AstraZeneca

Director, CMC Team Lead

AstraZeneca$130K — $180K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8-10 years in biopharmaceuticals, with CMC leadership experience
  • Strong critical thinking and forward-looking perspective
  • Exceptional communication, leadership, and collaboration skills
  • In-depth knowledge of drug development and clinical supply processes
  • Proven ability to build and coordinate teams
  • Strong interpersonal skills; influence through spoken and written English

Responsibilities

  • Lead CMC strategy from Candidate Selection through First Approval
  • Develop and implement the integrated CMC Development Plan
  • Translate strategy into actionable operational plans
  • Identify interdependencies and manage associated risks
  • Act as primary CMC contact for Global Product/Medicine Teams
  • Facilitate data-driven decision-making across CMC functions
  • Cultivate relationships and communicate effectively across the organization
  • Foster a diverse, high-performing team culture focused on accountability and improvement

Benefits

  • Office-based role allows for collaboration and connection
  • Flexible in-office work schedule balancing business and individual needs
  • Opportunity to work in an agile, entrepreneurial environment
  • Support from experienced leaders to help advance therapies
  • Access to cutting-edge platforms for professional growth
Full Job Description

Are you ready to lead the CMC strategy for high-potential therapies and turn scientific promise into first approvals? This is your opportunity to guide an asset across the entire development lifecycle—from Candidate Selection through First Approval—while shaping how we bring life-changing medicines to people with serious, underserved conditions.

As Director, CMC Team Lead, you will run a cross-functional, matrix team that sets the direction for drug substance, drug product, analytical, quality, regulatory, and clinical supply to deliver on critical landmarks! You will craft the CMC Development Plan, drive decisions at pace, and ensure operational execution aligns to strategy, risk, and value. Do you thrive at the intersection of science, operations, and governance, where decisive leadership accelerates patient impact?

Accountabilities:

  • Asset Lifecycle Leadership: Own CMC leadership for a defined asset from Candidate Selection through First Approval, ensuring strategy, execution, and risk management stay aligned to program objectives.
  • CMC Strategy and Planning: Own the development of the integrated CMC Development Plan, setting clear priorities and team goals that enable timely submissions, clinical starts, and approval readiness.
  • Execution and Delivery: Translate strategy into actionable operational plans, define critical paths, and drive delivery across drug substance, drug product, analytical, quality, regulatory CMC, and clinical supply.
  • Dependency and Risk Management: Identify key interdependencies across execution teams, proactively manage risks and issues, and advance according to enterprise governance to protect timelines and quality.
  • Enterprise Representation and Governance: Serve as the sole CMC point of contact to enterprise Global Product/Medicine Teams and internal governance bodies, providing transparent updates and securing decisions.
  • Cross-Functional Decision Making: Facilitate timely, data-driven decisions across all CMC functions, ensuring clarity of responsibilities, deliverables, and success criteria.
  • Collaborator Influence and Communication: Build positive relationships across the organization and with senior leaders; communicate succinctly, align team members, and create momentum behind the plan.
  • Team Leadership and Culture: Prioritize and encourage a diverse, high-performing team; foster accountability, continuous improvement, and a patient-centered approach.

Essential Skills/Experience:

  • Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with prior experience in a CMC leadership role
  • Demonstrated critical thinking capabilities with forward looking perspective.
  • Strong communication, leadership, and collaboration skills are required.
  • Solid understanding of drug development and clinic supply processes
  • Demonstrated ability to build, coordinate, and lead teams.
  • Strong interpersonal skills; proficient and able to influence others in spoken and written English.
  • The duties of this role are generally conducted in an office environment. As is typical of an office-based role, employees must be able, with or without an accommodation to use a computer; engage in communications via phone, video, and electronic messaging; engage in problem solving and non-linear thought, analysis, and dialogue; collaborate with others; maintain general availability during standard business hours.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

  • Prior experience as a liaison with corporate partners preferred.
  • High level of proficiency in MS Office software including Word, Excel, Outlook, Visio, Project, and PowerPoint.
  • Knowledge of MS Project Server a plus

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we ignite ambitious thinking with the power to encourage life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of four days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Here, you will combine the agility of an entrepreneurial environment with the reach of a global biopharma, working alongside colleagues who value kindness as highly as ambition. We bring diverse expertise together to solve complex problems, stay close to patients’ lived experiences, and turn bold science into meaningful outcomes. You will have the autonomy to move fast, the support of experienced leaders, and access to cutting-edge platforms that help you grow while advancing therapies for people who need them most.

Lead the CMC journey that transforms scientific innovation into approval-ready medicines—step forward and shape what comes next with us today!

Date Posted

08-Jun-2026

Closing Date

30-Aug-2026

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of prescription drugs. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group plc. AstraZeneca's products are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes. The company has operations in over 100 countries and employs more than 76,000 people worldwide. AstraZeneca is committed to developing innovative medicines that improve the health and well-being of people around the world.
Learn more about AstraZeneca
Size
83,100 employees
Market Cap
$211.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$3.1 billion
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+10.2%
Revenue
$26.6 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at AstraZeneca

More Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Jobs

Find similar Director, CMC Team Lead jobs: