Direct Material Release Program Lead

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world.

And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

The Direct Materials Release Program Lead is primarily responsible for ensuring that GMP-released materials are available in a timely manner to fully support Production Operations in Vacaville. This core responsibility involves monitoring and reporting on process KPIs and implementing continuous improvement measures to enhance efficiency. Crucially, the role involves risk management, including escalating production risks to Product Managers, Manufacturing Asset Owners, Quality, and other stakeholders when support is required, and working with site teams to implement compliant mitigation strategies during process disruptions to prevent impacts on manufacturing activities.

This position acts as a central coordinator and interface across the internal and external supply chain. The Lead coordinates the activities of Direct Procurement, Warehouse Receiving, QC Direct materials, QA Lot Disposition, and Weighing and Kitting to ensure the smooth flow of materials through each stage of the internal Supply Chain. Furthermore, this role is a key interface between Production Planning, Site Scheduling, Logistics, Procurement, Manufacturing, Quality, and suppliers.

The Lead also acts as a customer interface in relation to Tech Transfer Raw Materials, reporting progress, risks, and readiness for ER and PPQs.

This includes active participation in and leadership of discussions, problem-solving efforts, and formal process improvement programs to ensure that performance targets are consistently met or exceeded, playing a key role in maintaining compliance and ensuring the continuity of production.

Lead, track, and report on the on-time availability, testing, and regulatory release (FDA/global) of raw materials, components, and packaging for GMP production campaigns.

Monitor inventory status and liaise with Planning/Scheduling to maintain optimal direct materials inventory levels, ensuring the end-to-end receipt-to-release process meets production schedule needs efficiently.

Create and manage end-to-end KPIs to monitor material availability and drive timely mitigations for supply chain issues impacting production.

Serve as the primary escalation point for raw material issues.

Lead the continuous improvement program and digital transformation projects (workflows, ERP) to enhance the material release process efficiency.

Chair the Material Release Steering Committee to report program health and risks to leadership.

Ensure material release processes comply with all regulatory requirements. Own/support audits and partner with QC and QA to resolve deviations and discrepancies, using data/metrics to analyze cycle times and risk.

Participate in and lead cross-functional projects (including Tech Transfers and business process improvements) and influence policy and process development across the site.

Bachelor’s degree in Lifesciences.

Minimum 10+ years of experience in Supply Chain Management, Procurement and/ or Buying Planning, Category management in pharmaceutical/ other industry

Ensure material release processes comply with FDA and global regulatory requirements.

We recognize that attracting, developing and retaining the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure that we are able to attract the best candidates. As required by law in this state, the quoted salary range for this position $138,000 to $234,000.We use broad salary ranges that reflect the competitive market for similar jobs, provide sufficient opportunity for growth as you gain experience and expand responsibilities;

while also allowing for differentiation on performance based on the breadth of our…