Associate Director, Manufacturing Business Operations & Strategy

JOB TITLE:
Associate Director, Manufacturing Business Operations & Strategy

LOCATION: Remote (WA or MA preferred) - candidates based in the following states will be considered: IN, MA, NC, NJ, NH, NM, NY, PA, SC, SD, TX, KY or WA.

SALARY RANGE: $203,000 to $228,000

ABOUT THE POSITION

Aurion Biotech is seeking an Associate Director, Manufacturing Business Operations & Strategy to provide strategic, technical, operational, and business leadership across the Manufacturing organization as Aurion advances through late-stage development, BLA submission, commercialization, commercial launch, and lifecycle management.

Serving as Head of Manufacturing Business Operations & Strategy, this person will serve as the strategic and operational integrator for Manufacturing, partnering across External Manufacturing, MSAT, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, Legal, and external manufacturing partners. The successful candidate will combine technical understanding of biologics or cell therapy manufacturing with commercial operations experience, strategic thinking, and business acumen. This individual will develop creative manufacturing strategies and scenarios for how, where, when, and with what resources manufacturing activities are executed to achieve technical, regulatory, supply, and business objectives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the Manufacturing team book of work, detailed timelines/smart sheets, integrating technical milestones, dependencies, budgets, and external commitments to drive portfolio prioritization and execution.
• Lead Manufacturing SOW, contract, budget, PO, and invoice management, translating technical strategies into clear scopes, deliverables, schedules, financial commitments, and business arrangements.
• Support Manufacturing leadership (ExM and MSAT) and technical leads to develop integrated late-stage, commercialization, commercial manufacturing, and operational project timelines and dependencies at site.
• Develop creative, risk-based manufacturing scenarios and contingency plans that optimize activities, resources, investments, and network capabilities while protecting supply and preserving future optionality.
• Lead commercialization and manufacturing network planning across sites, including capacity, sourcing, redundancy, business continuity, cross-site integration, CDMO strategy, and major lifecycle transitions.
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the education, experience, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in a scientific or engineering discipline
• Preferred 8-10 years of experience in MSAT, Manufacturing, or PD for biologics/cell therapies. Significant experience in Manufacturing, MSAT, External Manufacturing, Technical Operations, Process Development, Manufacturing Strategy, or a related technical operations function.
• Experience in late-stage / commercial cell and gene therapy required. Experience with multiple commercial cell therapy products, a plus.
• Proven track record of managing books of work, contracts, and technical strategies in support of late‑stage or commercial GMP manufacturing.
• Experience supporting CMC sections of regulatory submissions and informational requests.
• Experience with manufacturing network planning, site selection, capacity planning, business continuity, second sourcing, or cross-site manufacturing integration preferred.
• Solid understanding of GMPs, ICH guidelines, and regulatory expectations for cell therapies.

REQUIRED

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Background…