Role Summary
The Global Bulk Drug Substance (BDS) Process Hygiene Technical Lead plays a critical role in ensuring process hygiene excellence across AbbVie’s global BDS manufacturing network. This is a cross-functional leadership role that requires a deep understanding of BDS manufacturing, and the ability to influence global site stakeholders and leadership. The Global BDS leads role is to improve and maintain a best-in-class global Process Hygiene Index across AbbVie’s BDS network and standardize long-term procedural and technical solutions to mitigate hygiene risks across all global BDS sites.
Responsibilities
- Provide global oversight of process hygiene performance and manage hygiene-related risks across multiple BDS manufacturing sites and regions, including but not limited to: Cell culture inoculation, production bioreactors, chromatography, ultrafiltration, and bulk fill.
- Lead a global Center of Excellence (CoE) for BDS process hygiene, focusing on risk awareness, procedural excellence, and technical innovation.
- Assess shop floor operations and FUE (Facility, Utility, and Equipment) design to identify process hygiene risks.
- Recommend and drive procedural updates and documentation governance aligned with hygiene best practices.
- Identify and champion innovative technical solutions to mitigate hygiene risk and standardize successful approaches network-wide.
- Collaborate with Global and Site Engineering to drive capital improvement initiatives.
- Influence annual Capital Planning and Long-Range Capital Planning processes by integrating hygiene-driven project needs.
- Lead or support investigation of hygiene-related events; drive root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
- Develop and maintain analytical tools to report and track global process hygiene metrics.
Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline e.g., Chemical Engineering Microbiology, Bioengineering, or similar discipline.
- Experience: Minimum of 7 years in BDS manufacturing, with demonstrated expertise in upstream and downstream operations.
- Strong knowledge of GMP requirements and cross-functional roles in technical operations, documentation, and quality systems.
- Proven track record in technical problem-solving, risk assessment, and hygiene-related process improvements.
- Experience with capital and operational budgeting, particularly with respect to hygiene risk mitigation and single-use systems.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to influence and lead across multiple functions and global sites.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize and escalate competing demands effectively to site and network leadership.
- Deep understanding of shop floor operations and technical systems within BDS manufacturing.