Site Operations Director

About the role

Sana Biotechnology is growing, and we are hiring new team members who believe in the potential of cells and viruses as engineered medicines, who want to challenge the status quo, and who lead with the desire to work on novel ideas.  As the Site Operations Leader for Cambridge, you will report to Sr. Director, Global Head Site Operations and will be accountable for the successful management of end-to-end site operations which includes lab, facilities, systems instrumentation and office management.  You will ensure that the site is working like a well-oiled machine, where employees have no operational roadblocks and have what they need to do their vital work on behalf of patients.  Cool stuff.

What you’ll do

Site Operations Team Leadership

• Act as the general manager with full accountability for site operations. Develop and maintain a deep understanding of site customer needs and translate into fit-for-purpose, at times, scrappy delivery plans, leveraging and empowering the Site Operations team
• Hire, lead, manage and develop the onsite team of specialists and managers as well as hire and manage contractors and 3^rd party vendors who are responsible for supporting lab operations, EHS, facility/instrumentation, and office management, ensuring that their work is prioritized and scoped to serve the needs of onsite team members including our talented lab scientists
• Create and implement operational standards and customer service metrics for the Cambridge site; and manage the team against those standards and metrics
• Partner with other operations functions within Sana (IT, Procurement, People, Legal) to drive solutions for Cambridge site needs
• Serve as a single point of contact for site operations requests, executing on or delegating day-to-day tasks that need quick resolution, either directly onsite or with key business stakeholders. Provide leadership for cross-functional site operational projects (e.g., space reconfiguration, 5S initiatives, for example)
• Engage with internal and external resources as needed to develop and successfully implement strategies and programs for managing EHS compliance and risks
• Lead and partner closely with Site Leader for all site emergency responses
• Lead COVID-19 incident response process for the Cambridge site, including risk assessment, contact tracing and reporting

Lab Operations and System Instrumentation

• Provide strategic direction and technical supervision of LabOps team members, responsible for ensuring day-to-day smooth operations of Sana’s laboratories, including supply management, shipping/receiving, instrumentation, scheduling and lab capacity utilization
• Lab Space Planning. Develop lab space allocation plans for existing and future spaces in Cambridge.  Incorporate scientist needs, growth projections, program timelines, space and equipment footprint, and needs for sharing/segregation into a long-term, flexible space allocation plan
• Capital Project Representative. Serve as the voice of the scientist community and site operations team in capital project scoping, design, construction and delivery.
• Partner with key stakeholders to develop and continuously strive for a proactive, high bar safety culture

Environmental Health & Safety

• Foster and enable a high standard around our culture of safety expectations onsite
• Work with EHS Manager to prioritize and delivery EH&S programs at the site to include but not limited to Exposure Risk Assessments, Chemical Hygiene, Hazard Communication, Biosafety Management, Respiratory Protection, Hearing Conservation and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Ensure the site is compliant with all environmental and safety regulations; including Federal, State and/or City regulations

Facilities Operations and Office Management

Provide strategic direction to Facilities and office management staff to ensure that equipment and building systems are in good working order and that employee needs for badging, space security, office supplies, and kitchen amenities are met.

What we’re looking for

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field
• 10+ years of progressive experience in operational leadership in R&D laboratory, biotechnology or pharmaceutical environments
• 5+ years of proven success leading teams of facilities or lab operations staff and vendors. Proven track record in managing and scaling lab operations. Must understand laboratory supply streams, waste streams, cell culture workflow, have experience working in an R&D laboratory environment
• Stellar interpersonal, negotiation, and communications skills with the proven ability to communicate effectively across all departments and levels of the organization
• Is known for being highly customer service oriented and has a track record of anticipating the needs of all customers, including bench scientists
• Demonstrated ability to drive for results and get things done in an entrepreneurial and scrappy manner
• Demonstrates high judgment in planning work and problem solving; is ‘right a lot’
• Demonstrated ability to engage and effectively influence team members across multidisciplinary departments while prioritizing multiple projects and meeting deadlines
• Demonstrated drive, curiosity, scientific rigor and creative problem-solving skills across a fast-paced performance driven environment
• Experience managing and prioritizing inputs from diverse stakeholders to deploy a plan that meets the needs of the site
• Is flexible and adaptable; Ability to change on a dime, operate in a scrappy manner
• Can translate data into actionable insights and communicates in a way that resonates—inspiring people to care
  
  

What will separate you from the crowd

• Experience supporting both research and development-phase laboratory scientists
• Sophisticated fiscal planning and leadership skills, with a strong understanding of the complexities of a multi-site environment.

What you should know

• Working safely on a predictable and regular basis is an essential job function for this position and the Company requires that all individuals, subject to certain exceptions, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
• This role is expected to work onsite 90% of the time

How we work together

• Lead from every seat – we seek to understand, act with honesty, and engage in the crucial conversations
• Thrive as a team – we hire amazing people, are intensely curious, and cultivate inclusion and personal connectivity
• Make it happen – we value vigorous debate, alignment around our decisions, and resilient execution

Get to know us

At Sana, we believe that a diverse workforce strengthens us as a company and helps us to achieve our mission to meaningfully change the outcome of many human diseases. This belief is a pillar of our business and is critical to our success. Our goal is that Sana is the place for talented people to bring their authentic selves to work, to have a great career and to deeply, positively impact patients.

Core to our values, we believe there is nothing more important than the health and wellness of you and your family. For benefit eligible employees, we cover 100% of the cost for employee health coverage and offer generous time-off, parental leave, short- and long-term disability, employer paid basic life insurance,  additional voluntary life insurance protection, financial wellness programs including financial planning resources, a 401(k) Plan with an immediately vested employer match, Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Repayment, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, commuter subsidy and a variety of wellness offerings to support each person individually.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental or sensory disability (including the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability), genetic information, actual or perceived HIV or Hepatitis C infection, medical condition (cancer or a record or history of cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), disability, veteran status, political ideology, social class (including caste/caste identity), taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

To perform this job successfully, you must be able to perform each job responsibility satisfactorily. The job description listed above is representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required for this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions described above.