Associate Director, Integrated Process Team (IPT) Lead - Millsboro, DE (Animal Health, Global Manufacturing)

Job Description

Join our Millsboro Senior Leadership team and lead a high-impact Integrated Process Team that directly influences site performance, product quality and cost-of-goods for life-changing animal vaccines. Your leadership will shape manufacturing systems and release processes that enable reliable, efficient vaccine production at scale. If you are a people-first leader with deep technical experience in aseptic filling and vaccine production, this is an opportunity to drive operational excellence, develop teams, and deliver measurable results.

What you own:

• Lead and grow the Integrated Process Team (IPT) — coach managers and individual contributors, build capability, and create a high-performance, inclusive culture focused on continuous improvement.
• Be accountable for IPT performance against site and division goals, including quality, safety, delivery, cost of goods, and budget forecasts.
• Translate site strategy into IPT annual plans and priorities (hoshin kanri / scorecard) and drive execution using MPS/Lean principles and scientific problem solving.
• Provide subject matter expertise for product release, aseptic operations, formulation and fill/finish activities.
• Ensure compliance with corporate and regulatory requirements (cGMP/USDA) and lead IPT support for audits, inspections, validations and corrective actions.
• Author, review and approve SOPs, Quality Notifications and technical documentation; collaborate cross-functionally with QA, Regulatory Affairs, EHS, Engineering, BTS, ATS and HR.
• Direct technical troubleshooting and process improvements across antigen production, formulation, filling, and freeze-drying operations.
• Manage IPT budget, resource planning and capital/project work aligned with site priorities.

Who you are:

• A proven people leader who gets results by developing others: you have experience coaching managers, performance managing teams and building capabilities that last.
• Technically strong across vaccine manufacturing: hands-on experience with aseptic filling, antigen/formulation processes, and fill/finish operations.
• Operationally minded: you use Lean/MPS methods and scientific problem-solving to reduce variability, increase throughput and lower cost of goods.
• A confident communicator who can convey strategy and expectations to leaders and frontline teams, and who works effectively across functional partners.
• Quality- and compliance-focused with practical experience supporting regulatory inspections, validations and cGMP operations.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a life sciences or related field AND ~8 years of relevant vaccine or pharmaceutical manufacturing experience, including at least 5 years in leadership roles (people, budget and operational accountability).
• Demonstrated experience in aseptic techniques and operations, antigen production, formulation, filling and freeze-drying.
• Strong knowledge of cGMP and USDA manufacturing requirements.
• Proven track record of team building, coaching, and people development.
• Experience applying Lean/MPS methodologies and scientific problem solving to deliver measurable operational improvements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; proficient with standard computer systems and applications.

Preferred qualifications:

• Advanced degree in a relevant field.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher (LL2/LL3), or equivalent experience.
• Experience with SAP and inventory control systems.
• Familiarity with kata and other lean coaching tools.

Required Skills:

Antigens, Aseptic Filling, Aseptic Operations, Communication, Decision Making, Empowering People, Freeze Dry, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement, Management Process, Manufacturing Quality Control, Motivating People, Packaging Processes, People Development, People Leadership, Problem Solving, Process Improvements, Production Ramp Up, Strategic Thinking, Team Leadership, Technical Problem-Solving, USDA Regulations, Vaccine Manufacturing, Vaccine Production

Preferred Skills:

Lean Coaching, SAP Systems

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Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please