact review to controls embedded within systems, including partnering with Engineering on test automation, release validation, or defect prevention.
A proven track record of driving results across teams without direct authority, including conducting root cause analyses that resulted in documented fixes.
Ability to originate work, escalate issues early with a proposed path forward, and present data-driven narratives to senior leaders.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a regulated, high-accuracy setting such as pharmacy, healthcare, or clinical operations.
Experience leading tenured subject-matter experts through a change in their work processes.
Experience reporting quality performance to external clients.

Responsibilities

Define and execute a roadmap for quality strategy and AI-enabled monitoring, transitioning from manual, after-the-fact audits to automated, real-time controls, including AI monitoring to detect error signals before they impact patients.
Own software and operational quality for workflows and the supporting platform, including test automation and release validation, in close collaboration with Engineering and Product teams.
Standardize workflows, documentation, and tooling across patient support, pharmacist, and pharmacy technician teams, embedding controls at the point of work.
Manage an escalation framework ensuring every quality issue has an owner, a deadline, and a resolution path, holding partner leaders accountable.
Lead the audit, analysis, and quality engineering team (approximately 10 people) through a transformation in their working methods, and provide leadership with real-time visibility into error rates and their root causes.