Senior Director, External Manufacturing
About The Position
This role is a key leadership position within External Manufacturing, responsible for strategy, execution, and partnership oversight across the full product lifecycle, focused on drug product. The Senior Director will lead global external manufacturing strategy and execution for biotherapeutic drug products, ensuring robust supply, uncompromised quality, operational excellence, and strong CMO partnerships. The role requires close collaboration with R&D, MSAT, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Regulatory Affairs to ensure seamless product delivery from late-stage development into commercialization. This position is ideal for a leader who combines deep technical and manufacturing expertise with strong enterprise leadership and influence. This role directly impacts patients, products, and the future of our biotherapeutics portfolio. The Senior Director will help ensure Johnson & Johnson continues to deliver innovative medicines with reliability, quality, and speed while shaping how we partner externally to meet tomorrow’s challenges.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Life Sciences, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
- Extensive leadership experience (typically 10+ years) in biotherapeutic manufacturing, with significant exposure to external manufacturing or CMO oversight.
- Deep knowledge of biologics manufacturing, technology transfer, lifecycle management, and global regulatory expectations.
- Demonstrated success influencing outcomes through cross-functional leadership in complex, global matrix organizations.
- Demonstrated people leadership experience, including leading teams and stakeholders through direct and matrixed reporting relationships.
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting late-stage and commercial biologics portfolios.
- Strong business and financial acumen.
- Proven ability to lead through complexity, ambiguity, and change.
Responsibilities
- Defining and executing global strategies for externally manufactured biotherapeutic drug products across launch and commercial supply.
- Providing leadership oversight for performance, risk management, and business continuity across the external network.
- Driving alignment between product strategy, network strategy, and enterprise priorities.
- Establishing and leading strategic, long-term partnerships with global CMOs.
- Ensuring effective governance, performance management, and issue escalation across external partners.
- Representing Johnson & Johnson as a senior leader in external manufacturing relationships.
- Ensuring consistent delivery against safety, quality, service, and cost objectives.
- Partnering with Technical Operations and Quality to enable successful tech transfers, lifecycle changes, and capacity expansions.
- Championing continuous improvement, digital enablement, and adoption of industry best practices across the external network.
- Ensuring full compliance with global cGMP requirements and Johnson & Johnson quality standards.
- Maintaining inspection readiness and proactive risk mitigation across all external manufacturing partners.
- Supporting regulatory interactions related to external manufacturing activities.
- Leading, coaching, and developing a high-performing external manufacturing leadership team.
- Serving as an active leader within the broader Manufacturing & Supply organization.
- Influencing senior stakeholders through clear, strategic communication and data-driven insights.
Benefits
- Consolidated retirement plan (pension)
- Savings plan (401(k))
- Long-term incentive program
- Vacation –120 hours per calendar year
- Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year (varies by state)
- Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year
- Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
- Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
- Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
- Caregiver Leave – 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period
- Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year
- Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
