Head of Manufacturing Sciences, Athlone

About This Role

In the role of Head of Manufacturing Sciences at the Athlone Site, you will lead a dedicated team responsible for overseeing and advancing manufacturing process technology. As a pivotal member of the Site Leadership Team, you will direct the broad responsibilities of the Manufacturing Sciences (MS) division, ensuring the seamless technology transfer, implementation of advanced process controls, and ongoing manufacturing process monitoring. Your role will be crucial in providing essential technical support, ensuring campaign success, and maintaining an inspection-ready state for manufacturing processes. By representing the Athlone site on the Global Manufacturing Sciences Leadership Team (GMS LT), you will develop and align goals with both Athlone site and GMS objectives, ensuring cohesive progress towards strategic imperatives.
 

This position requires working on site in Athlone for 5 days per week.
 

What You’ll Do

• Provide technical direction and leadership to staff and matrixed teams for seamless process integration and monitoring.
• Collaborate with site and global leadership teams, providing strategic recommendations and ensuring alignment with global goals.
• Translate business priorities into tactical objectives for the site MS teams, ensuring adherence to production schedules.
• Manage budget, staffing, and performance management, while mentoring staff for career development.
• Ensure compliance with cGXP regulations and maintain high regulatory compliance, supporting regulatory inspections.
• Foster a culture of innovation, driving strategic priorities for technology and digital transformation at scale.

Who You Are

You are a seasoned technical leader with deep expertise in sterile drug product manufacturing and a strong ability to operate at the interface of development and commercial operations. You thrive in complex, cross‑functional environments, bringing together teams across Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, and Manufacturing to solve problems and deliver robust, compliant processes. You’re a strategic thinker who can translate product and site priorities into clear technical plans, while also being hands‑on enough to troubleshoot issues, lead validation activities, and guide long‑term improvements. You’re collaborative, influential, and confident engaging with regulators and you’re motivated by the opportunity to build and shape a growing Manufacturing Sciences function.
 

Required Skills

• MSc/PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline, with significant and proven years of experience in sterile/aseptic drug product manufacturing.
• Ability to act as the technical bridge between development and manufacturing, aligning process needs with site capability and capacity
• Strong background in tech transfer, process engineering, MSAT, or manufacturing sciences, with proven ability to troubleshoot and optimise drug product processes.
• Experience developing strategies for validation campaigns, ideally in a fast‑paced or high‑throughput environment.
• Experience hosting or presenting during regulatory inspections, including responding to technical questions and supporting inspection strategy.
• Experience acting as a site technical authority for drug product knowledge/processes, (e.g. material changes, risk assessments, and lifecycle management)
• Hands‑on experience with drug product process troubleshooting, deviation resolution, and long‑term corrective actions.
• Strong understanding of how to align site capacity, equipment capability, and process needs.
• Deep understanding of cGMP/cGXP requirements for sterile drug product manufacturing.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and contributing to site‑level strategy

Why Biogen?

We are a global team with a commitment to excellence, and a pioneering spirit. As a mid-sized biotechnology company, we provide the stability and resources of a well-established business while fostering an environment where individual contributions make a significant impact. Our team encompasses some of the most talented and passionate achievers who have unparalleled opportunities for learning, growth, and expanding their skills. Above all, we work together to deliver life-changing medicines, with every role playing a vital part in our mission. Caring Deeply. Achieving Excellence. Changing Lives.

At Biogen, we are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients we serve. We know that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives make us a stronger and more innovative company, and we are focused on building teams where every employee feels empowered and inspired. Read on to learn more about Biogen.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Biogen is an E-Verify Employer in the United States.