Director, Chemical Technical Operations, North America External Manufacturing

Job Description

The Chemical Technical Operations Director for North America API External Manufacturing (ExM) leads the Technical Operations team in support of the manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, intermediates, and drug product intermediates at external contract manufacturing facilities in the region. The successful candidate will provide leadership and expertise in technical oversight, portfolio management, continuous improvement, talent development and upskilling organization capabilities. This position reports to the Executive Director, Chemical Technical Operations (CTO), Small Molecule Science & Technology.

The Director of Chemical Technical Operations, as part of the External Manufacturing regional leadership team, is responsible for oversight of external contract manufacturing facilities in the North America region. The successful candidate will lead and develop a diverse team to enable evolving business needs. As part of the CTO Leadership Team & API Platform extended leadership team the individual, working across functions, will develop and enable realization of strategic initiatives aligned with company priorities.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Partner across ExM Operations, ExM Quality, Business Development, Supply Chain Management, and Global Procurement to support API supply, including intermediates and other critical materials in the areas of new product introductions, sustained commercial supply, risk management and sourcing.

• As a people manager, coach and develop the team to enable realization of priorities and provide oversight of career development plans for their direct reports.

• Develop and sustain a high-performance organization that is highly flexible and motivated to champion change and innovation to drive continuous improvement in outcomes.

• Leverage operational excellence methodologies to streamline ways of working for improved efficiency and effectiveness.

• Ensure technical excellence in routine supply support to contract manufacturers.

• Lead the technical efforts required for enhancing competitiveness through targeted process optimization.

• Drive organizational capability in Proactive Process Monitoring to enable robust manufacturing operations & early detection of process issues.

• Foster a community of sharing, curiosity, learning, and end-to-end mindsets for new technologies, ways of working & new product introductions.

• Ensure technical skill and capability building of both internal and external teams to meet our evolving pipeline & business needs.

• Create a robust technical network of internal and external resources, rapidly deployable to solve complex problems in a cross-functional manner.

• Leverage the broader technical organization and communities of practice, ensuring strong knowledge management mindsets across the CTO team.

• Directs the safe & compliant resolution of complex technical or business challenges through a data-driven approach and knowledge of applicable government and company quality, safety, regulatory and trade compliance requirements.

• In support of product commercialization and externalization, partner with Operations and Quality Assurance to establish compliant and robust manufacturing capabilities at our partner CMOs.

• Steer oversight of process scale-up and optimization, new technologies deployment, technical aspects of pre-approval inspection readiness, development of validation protocols, and execution of process validation (Process Performance Qualification) and Continued Process Verification at external suppliers.

• In partnership with other functions, develop and lead strategies in support of meeting future business initiatives and objectives.

 

Education Requirement:

• Bachelors in a technical field (Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Chemistry, or Pharmaceutical Sciences) with minimum 10 years of relevant pharmaceutical industry experience; or Master’s with minimum 7 years of relevant experience; or PhD with minimum 5 years of relevant experience.

 

Qualifications:

• Leadership experience in one or more roles in Technical Operations, Process Development, Manufacturing, Quality Operations or Engineering.

• The Director will partner with other areas to rapidly and expertly resolve highly complex technical issues that could impact the continuity of supply.

• Demonstrated experience with traditional API processing as well as introducing new technologies and ways of working is necessary.

• Familiarity with use of biocatalysts, enzyme manufacturing, flow chemistry, processing of highly potent compounds, or sterile/low bioburden DS manufacturing is advantageous.

• The individual must ensure strong technical capability is developed for new products as part of acquisition and commercialization, and an appropriate control strategy is realized.

• This position involves frequent travel about 25%.

Required Skills:

Cross-Functional Leadership, Decision Making, External Manufacturing, GMP Compliance, Leadership, Manufacturing, Results-Oriented, Sterile Filling

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$173,200.00 - $272,600.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

06/22/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.