Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted October 30, 2026

Associate Director, Strategy, Process & Systems - Supply Chain

Foster City, United States Full time
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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 fulfill their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

The Associate Director, Strategy, Process & Systems  - Supply Chain is the business process and systems owner for SSM activities supporting clinical and commercial small molecule, biologics, clinical packaging, direct materials and devices. The role establishes scalable, compliant and data-driven ways of working across sourcing, contracting, supplier risk management, governance, segmentation, performance monitoring, and strategic initiatives.

This role serves as a cross-functional integrator and gatekeeper for critical SSM processes, partnering with Legal, Finance, Quality, Strategy, Global External Manufacturing, Treasury, Global Trade Compliance, Global Procurement, and other stakeholders. The role combines strategic program leadership with disciplined execution and provides backup support to modality leaders as business needs require.

Key Responsibilities

 

Process, Systems & Operating Model Leadership

·        Own and continuously improve end-to-end SSM business processes and enabling systems across commercial small molecule, biologics, clinical packaging, direct materials and devices.

·        Global Process Owner for SSM process library working across GSC and PDM functions to optimize ways of working in our processes  and systems.

·        Define standardized workflows, decision rights, controls, templates and escalation paths for contracting, risk management, supplier governance, segmentation, pricing and performance monitoring.

·        Lead SSM digital and systems initiatives, including business representation for SAP and other enterprise or functional tools; translate business requirements into practical process and system solutions.

·        Establish process documentation, training, adoption measures and continuous-improvement roadmaps that build sustainable SSM capabilities.

·        Lead or support strategic initiatives across Product Development & Manufacturing and Global Procurement and Operations, serving as the SSM single point of contact when assigned.

·        Provide backup contract-negotiation support to modality managers and other SSM leaders as needed.

 

Supplier Risk, Governance & Performance

·        Lead the CMO Risk Management Program and ensure quarterly assessments across operational, quality, delivery, organizational and financial risk dimensions are completed and reported to senior management.

·        Facilitate cross-functional risk reviews, ensure clear ownership of mitigation actions and elevate material risks through established escalation pathways.

·        Lead the annual supplier segmentation and governance process, including operating calendars, governance expectations and alignment of supplier-management intensity to strategic value and risk.

·        Develop and maintain SSM metrics, dashboards and executive reporting for contract governance, risk, supplier performance and strategic initiatives.

·        Monitor pricing trends and coordinate relevant system updates to support supplier strategy and fact-based decisions.

·        Update PIR pricing in SAP, support should cost modeling database and contract compliance.

 

Cross-Functional & Strategic Activities

·        Represent SSM in enterprise and cross-functional initiatives, including SAP, CTPAT, ESG audits, due diligence and other strategic or compliance programs.

·        Lead ESG Scope 3 target support, supplier tender surveys and supplier audits in partnership with sustainability and functional stakeholders.

·        Lead or support internal audits and remediation activities, ensuring process evidence, accountabilities and follow-through are clear.

·        Provide project leadership for departmental strategic-roadmap initiatives and capability-building priorities.

Leadership Capabilities

·        Strategic systems thinking with the ability to connect process, risk, contracts, supplier performance and business outcomes.

·        Executive presence and sound judgment when acting as a gatekeeper, facilitator and escalation point.

·        Ability to influence without direct authority and align diverse stakeholders around clear decisions and accountabilities.

·        Strong written, verbal and presentation skills, including the ability to translate complex issues into concise executive recommendations.

·        Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, competing priorities and sensitive issues in a fast-paced environment.

·        High standards for integrity, compliance, data quality, operational discipline and follow-through.

·        Practical change leadership, including process design, stakeholder engagement, training and adoption

 

Basic Qualifications 

Bachelor's Degree and 10 years’ experience

OR

Master's Degree and 8 years’ experience

OR

PhD /PharmD and 5 years’ experience

Preferred Qualifications:

·        Commercial and clinical external manufacturing across one or more of the following: small molecule/API or OSD, biologics, clinical packaging, direct materials, devices or combination products.

·        CMO/CDMO relationship management and governance.

·        ESG Scope 3 supplier engagement, tender surveys or supplier audits.

·        Analytics and visualization tools used for operational and executive reporting.

·        Extensive relevant experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, external manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, supplier management, business operations or a related regulated environment.

·        Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional processes, governance forums and transformation or continuous-improvement initiatives.

·        Experience with strategic sourcing, contracting, contract lifecycle governance and negotiations involving complex external partners.

·        Experience designing or operating supplier/CMO risk-management, segmentation, governance and performance-management processes.

·        Working knowledge of regulated manufacturing and quality environments; familiarity with GMP expectations and relevant controls is strongly preferred.

·        Experience serving as a business process owner or business lead for enterprise systems, digital tools, analytics or SAP-enabled processes.

·        Project or program management experience; Lean, Six Sigma, PMP or comparable certification is a plus.

People Leader Accountabilities:

Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modelling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.

Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop, and realize their purpose.

Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, organizational objectives and holding to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem

The salary range for this position is:

Bay Area: $182,070.00 - $235,620.00.

Other US Locations: $165,495.00 - $214,170.00.

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
Associate 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 857 comparable Associate Director Manufacturing & CMC roles across 113 biopharma companies.

857Comparable roles tracked
787Currently active
113Companies hiring similar roles
40Countries represented

Salary context

248 of 857 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 $182,070/yr – $235,620/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Technician Calibration - Maintenance · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Associate Director / Director - Biologics Drug Product Development · AbbVie $160,500/yr – $305,000/yr
Peer group range $58,500 – $232,750 (median $155,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 857 comparable roles

United States467
India81
Ireland42
China26
Japan24
Netherlands22

+ 34 more countries

Seniority mix

857 of 857 peers have a known seniority level

Senior403
Manager351
Associate Director103

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 857 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Rare Disease3
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Immunology1
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
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Inc. Remote, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck Wilmington, Delaware, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

Open in 2 locations

North Chicago, United StatesWorcester, United States

Notify me about similar jobs

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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%
Associate Director, CMC Portfolio Management
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Director – Biologics Process Engineering, Lilly Medicine Foundry
Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Director, External Manufacturing - Small Molecule
AbbVie · Worcester, MA · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Director, Supply Chain
AstraZeneca · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America · Associate 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.