Associate Director Drug Product Technical Operations
Position Summary
We are seeking an Associate Director, Drug Product Technical Operations to lead the technical and operational execution of drug product activities across Vor's external manufacturing network. This role will have end-to-end accountability for drug product manufacturing from late-stage development through commercialization, including manufacturing strategy, technology transfer, aseptic fill-finish, process validation, lifecycle management, commercial readiness, and Drug Product Module 3 content.
Roles And Responsibilities
Serve as the technical owner for drug product development and manufacturing activities across formulation, compounding, sterile filtration, aseptic fill-finish, visual inspection, container closure systems, and packaging. Apply technical judgment to define manufacturing approaches, evaluate process performance, and resolve complex drug product issues.
Lead planning, readiness, and execution of engineering, clinical, validation, and commercial manufacturing campaigns across external manufacturing sites. Ensure materials, documentation, equipment, methods, and cross-functional decisions are in place to support successful and timely campaign execution.
Partner with senior leadership to define and execute the Drug Product CMC strategy across development and commercialization. Support decisions related to manufacturing network design, scale-up, process changes, regulatory strategy, technical risk, supply continuity, and lifecycle management.
Lead development and execution of drug product validation strategies, including engineering runs, media fills, process performance qualification, hold-time studies, shipping studies, cleaning validation, and continued process verification. Drive readiness for BLA submission, pre-approval inspection, commercial launch, and routine supply.
Lead drug product technology transfers, process scale-up, site transfers, process improvements, and post-approval changes. Ensure technical requirements, knowledge transfer, comparability considerations, validation needs, and regulatory impacts are clearly defined and executed.
Lead authoring, technical review, and maintenance of Drug Product Module 3 content for INDs, BLAs, supplements, and global regulatory submissions. Partner with Regulatory Affairs and Quality to ensure manufacturing descriptions, process controls, validation strategies, comparability assessments, container closure information, and supporting technical documentation are complete, consistent, and submission-ready.
Support health authority meetings, information requests, regulatory responses, audits, and inspections. Provide clear technical rationale for manufacturing strategies, process changes, validation approaches, deviations, and risk assessments.
Serve as Vor's primary technical and operational interface with Drug Product CDMOs, testing laboratories, and other external partners. Lead technical governance meetings, establish clear expectations, track commitments, and drive timely resolution of risks, issues, and dependencies.
Review and approve, as appropriate, master and executed batch records, protocols, reports, specifications, change controls, deviations, investigations, CAPAs, risk assessments, validation documents, and campaign summaries. Ensure documentation is technically sound, controlled, and inspection-ready.
Provide technical leadership for manufacturing deviations, atypical results, batch-impact assessments, root cause investigations, and corrective and preventive actions. Ensure issues are escalated appropriately and resolved using data-driven and risk-based approaches.
Partner closely with the Combination Product Development Lead to ensure alignment between drug product characteristics, primary container systems, prefilled syringes, needle safety devices, autoinjectors, fill-finish processes, device performance, and product presentation requirements.
Partner across Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Clinical, Commercial, Combination Product, Alliance Management, and Program Management to align technical strategy, manufacturing execution, regulatory deliverables, and program milestones. Own Drug Product timelines, technical risks, decisions, dependencies, and deliverables. Maintain integrated plans and trackers in Smartsheet and communicate progress through clear timeline views using Office Timeline.
Skills And Competencies
Strong technical understanding of biologic drug product development and manufacturing, including formulation, aseptic processing, fill-finish, container closure systems, visual inspection, process validation, and commercial manufacturing.
Ability to combine technical depth with strong operational execution. Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex activities, manage multiple priorities, and drive programs from strategy through execution.
Strong working knowledge of global CMC requirements, Module 3 authoring, process validation, comparability, lifecycle management, and inspection readiness.
Proven ability to manage CDMOs and external laboratories, establish accountability, influence partner performance, and resolve technical and operational issues in an outsourced manufacturing model.
Education, Experience And Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, biotechnology, life sciences, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
8-12+ years of experience in biologics drug product development, manufacturing, technical operations, process engineering, or CMC.
Demonstrated experience leading aseptic fill-finish activities from development and engineering through process validation and commercial readiness.
Experience leading drug product technology transfers, process scale-up, process validation, manufacturing investigations, change controls, and lifecycle management activities.
Demonstrated experience authoring and reviewing Drug Product Module 3 sections and supporting regulatory submissions, health authority responses, or inspections.
Experience managing CDMOs and external technical partners in a GMP-regulated and highly outsourced manufacturing environment.
Strong understanding of GMP requirements, aseptic processing, validation principles, deviation management, root cause analysis, CAPA, and risk management.
Experience with injectable biologics, prefilled syringes, container closure systems, visual inspection, and combination products is strongly preferred.
Experience supporting BLA readiness, process performance qualification, commercial launch, and post-approval manufacturing changes is preferred.
Strong organizational, program execution, and documentation management skills.
Benefits
Comprehensive health coverage
Flexible paid time off
Generous parental leave
Competitive 401(k)
About the Role
Join Us in Tackling Autoimmune Disease at Its Root At Vor, we believe science can do more than manage symptoms. It can change the course of disease. By advancing telitacicept, a first- and potentially best-in-class dual BAFF/APRIL inhibitor, we are silencing upstream survival signals and stopping downstream autoimmune cascades. Together, we are addressing disease at its root cause and rewriting what is possible for patients worldwide. When you join Vor, you’re not just working on a medicine. You’re part of a mission to redefine the future of autoimmune care.