Novartis Posted September 23, 2026

Production Head, Isotope Manufacturing (Associate Director)

Indianapolis, United States FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC Associate Director
Notify me about similar jobs
This position is no longer accepting applications.

Novartis has closed or removed this posting -- see current similar openings below.

View the original listing (may no longer be live).

About this opportunity

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USAImagine leading the future of radioligand therapy manufacturing and helping deliver life-changing treatments to patients around the world. As Production Head, Isotope Manufacturing, you will play a pivotal leadership role in establishing and advancing a state-of-the-art isotope production operation in Indianapolis. This is a unique opportunity to build high-performing teams, shape manufacturing excellence, drive operational performance, and foster a culture of safety, quality, compliance, and innovation. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge science and advanced manufacturing, you will help ensure the reliable supply of critical therapies while influencing the future growth of Novartis' radioligand therapy network.#LI-Onsite

Key Responsibilities·     Lead the Production and Operations Support team to achieve site objectives for Safety, Quality, Supply, Compliance, Cost, and People.·     Establish and maintain manufacturing operations in full cGMP, EHS, radiation safety, and regulatory compliance.·     Build, develop, and coach high-performing teams through training, talent development, and succession planning.·     Drive continuous improvement of manufacturing processes, procedures, staffing models, and training systems.·     Own, review, and approve production documentation, including Standard Operating Procedures, master batch records, executed production records, logbooks, work orders, technical assessments, and white papers.·     Lead investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions for quality events and manufacturing deviations.·     Prepare for and participate in internal audits and Health Authority inspections; ensure personnel qualification and complete, accurate, and contemporaneous documentation of manufacturing activities.·     Partner cross-functionally to support validation, technology transfers, product launches, and operational excellence initiatives.·     Manage production performance, budgets, and operational priorities to ensure reliable patient supply.Essential Requirements·     Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, or related field, or relevant equivalent experience.·     Five or more years of experience in operational roles with direct experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing; low bioburden manufacturing experience preferred.·     Three or more years of leadership experience.·     Experience supporting regulatory inspections by agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration or European Medicines Agency.·     Environment Health and Safety, and GxP / QA experience building an injury and error-free culture with knowledge of multiple compliance areas (corporate governance, financial, quality, environment, safety).·     Demonstrated ability to lead operational excellence, drive continuous improvement, and build high-performing teams.Desirable Requirements·     Training in radiochemistry or radiopharmacy.·     Radiation safety education.  The salary for this position is expected to range between $138,600 and $257,400 per year. The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors. Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards. US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves. To learn more about the culture, rewards and benefits we offer our people click here.

Job details

Seniority
Associate Director
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Indianapolis, 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 930 comparable Associate Director Manufacturing & CMC roles across 109 biopharma companies.

930Comparable roles tracked
830Currently active
109Companies hiring similar roles
41Countries represented

Salary context

270 of 930 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 $138,600/yr – $257,400/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Technician Calibration - Maintenance · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Regional Manager - Megasys · Merck KGaA $220,000/yr – $250,000/yr
Peer group range $58,500 – $235,000 (median $151,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 930 comparable roles

United States505
India82
Ireland40
Netherlands27
Switzerland26
China25

+ 35 more countries

Seniority mix

930 of 930 peers have a known seniority level

Senior431
Manager381
Associate Director118

Therapeutic area mix

12 of 930 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease5
Rare Disease3
Oncology2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Immunology1

Currently open similar roles

This posting is closed, but here are live openings closest to it -- ranked by similarity, not by how well you'd qualify for them.

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
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 Richmond, Virginia, United States of America 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

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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Manufacturing & CMC job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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- Supply Chain Data Science
Amgen Inc. · Remote, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Engineering Associate Director (AD) - Device Assembly
Lilly · Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, United States of America · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Director, Maintenance (Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellow)
Merck · Wilmington, Delaware, United States · 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.