Agilent Technologies

Upstream Manufacturing Supervisor

Agilent Technologies • $84K — $131K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent experience may be considered.
  • Experience leading manufacturing, production, laboratory operations, or technical operations in a regulated environment.
  • Working knowledge of organic and inorganic chemistry concepts and safe chemical handling practices.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage priorities, and build trust with production staff and cross-functional partners.
  • Experience using data to monitor performance and drive operational decisions.
  • Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to balance multiple operational factors.
  • Ability to perform effectively in a dynamic manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

  • Lead daily manufacturing operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity goals.
  • Ensure production follows approved procedures and regulatory compliance for organic and inorganic chemistry processes.
  • Promote a strong safety culture and maintain compliance with health and safety standards.
  • Collaborate with quality teams to resolve production issues and uphold process integrity.
  • Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity and reduce waste.
  • Coach and develop production employees through feedback and training plans.
  • Analyze production data to identify trends and offer insights for performance enhancement.

Benefits

  • Full-time schedule with potential for bonus and stock options available.
  • Full range of benefits offered, including health and wellness programs.
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Manufacturing Operations Supervisor is responsible for leading daily manufacturing execution for a chemical reference standards operation producing organic and inorganic chemical standards, reagents, and related products. This role ensures safe, compliant, efficient, and customer-focused production while developing people, strengthening technical capability, and driving continuous improvement across manufacturing processes, systems, and performance metrics.

The successful candidate will combine hands-on manufacturing leadership with strong chemistry knowledge, operational discipline, and data-driven decision making. This role is expected to build a high-performing team culture, improve production flow, support quality and regulatory compliance, and partner cross-functionally with Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Planning, Procurement, Logistics, Engineering, Technical Support, and Commercial teams.

This is a 100% on-site role based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Applicants must already reside locally or within a reasonable commuting distance. Relocation is not provided.

  • Production Leadership: Lead daily manufacturing operations to meet safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity goals for catalog and custom chemical standards.
  • Chemical Manufacturing Oversight: Ensure production activities involving organic and inorganic chemistry are executed according to approved procedures, specifications, and applicable regulatory expectations.
  • Safety and Compliance: Promote a strong safety culture, ensure proper chemical handling practices, and maintain compliance with site procedures, environmental health and safety requirements, and quality system expectations.
  • Quality and Technical Integrity: Partner with Quality Control, Quality Assurance, and technical teams to resolve production issues, support investigations, reduce nonconformances, and maintain process integrity.
  • Continuous Improvement: Identify and lead improvements that reduce waste, improve flow, increase schedule adherence, strengthen standard work, and improve productivity using lean, root cause analysis, and structured problem-solving methods.
  • People Development: Coach, develop, and engage production employees and frontline leaders through clear expectations, regular feedback, training plans, skill development, and career growth discussions.
  • Data-Driven Decision Making: Use production, quality, inventory, labor, and schedule data to identify trends, prioritize actions, and communicate performance insights to stakeholders.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Planning, Procurement, Quality, Logistics, Engineering, Technical Support, Customer Service, Product Data Management, and Commercial teams to align production priorities with customer and business needs.
  • Capacity and Resource Planning: Assess staffing, equipment, material availability, and process constraints to support short-term execution and long-term production capability.
  • Systems and Documentation: Support accurate use of manufacturing systems, batch records, work instructions, production schedules, inventory transactions, and related documentation.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent experience may be considered.
  • Experience leading manufacturing, production, laboratory operations, or technical operations in a chemical, or regulated manufacturing environment.
  • Working knowledge of organic and inorganic chemistry concepts, chemical formulation, solution preparation, raw material control, and safe chemical handling practices.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead people, manage priorities, communicate clearly, and build trust with production teams and cross-functional partners.
  • Experience using data to monitor performance, solve problems, identify process gaps, and drive operational decisions.
  • Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to balance safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer impact.
  • Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with changing priorities and operational constraints.


Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with SAP or a similar ERP system for production orders, inventory transactions, material availability, scheduling, or manufacturing execution.
  • Experience in ISO 9001, ISO 17025, ISO 17034, GMP, DEA-regulated, or other regulated quality environments.
  • Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, root cause analysis, visual management, standard work, or operational excellence experience.
  • Experience leading supervisors, leads, chemists, technicians, operators, or cross-functional project teams.
  • Familiarity with analytical chemistry, chemical standards, certified reference materials, traceability, stability, or quality control testing.
  • Familiarity and experience with dangerous goods shipping, regulations, and transport.
  • Advanced Excel, Power BI, SQL, or other data analysis, programming, and reporting skills.


Additional Details

This job has a full time weekly schedule. Applications for this job will be accepted until at least October 5, 2026 or until the job is no longer posted.

The full-time equivalent pay range for this position is $84,160.00 - $131,500.00/yr plus eligibility for bonus, stock and benefits. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. During the hiring process, a recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for a preferred location. Pay and benefit information by country are available at: https://careers.agilent.com/locations

Travel Required:
No

Shift:
Day

Duration:
No End Date

Job Function:
Manufacturing

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. With more than 50 years of insight and innovation, Agilent instruments, software, services, solutions, and people provide trusted answers to customers' most challenging questions. The company generated revenue of $5.34 billion in fiscal 2020 and employs 16,600 people worldwide.
Learn more about Agilent Technologies
Size
17,400 employees
Market Cap
$44.2 billion
Industry
Net Income
$810 million
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+8.9%
Revenue
$5.5 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Agilent Technologies

More Pharmaceuticals & Biotech Jobs

Find similar Upstream Manufacturing Supervisor jobs: