Director - Process Development, Downstream & Upstream
Catalent Madison, WI Posted 16 July 2026
Pharma
Job description
About Site Catalent’s Madison, Wisconsin site is a state‑of‑the‑art biologics development and manufacturing facility supporting customers from research through early‑ and mid‑stage clinical production. Located at 726 Heartland Trail in Madison, the approximately 102,700‑square‑foot GMP facility specializes in mammalian cell line engineering, drug substance biomanufacturing, and biopharmaceutical development, utilizing flexible single‑use systems to enable rapid scale‑up and customization. The site is home to Catalent’s proprietary GPEx® and GPEx® Lightning technologies, which are used to generate high‑yielding mammalian cell lines for biologic therapies, and supports production scales ranging from 50 to 4,000 liters for clinical manufacturing. Following a $45 million expansion announced in 2025, the Madison site has significantly increased capacity, added new equipment, and created approximately 200 highly skilled biohealth jobs, further strengthening its role within Catalent’s global biologics network and Wisconsin’s growing life sciences ecosystem. Position Summary We have an opportunity for a Director, Process Development to join our team and lead the Process Development organization. This role is responsible for advancing biologics process development from early-phase programs through commercial readiness while ensuring successful transfer into manufacturing. You will deliver scalable upstream and downstream processes, support manufacturing execution, and align cross-functional teams and clients to meet development timelines and business objectives. This position provides technical, operational, and people leadership across multiple functions and sites, driving strategic initiatives, process improvements, and organizational performance. Shift: 9am-5pm Location: Madison, WI 100% Onsite The Role Lead Process Development teams and manage 2–10 direct reports. Define and execute department strategy based on scientific and business priorities. Oversee development of scalable expression, purification, and product quality processes. Support manufacturing through process transfer, technology transfer, investigations, and facility fit assessments. Partner with clients, project management, and leadership to meet timelines and expectations. Lead cross-functional and multi-site strategic initiatives and process improvement efforts. The Candidate Minimum Requirements Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline and 15+ years related experience. OR Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 12+ years related experience. OR Doctorate degree in a STEM discipline and 8+ years related experience. 6+ years of leadership experience. Deep understanding of biologics process development and manufacturing. Experience in drug development and lifecycle support. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate complex technical information to non-technical audiences. Demonstrable leadership experience at Catalent (including but not limited to participation in Catalent‑sponsored leadership programs such as NGGL, GOLD, LEAD Now, GM Excellence, and GROW) may be considered in place of external experience. Preferred Skills & Background Experience leading multi-site strategic initiatives. Expertise in mammalian cell culture and upstream process development. Expertise in downstream process development and process characterization. Experience supporting technology transfer and commercial manufacturing readiness. Strong stakeholder management and executive influence skills. Ability to manage multiple priorities across sites and functions. Experience with process optimization and continuous improvement initiatives. Strong coaching, mentoring, and talent development capabilities. Experience leading customer-facing technical discussions and issue resolution. Experience supporting production in single-use bioreactor environments. Why You Should Join Catalent Defined career path and annual performance review and feedback process. Diverse, inclusive culture. Potential for career growth on an expanding team within an organization dedicated to preserving and bettering lives. Competitive paid time off plus 8 paid holidays. Community engagement and green initiatives. Medical, dental, and vision benefits effective day one of employment. Tuition Reimbursement. Catalent offers rewarding opportunities to further your career! Join the global drug development and delivery leader and help us bring over 7,000 life-saving and life-enhancing products to patients around the world. Catalent is an exciting and growing international company where employees work directly with pharma, biopharma and consumer health companies of all sizes to advance new medicines from early development to clinical trials and to the market. Catalent produces more than 70 billion doses per year, and each one will be used by someone who is counting on us. Join us in making a difference. personal initiative. dynamic pace. meaningful work. Visit Catalent Careers to explore career opportunities. Catalent is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and veterans. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process due to a disability, you may submit your request by sending an email, and confirming your request for an accommodation and include the job number, title and location to DisabilityAccommodations@catalent.com . This option is reserved for individuals who require accommodation due to a disability. Information received will be processed by a U.S. Catalent employee and then routed to a local recruiter who will provide assistance to ensure appropriate consideration in the application or hiring process. Notice to Agency and Search Firm Representatives: Catalent Pharma Solutions (Catalent) is not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies and/or search firms for this job posting. Resumes submitted to any Catalent employee by a third party agency and/or search firm without a valid written & signed search agreement, will become the sole property of Catalent. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired for this position as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral. Thank you. Important Security Notice to U.S. Job Seekers: Catalent NEVER asks candidates to provide any type of payment, bank details, photocopies of identification, social security number or other highly sensitive personal information during the offer process, and we NEVER do so via email or social media. If you receive any such request, DO NOT respond— it is a fraudulent request. Please forward such requests to spam@catalent.com for us to investigate with local authorities. California Job Seekers can find our California Job Applicant Notice HERE .
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