Senior Vice President Operations

Harvard Bioscience•St Paul, MN

About The Position

Harvard Bioscience is a publicly traded life sciences tools company with approximately $100 million in revenue. It develops, manufactures, and sells products and services for drug discovery and preclinical testing, serving pharmaceutical and biotech companies, contract research organizations, and academic institutions. Its manufacturing and supply chain operations span the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and China. The Vice President of Operations leads global manufacturing operations, supply chain, procurement, quality, and regulatory functions. The role reports directly to the CEO and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Success is measured by cost reduction, product quality, service improvement, and implementation of durable operational processes—including a rigorous S&OP process—across a multi-site global organization. The position calls for an execution-focused, action-oriented leader with an extreme-ownership mentality. The leader will transform manufacturing, supply chain, and procurement by improving processes, systems, capabilities, and operating discipline to support growth. The role oversees operational planning and performance, including expenses and cash flow, and works with executive colleagues on strategic initiatives. It also ensures regulatory compliance and promotes a quality-first culture across manufacturing operations. The position requires travel 20–40% of the time to Harvard Bioscience sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and China. The posting identifies Harvard Bioscience as an equal opportunity employer and notes that reasonable accommodation requests are reviewed case by case.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in operations, manufacturing, engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent.
20 or more years of manufacturing and operations leadership experience, including multi-site and multinational responsibility.
Experience within life science tools or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated success delivering significant and sustainable improvements in cost, quality, and service.
Experience establishing manufacturing operating systems incorporating Lean, continuous improvement, S&OP, vendor selection, and optimization.
Experience with manufacturing automation, advanced manufacturing technologies, and transitioning from manual to increasingly automated production environments.
Strong understanding of new product introduction, design transfer, process validation, manufacturing readiness, and production scale-up.
Working knowledge of ISO 13485 quality management systems and applicable requirements for regulated manufacturing.
Strong strategic and financial acumen, including manufacturing capacity and footprint planning, capital investments, operating budgets, productivity, and cost management.
Demonstrated ability to build and develop high-performing manufacturing organizations and leadership teams through significant growth and change.
Exceptional leadership, communication, and change-management skills, with the ability to operate effectively from the executive level to the manufacturing floor.
Ability to travel 20–40% of the time to company sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and China.
Execution-focused, action-oriented approach and an extreme-ownership mentality.
Ability to build relationships and communicate in a manner aligned with Harvard Bioscience values.

Nice To Haves

Experience in life science tools, instrumentation, or medical devices.

Responsibilities

Lead global manufacturing operations and build a high-performing leadership team accountable for Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC).
Transform manufacturing operations, supply chain, and procurement by optimizing processes, systems, capabilities, and operating discipline.
Establish and drive a robust S&OP process throughout the organization.
Champion Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous-improvement methodologies to reduce variability, eliminate waste and bottlenecks, and improve operational performance.
Lead manufacturing, supply chain, and procurement functions; establish metrics and administer key policies, organizational structure, and processes.
Set monthly, quarterly, and annual operations plans with the CEO and CFO, including managing expenses and cash flow within areas of functional ownership.
Collaborate with executive team members on strategic initiatives, including major RFPs and new-market expansion.
Ensure manufacturing operations comply with ISO 13485 quality management systems and other applicable global regulatory requirements.
Promote a quality-first culture incorporating product quality, customer impact, risk management, and regulatory compliance into manufacturing and decision-making.
Maintain capable and compliant manufacturing processes, documentation, training systems, and controls as production volumes and organizational complexity increase.
Integrate acquired businesses and drive operational synergies through site consolidations, vendor management, end-to-end business process optimization, and disciplined expense management.
Develop high-performing manufacturing organizations and leadership teams through growth and change.
Travel to company sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and China, approximately 20–40% of the time.