Deputy Director Manufacturing Operations
AI in this role
Manage upstream and downstream drug substance manufacturing operations ensuring safety, compliance, and efficiency at Sanofi.
Job Title: Deputy Director Manufacturing Operations
Location: Pearl River, NY
About the Job
Join a global network that powers how Sanofi delivers — seamlessly, purposefully, and at scale. In Manufacturing & Supply, you’ll help reimagine how life-changing treatments reach people everywhere, faster.
About Sanofi:
We’re an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people’s lives and delivering compelling growth. Our deep understanding of the immune system and innovative pipeline – enables us to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world. Together, we chase the miracles of science to improve lives.
Main Responsibilities
Leadership & Team Management
- Ensure all areas and employees are safe at all times
- Directly manage manufacturing teams supporting upstream and downstream Flublok drug substance operations
- Foster a high-performance culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
- Provide coaching, mentorship, and professional development to team members at all levels
- Effectively manage conflict within and across teams to maintain a productive and respectful work environment
- Drive a strong sense of urgency in day-to-day operations while maintaining quality and compliance standards
Manufacturing Readiness & Operations
- Ensure manufacturing areas are consistently ready for scheduled production activities
- Oversee upstream and downstream manufacturing processes, including cell culture, protein production, clarification, purification, and related unit operations
- Monitor and manage production schedules to meet output targets while maintaining compliance with all applicable standards
- Ensure all equipment, materials, documentation, and personnel are in a state of readiness prior to manufacturing execution
Quality, Compliance & Continuous Improvement
- Ensure all manufacturing activities are conducted in strict accordance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GDP (Good Documentation Practice) requirements
- Lead and support deviation investigations, applying structured root cause analysis (RCA) methodologies to identify, document, and resolve manufacturing deviations
- Champion Lean manufacturing principles and defect identification practices to eliminate waste and drive process efficiency
- Implement and sustain performance management routines, including +QDCI (Quality, Delivery, Cost, Involvement) metrics and visual management tools
- Partner with Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs to support inspections, audits, and regulatory submissions as needed
Strategic & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Collaborate with Process Development, Quality, Supply Chain, and Engineering teams to support technology transfers, process improvements, and capacity planning
- Represent manufacturing in cross-functional forums and contribute to site-level strategic initiatives
- Identify and escalate risks to manufacturing readiness, supply continuity, or compliance in a timely manner
- Support the development and management of departmental budgets and resource planning
About You
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Science, Life Sciences, Business, or any related field.
- 7+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
- 5+ years of progressive, hands-on leadership experience in a GMP manufacturing environment, with an expectation to interact with and solve problems at the shop floor level.
- Strong working knowledge of GMP and GDP regulations and their application in a manufacturing environment
- Proven expertise in Lean manufacturing methodologies (5s, Gemba Problem Solving, Daily Capacity Management) and defect identification/reduction
- Demonstrated ability to perform thorough root cause analysis on manufacturing deviations and implement effective corrective actions
- Experience with performance management routines, including +QDCI or equivalent operational excellence frameworks
- Strong conflict management skills with the ability to navigate interpersonal and team dynamics effectively
- Demonstrated sense of urgency and ability to prioritize and respond decisively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
- Excellent communication, organizational, and stakeholder management skills
- Understanding of cell growth and propagation principles as they apply to biopharmaceutical drug substance manufacturing
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience leading Managers or Supervisors is highly desired.
- Advanced degree (MS, MBA) in Life Sciences, Engineering, Business Administration or related technical field.
- Hands-on experience with one or more of the following technologies:
- Single Use Systems
- Chromatography
- Tangential Flow Filtration
- Stainless Steel Systems (Fermenters and Bioreactors)
Why choose us?
- Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.
- Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.
- Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.
- Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave.
- Shape the future of medicine and vaccine delivery with cutting-edge technology, ensuring seamless launches and a resilient global supply.
- Power industry-leading performance by leveraging digital, data, and AI-driven innovation – at speed and scale
- Transform lives worldwide by delivering life-changing treatments anywhere, anytime.
Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity employers committed to a culturally inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; colour; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.
#GD-SP
#LI-SP
#VHD
Pursue progress, discover extraordinary
Better is out there. Better medications, better outcomes, better science. But progress doesn’t happen without people – people from different backgrounds, in different locations, doing different roles, all united by one thing: a desire to make miracles happen. So, let’s be those people.
Sanofi US endeavours to make our career center accessible to any and all users. If you are experiencing difficulty and need assistance applying online, please call 1-866-SANOFI2 (1-866-726-6342) or click here
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only
Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity employers committed to a culturally inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.
North America Applicants Only
The salary range for this position is:
$133.500,00 - $192.833,33All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs, and additional benefits information can be found here.
How we rate this
Deputy Director Manufacturing Operations at Sanofi rates 10 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Open the description and count.
Prepare for this job
A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where manufacturing operations was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where gmp was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where upstream downstream processing was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where lean manufacturing was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where deviation investigation was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Manufacturing Operations, Gmp, Upstream Downstream Processing, Lean Manufacturing, and Deviation Investigation. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them — a tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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