Associate Director - Drug Products

Vantive is a vital organ therapy company on a mission to extend lives and expand possibilities for patients and care teams everywhere. For 70 years, our team has driven meaningful innovations in kidney care. As we build on our legacy, we are deepening our commitment to elevating the dialysis experience through digital solutions and advanced services, while looking beyond kidney care and investing in transforming vital organ therapies. Greater flexibility and efficiency in therapy administration for care teams, and longer, fuller lives for patients— that is what Vantive aspires to deliver.

We believe Vantive will not only build our leadership in the kidney care space, it will also offer meaningful work to those who join us. At Vantive, you will become part of a community of people who are focused, courageous and don’t settle for the mediocre. Each of us is driven to help improve patients’ lives worldwide. Join us in advancing our mission to extend lives and expand possibilities.

Responsible for managing and coordinating all activities necessary to complete a major materials engineering project or several small projects relative to all existing container platforms across Renal Product Portfolio.
• Leading Material Strategy Projects & NPD activities related to medical devices & Drug Products.
• Developing Roadmaps for the future Kidney Care Solutions products.
• Provide technical expertise and lead technical program planning for any new container platform development.
• Design, lead and coordinate material testing with external and internal laboratories.
• Provide technical & programmatic leadership for design of new user-friendly components - within existing platforms - at low production cost and in accordance with manufacturing, marketing, customer expectations and applicable regulatory rules.
• Create materials qualification strategy and plan.

Identify and analyze design problems to achieve optimal solutions that satisfy cost and technical requirements using both internal and external technical resources. Formulate new, innovative approaches to solve technical problems on a consistent basis.
• Shape external collaborations with premier research institutes and contract research labs to explore new concepts in an efficient manner e.g., novel materials, sustainability and best-in-class/new manufacturing processes.
• Communicate key information and recommendations to internal (purchasing, quality, marketing and production) and external partners to influence technical decisions and strategy.
• Supervise the work by research associates and engineers.
• Create and communicate project plans, tasks and deliverables and manage time to meet project deadlines. This includes reporting pertinent information at key milestones through clear, concise oral and written communications.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of GxP and regulations related to new product development.
• Demonstrate agile mindset in project executions – both in field issue resolutions and new product/material development.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership for materials engineering projects with substantial complexity and scope.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate – through structured innovation process, leading and facilitating brainstorming sessions, coalescing diverging set of ideas into a solution that can be pursued and matured.
• Deep working knowledge about extrusion, injection molding and/or injection molding parts
• Understanding of mold flow studies and application of same towards solving technical problems
• Understand implications of a material change in a very broad perspective (product impact, process impact, regulatory implications, end user, sterilization etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to design and execute and interpret results from material behavior, mechanical testing, and material characterization.
• Extensive experience in utilizing material characterization tools to solve problem oneself and coach/mentor a team of researchers.
• Proven ability to solve business problem at hand.
• Demonstrated ability to decompose complex problems into task lists and lead a team of senior scientists in ensuring on-time execution with attention to quality and first-time-right.
• Demonstrated ability to draw conclusions and make recommendations based on technical inputs from multiple and varied function (i.e., manufacturing, quality, regulatory, etc.)
• Proven communication skills and ability to perform in a cross-functional team environment
• Ability to drive change initiatives.
• Excellent technical protocol & report writing skills (in English) especially with consideration to quality and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to coach and develop new team members.
• Good understanding of regulations applicable for drug and medical devices.

Qualification:
• Holds a MSc or M. Tech with 21+ years or Ph.D. with 16+ years in one of the following disciplines - material science, polymer science, polymer engineering, chemical engineering, metallurgy, mechanical engineering or equivalent.

A relevant experience should include hands-on and supervisory experience in product development, especially in the design, development, manufacturing, and validation / material behavior testing of polymeric and polymer composite parts used for packaging (exposure to medical device components is required).
• Minimum of 12 to 15 years of diverse industrial experience in the given technical domains of interest.

Reasonable Accommodation

Vantive is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities globally. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please click on the link here and let us know the nature of your request along with your contact information. Form Link

Recruitment Fraud Notice

Vantive has discovered incidents of employment scams, where fraudulent parties pose as Vantive employees, recruiters, or other agents, and engage with online job seekers in an attempt to steal personal and/or financial information. To learn how you can protect yourself, review our Recruitment Fraud Notice.