Pharma Director of IT Supply Chain & Manufacturing Systems

At Slipstream, we work to streamline IT Support and provide managed solutions with a strategic consulting and global leadership management approach. Our solutions are designed exclusively for emerging pharma and biotech organizations.

Slipstream’s industry-leading solutions free clients from the demands of internal IT and allow them to rapidly advance their mission. Led by a leadership team that has been together for over 10 years, you will join a proven team, culture, and strategy to drive innovation within the IT outsourcing industry while developing your skillset with the opportunities for internal growth.

Job Summary

The Director of IT Supply Chain & Manufacturing Systems is a technology leadership role responsible for the design, implementation, and optimization of enterprise information systems that power pharmaceutical supply chain and manufacturing operations — with a primary focus on enabling the successful commercial launch of new products. This individual serves as the critical bridge between IT and business functions including Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs, and Quality Assurance.

This role requires a rare combination of deep pharmaceutical domain knowledge and enterprise technology expertise. The ideal candidate has led large-scale IT program implementations in a GxP-regulated environment, understand the data and systems dependencies inherent to product launches, and can translate complex technical requirements into actionable delivery roadmaps aligned with business milestones.

Responsibilities

New Product Launch Leadership

• Lead integrated supply chain IT readiness activities for pipeline products transitioning from clinical to commercial manufacturing.
• Develop and own systems to support launch supply plans, including demand forecasting, inventory buildup strategies, and risk mitigation scenarios.
• Partner with Regulatory Affairs to ensure IT systems align manufacturing scale-up timelines with submission and approval milestones.
• Drive stage-gate IT launch readiness reviews in coordination with Program Management, Commercial, and QA teams.
• Develop and manage reporting systems to support the creating and reporting of product launch KPIs.

Enterprise Systems & ERP Program Management

• Own the IT roadmap for supply chain and manufacturing systems, including but not limited to ERP (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle), MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), LIMS, and WMS platforms.
• Support ERP implementations and upgrades in support of new product launch readiness, from identifying requirements through hypercare stabilization.
• Define and govern IT system’s integration architecture connecting planning, manufacturing, quality, serialization, and distribution platforms.
• Ensure that all IT system configurations, master data structures, and business rules are aligned with new product requirements ahead of commercial launch.
• Serve as the IT lead for data migration and master data governance for new product introductions, including SKU setup, bill of materials, and batch management.

Supply Chain Planning Systems & Digital Tools

• Lead the implementation and optimization of supply chain planning platforms (e.g., Kinaxis RapidResponse, Blue Yonder, o9 Solutions) to support demand sensing, S&OP, and inventory management for new products.
• Enable real-time supply chain visibility capabilities, including control tower dashboards, supplier portals, and launch readiness scorecards.
• Support digital demand forecasting tools and collaborate with Commercial Analytics teams to incorporate market intelligence into pre-launch inventory models.
• Drive adoption of advanced analytics and AI/ML capabilities to improve forecast accuracy and supply risk prediction across the product portfolio.
• Establish data pipelines and reporting infrastructure to support launch KPI monitoring and executive-level status communication as defined by IT leadership.

Manufacturing IT & MES Implementation

• Lead IT workstreams for manufacturing technology transfers, including system cutover planning, MES configuration, and production data migration.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering teams to implement and validate Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) at commercial production sites and CMO locations (if applicable).
• Manage IT components of process validation and equipment qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) to ensure systems are launch-ready and GMP-compliant.
• Support implementation of electronic