Manager, IT Manufacturing Execution Systems

At Vericel Corporation, we are pioneers in advanced cell therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care, transforming patient lives through cutting‑edge regenerative medicine. Our commitment to innovation, patient‑centered focus, and scientific excellence drives us to develop groundbreaking treatments including MACI (knee cartilage repair), Epicel and Nexobrid (burn care).

The MES System Manager will drive efficiency and reliability in our manufacturing processes. This role involves developing Manufacturing Execution System (MES) support strategies, collaborating with vendors, optimizing system performance, and ensuring compliance with GxP regulations.

This position is in‑office from Monday – Thursday in our new Burlington, MA location, with flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

• Drive the development of an IT support strategy that synthesizes manufacturing process expertise, equipment design considerations, and quality requirements with advanced information technology capabilities. Apply conceptual and systems‑level thinking to reduce downtime and enhance operational resilience across the organization.
• Provide thought leadership in assessing and implementing MES upgrades, hotfixes, and enhancements, collaborating with internal stakeholders and external partners. Evaluate ambiguous or intangible factors—such as evolving process needs, system interdependencies, and long‑term maintainability—to determine optimal technical approaches.
• Oversee MES system performance management at a strategic level, interpreting complex diagnostic data and logs to anticipate risks, identify emerging issues, and guide the resolution of critical problems. Exercise independent judgment in selecting methodologies and prioritizing actions that may influence processes across the entire manufacturing function.
• Serve as a key strategic partner to Manufacturing leadership, cultivating a deep understanding of operational workflows and system configurations. Leverage this insight to provide informed, high‑impact recommendations that optimize system performance and support organizational objectives.
• Provide oversight and escalation leadership for on‑call support of E /APS systems, ensuring operational continuity and directing resources effectively to mitigate business impact.
• Act as a recognized internal subject matter expert, mentoring and developing internal and external MES resources. Shape team competencies and guide technical approaches to build organizational capability.
• Direct, support and document the architecture and configuration of external system interfaces, ensuring seamless and compliant data exchange across interconnected platforms and enabling integrated operational insights.
• Guide the creation, evaluation, and approval of SDLC and validation deliverables for GxP system implementations and enhancements. Apply independent judgment to ensure quality, compliance, and alignment with organizational risk tolerance.
• Lead and coordinate multiple concurrent IT initiatives within the MES ecosystem, balancing strategic priorities and resource constraints while ensuring solutions align with evolving business needs and long‑term enterprise architecture.
• Evaluate complex and evolving business requirements, translating them into effective technical strategies. Engage diverse stakeholders, influence decision‑making, and secure alignment on system enhancements and organizational change initiatives.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Business Administration or equivalent years of experience.
• 12+ years of experience with enterprise systems, ideally in MES solution deployment and knowledge of MES technologies such as Siemens OpCenter Execution Pharma (E ) and OpCenter APS (Scheduling) would be preferable.
• Experience in Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, or Life Science industry.
• Database administration knowledge for Oracle, SQL and/or other platforms is preferable.
• Knowledge of business intelligence platforms such as Power
  
  BI and other data ETL and modeling tools is preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience working in diverse,…