Logistics Specialist

About the role

AstraZeneca is making one of the boldest investments in Cell Therapy in the industry — building a portfolio that spans autologous, allogeneic, and in vivo modalities with the ambition to bring these transformative treatments to patients around the globe.

Every autologous cell therapy begins with a single patient — their cells collected, shipped, engineered, and returned as a living treatment designed specifically for them. The Senior Specialist, Cell Therapy Vein-to-Vein Coordinator is at the center of that orchestration. You will manage active patient and product journeys end-to-end — from slot scheduling and apheresis collection through courier transportation, manufacturing, release, and final product delivery. You are the connective thread across a complex, multi-stakeholder chain where precision, proactive coordination, and real-time decision-making directly protect patient outcomes.

You'll work within AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy Global Supply Chain Vein-to-Vein Operations team using digital orchestration systems, milestone-based tracking, and established playbooks — partnering daily with Clinical Operations, Patient Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Trade Compliance, depots, couriers, and logistics providers to keep every journey on track.

Accountabilities

• Execute day-to-day Vein-to-Vein coordination across active patient and order journeys, supporting the full continuum from slot scheduling and apheresis collection through courier transportation, manufacturing, release, and final delivery.
• Coordinate slot scheduling and booking activities in alignment with approved slot management rules, study requirements, and capacity parameters, including confirmation, adjustment, and rescheduling of bookings as needed.
• Support patient and order orchestration by maintaining accurate visibility of active cases and ensuring key milestones, dependencies, and operational handoffs are actively managed.
• Monitor product journey milestones in real time across collection, transit, manufacturing, release, and return shipment using cell orchestration systems, courier portals, and operational tracking tools.
• Monitor and manage time-critical shipments in real time, identifying shipment delays, missed pickups or deliveries, temperature excursions, transit disruptions, and courier-related issues, and initiating escalation and recovery actions in line with approved playbooks.
• Identify and respond to off-path events by applying defined escalation pathways and exception playbooks, and by coordinating with internal teams and external logistics partners to support issue resolution and continuity of care.
• Book, coordinate, and monitor time-critical shipments across specialized cold chain, cryogenic, refrigerated, ambient, or on-board courier models as applicable to study and product requirements.
• Coordinate with couriers, logistics providers, and internal stakeholders to support real-time recovery actions, investigation follow-up, documentation, and continuity of the active patient and product journey when transit events occur.
• Maintain disciplined execution of V2V and COI/COC traceability requirements, ensuring accurate documentation, milestone capture, labeling, records, and chain of identity / chain of custody controls are preserved throughout the journey.
• Ensure timely and accurate data entry in orchestration systems, scheduling platforms, and logistics partner portals to support real-time visibility, escalation, and reporting.
• Provide proactive communication and status updates to internal stakeholders and operational partners, helping support a seamless and reliable customer experience for treatment centers and patient operations stakeholders.
• Support investigations, courier follow-up, deviation follow-up, and corrective actions related to live operational issues and transport-related exceptions by providing accurate fact gathering, timeline reconstruction, documentation, and operational input.
• Follow approved SOPs, work instructions, templates, and exception playbooks, while identifying ambiguities, recurring issues, or improvement opportunities and escalating them through the appropriate channels.
• Support readiness, onboarding, mock shipments, and hypercare activities for new studies, sites, products, countries, or logistics lanes as needed.
• Contribute to operational reporting and continuous improvement by maintaining accurate metrics, identifying trends, and sharing feedback on recurring operational pain points.

Essential Skills/Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 5+ years experience in biopharma clinical or commercial logistics, supply chain, or cell therapy operations, with hands-on involvement in time-critical or highly controlled logistics environments or patient operations. Cell therapy experience is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of GDP, GxP, and GMP requirements, including documentation accuracy and deviation awareness in regulated operations.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple active cases, priorities, and timelines across time zones.
• Demonstrated ability to apply sound judgment, follow escalation pathways, and respond effectively to operational issues including shipment delays, temperature excursions, and transport-related disruptions in a fast-paced environment.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide concise and accurate operational updates to internal and external stakeholders.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Experience in autologous cell therapy, clinical trial logistics, or control tower / real-time monitoring environments.
• Strong understanding of patient and order orchestration, COI/COC controls, and the execution requirements of specialized cold chain, cryogenic, or time-sensitive logistics.
• Experience with cell orchestration platforms, courier or logistics service provider portals, and operational tracking systems.
• Experience with Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or Smartsheet for operational reporting and tracking.

Pay & Schedule

• Location: Tarzana, CA ($55/hr)
• Hybrid Schedule (3 days on-site, 2 remote)
• Hours: 8am-5pm
• Duration: 12 months w/potential conversion to FTE
• Openings: 2