Associate Director - Material Excellence, SU Technologies Expert & Raw MaterialsLocation: Portsmouth, NH, USA. (Additional network locations considered: Vacaville, CA; Houston, TX)
Travel: Minimal travel required (typically limited to 1-2 times per year for corporate alignment, network meetings, or specialized training).
Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Standard Business Hours).
We are seeking a high-caliber technical authority to join our Group Operations organization as the
Associate Director - Material Excellence, SU Technologies Expert & Raw Materials. Reporting directly to the Global Head of Material Excellence, this high-visibility global position is responsible for leading and shaping Lonza's overarching material strategy-focusing directly on simplification, network-wide harmonization, and supplier assurance across all clinical and commercial manufacturing platforms. Operating under direction with broad technical autonomy, you will serve as the premier Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Single-Use Technologies (SUT) and raw materials, driving global material standardization, harmonizing best practices across sites, and eliminating local variance to drive quality, operational efficiency, and cost performance.
What will you get?- An agile career and dynamic working culture
- An inclusive and ethical workplace
- Global Strategic Footprint: Direct the material standardizations and lifecycle control strategies impacting operations across 6+ major manufacturing hubs globally.
- Network-Wide Matrix Influence: Lead, coach, and develop a global network of site-based material specialists, steering critical material management strategies and technical risk-mitigation initiatives.
- Compensation programs that recognize high performance.
- Medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as PTO and more
- Our full list of global benefits can be found here: ;/li>
What you'll do:- Global Technical Authority: Serve as the network Subject Matter Authority for single-use technologies and raw materials utilized across diverse clinical and commercial bioprocessing lines, establishing unified global specifications and robust control strategies.
- Cross-Site Process Governance: Drive structural harmonization of material standards across all operational sites to eliminate decentralized "local recipes," ensuring consistent application, reducing SKU complexity, and minimizing localized exceptions or manufacturing deviations.
- Single-Use Assembly (SUA) & Raw Material Lifecycle Management: Advance Lonza's SUA lifecycle frameworks, standardizing tech transfer requirements, component mapping, and supplier alignment criteria.
- Strategic Sourcing & Risk Mitigation: Partner directly with Global Procurement and Quality to strengthen supplier assurance frameworks, managing technical assessments for second-sourcing initiatives and alternate material qualifications.
- Global Change Control Ownership: Own, author, and govern global change controls relating to material specifications and optimization initiatives to ensure seamless, compliant execution.
- Vendor Change Management (VCN): Oversee the technical evaluation and documentation pipeline for complex Vendor Change Notifications, preparing risk assessments, compendial analyses, and regulatory positioning papers.
- Investigation Advisory: Provide advanced cross-functional technical guidance on raw material and single-use processing deviations, collaborating with local Manufacturing, MSAT, and Validation teams to drive comprehensive root-cause resolutions.
- Regulatory Compliance: Maintain total alignment with evolving global pharmacopoeias and health authority expectations, directly supporting corporate client and regulatory inspections as technical lead.
What we're looking for:- Experience: 5-10 years of advanced material science, MSAT, QC/QA, or Operations experience within a cGMP pharmaceutical or bioprocess manufacturing setting. This must be accompanied by detailed application knowledge of polymeric materials and single-use systems in a life science context.
- Global Network Influence: Demonstrated experience operating successfully within a global setting, matrix network, or international multi-site organization. Proven capacity to influence peers outside of your direct department is essential.
- Matrix Leadership & Accountability: Strong capability to lead, align, and hold disparate cross-functional networks (Site MSAT, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement) accountable to global standards through a dotted-line relationship structure rather than formal line authority.
- Execution Resilience: A high-energy, change-agent mentality. Must be comfortable bringing diverse groups together, speaking authoritatively, navigating healthy pushback, and skillfully overcoming internal resistance to ensure execution discipline and full implementation.
- Sourcing & Qualification Mastery: Deep technical proficiency in raw material characterization, single-use component assembly validation, and establishing defensible material specifications aligned with global compendia.
- Program Management & Systems: Strong project management capabilities with a track record of executing complex standardization programs simultaneously. Familiarity with global data management platforms, Master Data frameworks, and technical reporting workflows is beneficial.
- Education: Master's Degree (M.Sc.) or equivalent advanced degree in Life Sciences, Engineering, Chemistry, or a closely related technical discipline is required.
- Soft Skills: Proactive 2-way communication skills, and a self-driven, hands-on attitude capable of translating corporate strategic directives into actionable plant-level standards.
About LonzaAt Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone's ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that's the kind of work we want you to be part of.
Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you're ready to help turn our customers' breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board.
Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now. 
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