Novartis Posted September 23, 2026

Production Head, Isotope Manufacturing (Associate Director)

Indianapolis, United States FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC Associate Director
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Novartis 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

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 662 comparable Associate Director Manufacturing & CMC roles across 96 biopharma companies.

662Comparable roles tracked
612Currently active
96Companies hiring similar roles
36Countries represented

Salary context

189 of 662 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 · 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 662 comparable roles

United States354
India92
Ireland24
Netherlands24
United Kingdom21
Canada13

+ 30 more countries

Seniority mix

662 of 662 peers have a known seniority level

Senior323
Manager265
Associate Director74

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 662 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Rare Disease2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Oncology1

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
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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Amgen Inc. Remote, United States Associate Director
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Biogen Cambridge, United States 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.

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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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.