Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted August 10, 2026

Sr. Director, Supplier Strategy and Management (Small Molecule API and OSD)

Foster City, United States Full time
Manufacturing & CMC Senior Director

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

Overview

The Senior Director, Supplier Strategy and Management, API & OSD is responsible for sourcing, contracting, supplier relationship management (SRM), supplier portfolio strategy, and market and risk intelligence. This role manages business relationships with multiple contract development and manufacturing organizations (CMO/CDMOs) supporting both the Clinical and Commercial product portfolios. This role has significant leadership experience in strategic sourcing, contracting and supplier strategies, has executive presence and uses their business savvy and technical experience to drive high performance from our partners. This role collaborates effectively with senior leaders shaping how critical investments deliver value to the organization while simultaneously driving alignment across senior stakeholders. This role will influence significant CMO spend - how it is prioritized, governed and optimized to accelerative innovation, strategic priorities and ultimately supply of product to patients.

This is an onsite role based at our global headquarters in Foster City, CA. We do offer a hybrid environment with three days on campus and two days optional work from home.

Key Responsibilities

Serves as senior SSM partner to leaders across External Quality, Global External Manufacturing, and Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing

Translates business priorities into actionable supplier portfolio strategies that deliver measurable value

Own end-to-end accountability for OSD and API modalities with measurable outcomes

Define and execute supplier portfolio strategies leveraging market intelligence and deep category expertise

Drive value beyond savings, including innovation, supplier performance, quality/compliance and risk mitigation

Build trusted relationships with Senior Leadership and influence decision making

Communicate supplier portfolio strategies and performance to stakeholders, ensuring alignment

Lead cross functional alignment across stakeholders

Champion SSM strategic initiatives that increase early engagement and stakeholder satisfaction

Lead supplier governance in alignment with overarching segmentation and governance strategy

Lead strategic supplier relationships at the executive level

Define supplier performance expectations across cost, quality, innovation and reliability

Leads and partners with stakeholders on contract negotiations, competitive bidding process, optimizing contract compliance, and SRM. Ensures standardized tools are leveraged and maximize value for the business

Leads supplier risk assessments and ensures mitigation plans are identified and executed. Escalate risks and drive resolution to risks

Responsible for execution, review, and approval of RFPs/RFQs/RFIs

Negotiate Confidentiality Agreements, Master Service and Supply Agreements, Addendums, PSAs and SOWs

Lead and participate in Operational Excellence / Continuous Improvement projects

Stay informed and knowledgeable of relevant CMO/CDMO offerings, capabilities, as they relate to potential or known Gilead products/modalities

Qualifications

15+ years of experience in pharma/biotech or manufacturing

10+ years managing outsourced manufacturing and supplier networks and/or supply chains

Experience working in small molecule API and OSD manufacturing plant

Strong understanding of CMC development and GMP regulations

Excellent verbal and written communication skills; outstanding presentation skills

Proven leadership and cross-functional influence skills

Proven success driving large scale initiatives

Strong executive presence with demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders

Experience negotiating complex supplier agreements

Strong verbal and written communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills

Ability to manage multiple complex programs

Ability to operate in fast-paced, ambiguous environment – solve highly complex problems through ingenuity and collaboration with stakeholders

Ability to work under uncertainty and to resolve conflict in a constructive manner

Ability to effectively lead in a highly matrixed, global organization

Up to 20% travel

The salary range for this position is: $243,100.00 - $314,600.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex , age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

Job details

Seniority
Senior Director
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Foster City, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 89 comparable Senior Director Manufacturing & CMC roles across 21 biopharma companies.

89Comparable roles tracked
86Currently active
21Companies hiring similar roles
8Countries represented

Salary context

60 of 89 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $243,100/yr – $314,600/yr
Lowest disclosed · Project Controls Director, Global Facilities Delivery · Lilly $129,000/yr – $209,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Exec Director, Viral Vector Process Development · Kite Pharma, Inc. $255,425/yr – $330,550/yr
Peer group range $169,000 – $292,988 (median $222,900)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 89 comparable roles

United States71
India9
Netherlands3
Ireland2
Germany1
Switzerland1

+ 2 more countries

Seniority mix

89 of 89 peers have a known seniority level

Director64
Senior Director20
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

2 of 89 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Renss, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Sr. Director-Purification and Viral Safety
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director, Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism and Bioanalysis, Protein Therapeutics
Merck · Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Sr Director Operations
Hospira, Inc. · McPherson, United States · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director – Creative & Production, Global Communications
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.