Merck KGaA Posted September 5, 2026

External Manufacturing Manager, Mirus Bio

Madison, Wisconsin, United States FULL_TIME
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Merck KGaA 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

Work Location:  Madison, Wisconsin

Shift:  No

Department:  LS-PS-UJI Operations A

Recruiter:  Anthony Johnson

This information is for internals only. Please do not share outside of the organization.

Your Role:

Mirus Bio has an immediate opening for an External Manufacturing Manager that will use their Operations expertise to boost the connectivity between our Mirus Bio Team and our manufacturing partners. As the External Manufacturing Manager, the primary objective of this role is to create, manage and execute a complex robust production plan that includes the manufacture of both raw materials and finished goods, and to coordinate this plan with our manufacturing partners. This role also includes being the Manufacturing Partner Relationship Owner, interfacing directly with our manufacturing partners in addition to being the Project Manager for critical Technology Transfer and Mult sourcing projects. This role reports to the Head of Operations and works closely with the Head of Strategy, Product, and Business Development, Head of Quality, and their teams to implement the strategy related to our manufacturing partners.

We are currently on the lookout for a skilled manufacturing manager to join our passionate team. This role will start as an individual contributor position reporting to the Head of Operations, and this role may have the opportunity to expand to a management position with direct reports. If you are someone who thrives in a collaborative, innovative, and fast-paced environment, join us in shaping the future of our industry and be a part of a team that continues to redefine possibilities. This role works cross-functionally with all departments within Mirus Bio.

Duties & Responsibilities:

External Manufacturing Manager is responsible for creating, driving, and executing a robust production plan for our manufacturing partners, that includes both routine manufacturing and new product introduction manufactures of both raw materials and finished goods. This comprehensive production plan includes all product dynamics such as increasing product shelf lives due to ongoing stability studies, aggressive and shifting demand growth, strategic raw material ordering/stocking, NPI multi-batch requirements, multi-lot derisking, and other product/quality/regulatory requirements of ancillary materials for cell and gene therapy.

Manufacturing Partner Relationship Owner is accountable and responsible for managing and developing robust relationships with our manufacturing partners. This also includes tactical relationship activities such as driving communication, driving efficiencies, managing budget, weekly/monthly meetings, business reviews, MSA Negotiations, etc.

Project Manager driving our Technology Transfer Projects and Mult sourcing Projects for final products and raw materials following the requirements outlined in our NPI Product Development Processes and Quality Management System. Quarterback of the projects with Mirus Bio Project Core Teams and Manufacturing Partner Core Teams to facilitate the execution and provide subject matter expertise.

Responsible for the operational implementation of the Mirus Bio strategy for our manufacturing partners.

Creator of connectivity between Quality, Operations, Product Management, Finance, Support and Commercial Teams by facilitating internal conversations and decisions regarding our externally manufactured products and raw materials, including in venues such as SIOP, Project Steering Committees, etc.

Partner with our internal RUO Production Manager to align overlapping Cell and Gene Therapy Product Portfolio products and associated production plans.

Demonstrate behavior outlined within the Employee Handbook.

Perform other duties as assigned by Head of Operations.

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, or related field with commensurate work experience.

At least 8 years of experience in operations management, production management, technology transfer project management, operations project management, or similar.

At least 2 years of experience engaging with contract manufacturing partners.

Complex production planning experience is required.

Technical project management experience is required.

Experience working in a highly regulated field with robust quality management system oversight is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Excellent cross-functional communication skills capable of flexing communication to work with all levels in an organization.

Ability to effectively translate operational and manufacturing concepts into user-friendly content suitable for diverse audiences, including laboratory scientists, researchers, sales teams, procurement teams, and quality assurance teams.

Contract negotiation (MSA, CDA, etc.) is preferred.

Project Management and/or Supply Chain training and certification through an accredited program are preferred.

Travel Requirements:

Ability to travel independently up to 20% of the time, including overnight travel.

Ability to drive a vehicle; Must have current and valid U.S. driver license.

Location

This position is preferred to be site based in our Madison, WI location. We are also flexible to consider fully remote status within the US.

Pay Range: $121,900-$172,900

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click  here .

The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. No employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, marital status, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.  This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and programs relating to recruitment and hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Any applicant or employee who believes they have been discriminated against by the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company must report any concerns to their Human Resources Business Partner, Legal, or Compliance immediately. The Company will not retaliate against any individual because they made a good faith report of discrimination.

Job details

Seniority
Manager
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, 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 493 comparable Manager Manufacturing & CMC roles across 73 biopharma companies.

493Comparable roles tracked
443Currently active
73Companies hiring similar roles
31Countries represented

Salary context

149 of 493 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 $121,900/yr – $172,900/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate Director, Digital Scientific Workflows · Merck $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Regional Manager - Megasys · Merck KGaA $220,000/yr – $250,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $235,000 (median $151,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 493 comparable roles

United States299
India65
United Kingdom16
Ireland15
Netherlands13
Japan10

+ 25 more countries

Seniority mix

493 of 493 peers have a known seniority level

Manager264
Associate154
Associate Director75

Therapeutic area mix

4 of 493 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Rare Disease2
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2

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
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Renss, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Armonk, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
RayzeBio, Inc Indianapolis, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
RayzeBio, Inc Indianapolis, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Devens Devens, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

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%
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
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Devens · Devens, United States · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Supply Chain Manager
Sanofi-Aventis US LLC · Framingham, United States · Manager
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.