Associate Director – Material Excellence, Single Use Technologies & Raw Materials

Associate Director – Material Excellence, SU Technologies Expert & Raw Materials

Location:

Portsmouth, NH, USA. Additional network locations considered:
Vacaville, CA;
Houston, TX.

Relocation assistance available for eligible candidates and their families, if needed.

Travel:
Minimal travel required (typically limited to 1–2 times per year for corporate alignment, network meetings, or specialized training).

Schedule:

Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Standard Business Hours).

We are seeking a high-caliber technical authority to join our Group Operations organization as the Associate Director – Material Excellence, SU Technologies Expert & Raw Materials. Reporting directly to the Global Head of Material Excellence, this high-visibility global position is responsible for leading and shaping Lonza's overarching material strategy—focusing directly on simplification, network-wide harmonization, and supplier assurance across all clinical and commercial manufacturing platforms.

Operating under direction with broad technical autonomy, you will serve as the premier Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Single-Use Technologies (SUT) and raw materials, driving global material standardization, harmonizing best practices across sites, and eliminating local variance to drive quality, operational efficiency, and cost performance.

What will you get?

• An agile career and dynamic working culture
• An inclusive and ethical workplace
• Global Strategic Footprint:
  Direct the material standardizations and lifecycle control strategies impacting operations across 6+ major manufacturing hubs globally.
• Network-Wide Matrix Influence:
  Lead, coach, and develop a global network of site-based material specialists, steering critical material management strategies and technical risk-mitigation initiatives.
• Compensation programs that recognize high performance.
• Medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as PTO and more

What you'll do:

• Global Technical Authority:
  Serve as the network Subject Matter Authority for single-use technologies and raw materials utilized across diverse clinical and commercial bioprocessing lines, establishing unified global specifications and robust control strategies.
• Cross-Site Process Governance:
  Drive structural harmonization of material standards across all operational sites to eliminate decentralized "local recipes," ensuring consistent application, reducing SKU complexity, and minimizing localized exceptions or manufacturing deviations.
• Single-Use Assembly (SUA) & Raw Material Lifecycle Management:
  Advance Lonza's SUA lifecycle frameworks, standardizing tech transfer requirements, component mapping, and supplier alignment criteria.
• Strategic Sourcing & Risk Mitigation:
  Partner directly with Global Procurement and Quality to strengthen supplier assurance frameworks, managing technical assessments for second-sourcing initiatives and alternate material qualifications.
• Global Change Control Ownership:
  Own, author, and govern global change controls relating to material specifications and optimization initiatives to ensure seamless, compliant execution.
• Vendor Change Management (VCN):
  Oversee the technical evaluation and documentation pipeline for complex Vendor Change Notifications, preparing risk assessments, compendial analyses, and regulatory positioning papers.
• Investigation Advisory:
  Provide advanced cross-functional technical guidance on raw material and single-use processing deviations, collaborating with local Manufacturing, MSAT, and Validation teams to drive comprehensive root-cause resolutions.
• Regulatory Compliance:
  Maintain total alignment with evolving global pharmacopoeias and health authority expectations, directly supporting corporate client and regulatory inspections as technical lead.

What we're looking for:

• Experience:
  
  5–10 years of advanced material science, MSAT, QC/QA, or Operations experience within a cGMP pharmaceutical or bioprocess manufacturing setting. This must be accompanied by detailed application knowledge of polymeric materials and single-use systems in a life science context.
• Global Network Influence:
  Demonstrated experience operating successfully within a global setting, matrix network, or…