VP, Technical Operations

Nearly 37 million Americans are currently affected by Chronic Kidney Disease. 37 million. At Akebia we take that number very seriously and every day we come to work, with the purpose of bettering the lives of each person impacted by kidney disease and the renal community that serves them.

Our tenacious, passionate employees’ challenge the status quo and work to develop unique therapeutics that have the potential to set new standards of care for people living with kidney disease.

This is life-changing work, and we are all in, are you?

This position is currently based in our Cambridge, MA office. Please note that our offices will be relocating to Waltham, MA later this year, and this role will transition accordingly. We follow a flexible, “magnet not mandate” approach to in-office work, encouraging collaboration and onsite engagement while supporting hybrid flexibility based on role and business needs.

The Vice President, Technical Operations will lead Akebia's end-to-end CMC Technical operations organization and strategy across Drug Substance, Drug Product, and CMC Program Management. The role is accountable for advancing small-molecule products from candidate selection and IND-enabling development through clinical development, registration, validation, commercial launch, ongoing manufacturing, and lifecycle management.

The ideal candidate will be a broad CMC leader with strong strategic and technical judgment and particularly deep experience in small-molecule Drug Product formulation development, process validation/PPQ, technology transfer, and commercial manufacturing. The role requires Drug Substance expertise to provide effective strategic and technical oversight, as well as strong CMC program leadership to integrate plans, risks, resources, timelines, and decisions across Akebia’s clinical and commercial portfolio.

• Lead and develop the Technical Operations and CMC Program Management organization, ensuring effective integration, prioritization, and execution of Drug Substance, Drug Product, and cross-functional CMC activities across the product lifecycle.
• Develop and execute integrated, phase-appropriate CMC strategies spanning Drug Substance, Drug Product, analytical development, manufacturing, controls, stability, validation, regulatory CMC, and supply, from IND-enabling development through registration, commercialization, and post-approval lifecycle management.
• Provide deep technical leadership for small-molecule Drug Product development, including formulation/process development, scale-up, technology transfer, process characterization, control strategy, validation/PPQ, and commercial readiness.
• Provide strategic and technical oversight of Drug Substance development and manufacturing, including scale-up, technology transfer, validation, control strategy, commercial readiness, and lifecycle support.
• Ensure effective CMC Program Management across the portfolio, integrating deliverables, dependencies, critical paths, risks, resources, budgets, governance, and key decisions.
• Oversee CDMOs and external manufacturing partners supporting Drug Substance and Drug Product development, validation, and clinical/commercial manufacturing.
• Provide senior technical leadership for ongoing commercial manufacturing and lifecycle management, including investigations, CAPAs, change controls, process improvements, site transfers, continued process verification, and supply continuity.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Quality and Program leadership to ensure CMC strategies and submissions meet applicable FDA, ICH, global regulatory, and cGMP expectations.
• Represent Technical Operations in cross-functional product teams, executive governance, Business Development due diligence, portfolio planning, and risk management.
• Manage Technical Operations resources, operating plans, budgets, and portfolio priorities to support corporate and product development objectives.

• MS/Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related discipline, with substantial progressive pharmaceutical industry experience appropriate for a Vice President-level…