Associate Director/director, Cell Therapy Technical Operations

Working With Us

Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren't words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You'll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services, and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives.

Position Summary

Within the Cell Therapy Development and Operations (CTDO) division, the Cell Therapy Technical Operations (CTTO) organization is accountable for:

• Technology transfer and process validation across the product lifecycle
• CMC lifecycle management and regulatory strategy
• Oversight and governance of global CDMO partnerships
• Driving process engineering, harmonization, and standardization to ensure global manufacturing scale-up, reliability, and regulatory compliance

We are seeking a strong strategic technical leader to join our Global MSAT team partnering with internal and external stakeholders to shape the future of cell therapy manufacturing.

The Technical Leader will be responsible for defining and executing strategies that enable the successful transfer, validation, and lifecycle management of cell therapy manufacturing processes. This role will serve as a bridge between development, manufacturing, and external CDMOs, and ensuring technical alignment.

The successful candidate will represent CTTO in global governance forums, provide strategic oversight of external partners, and play a central role in PPQ readiness, and regulatory submissions. They will also drive alignment across the BMS network by shaping standardized approaches, tools, and frameworks that enhance process robustness and scalability.

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for cross-functional technology transfers, including facility fit, readiness, and long-term manufacturing sustainability.
• Define and drive global process control strategies, ensuring risk-based parameter classification, lifecycle justification of ranges, and alignment with CPV methodologies.
• Represent CTTO in regulatory discussions and serve as a technical leader for INDs, and BLAs.
• Establish and maintain strong partnerships with CDMOs, acting as the primary technical interface to ensure performance, alignment, and compliance with BMS standards.
• Lead global forums to harmonize manufacturing processes, control strategies, and lifecycle management approaches across internal and external sites.
• Partner with senior leadership to influence long-term CTTO strategy, identifying opportunities for innovation, standardization, and operational excellence.
• Monitor and interpret process performance data to inform strategic decision-making, lifecycle investments, and continuous improvement.
• Provide mentorship and technical leadership to junior engineers, while also elevating organizational capability through best practice sharing.

Required Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biotechnology, or related discipline with:
• 10+ years (B.S.), 8+ years (M.S.), or 5+ years (Ph.D.) of experience in biologics or cell therapy process development, tech transfer, or GMP manufacturing support.
• Demonstrated success leading late-stage development, PPQ strategy, and commercial validation.
• Proven track record managing and influencing external partnerships (CDMOs/CMOs) to achieve strategic outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of ICH guidelines, control strategies, and validation lifecycle frameworks.
• Experience authoring and defending regulatory submissions (INDs, BLAs, variations).
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and align cross-functional teams on complex technical and strategic issues.
• Proficiency in data analytics and modeling tools (e.g., JMP, R, Minitab).
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical content into strategic recommendations for leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in cell therapy, immunotherapy, or viral vector manufacturing.
• Experience shaping and executing global strategy across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Prior involvement in global governance forums or steering committees.
• Familiarity with advanced statistical and QbD approaches for process lifecycle management.

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn't perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview

Devens - MA - US: $185,580 - $224,880 Seattle - WA: $190,780 - $231,184 The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee's work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/. Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect and may include the following: Medical, pharmacy, dental and vision care. Wellbeing support such as the BMS Living Life Better program and employee assistance programs (EAP). Financial well-being resources and a 401(K). Financial protection benefits such as short- and long-term disability, life insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection and survivor support. Work-life programs include paid national holidays and optional holidays, Global Shutdown Days between Christmas and New Year's holiday, up to 120 hours of paid vacation, up to two (2) paid days to volunteer, sick time off, and summer hours flexibility. Parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military leave. Family care services such as adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, fertility/infertility benefits, support for traveling mothers, and child, elder and pet care resources. Other perks like tuition reimbursement and a recognition program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers With a single vision as inspiring as "Transforming patients' lives through science™ ", every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion, and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based, and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role: Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients, or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments, and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

BMS cares about your well-being and the well-being of our staff, customers, patients, and communities. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that all employees be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and keep up to date with Covid-19 boosters.

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your