Manager, Operational Excellence CAR T

Location: Raritan, New Jersey, United States of America

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function

Supply Chain Engineering

Job Sub Function

Process Engineering

Job Category

People Leader

All Job Posting Locations

Raritan, New Jersey, United States of America

About Innovative Medicine

Our expertise in Innovative Medicine is informed and inspired by patients, whose insights fuel our science-based advancements. Visionaries like you work on teams that save lives by developing the medicines of tomorrow.

Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.

Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine

We are searching for the best talent for a Manager, Operations Excellence to join our Team in Raritan, NJ.

Our Raritan, NJ Cell Therapy facility is scaling up operational flows to serve more patients and meet the highest quality standards without compromising manufacturing efficiency. The Senior Manager is responsible for leading and driving long-term strategy and regulatory compliance, while aspiring for extraordinary excellence and performance. This position will also maintain excellent communication with business partners to lead expectations effectively and will help build the organization in alignment with operational ramp-up.

Position Summary

Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and Legend Biotech USA Inc., have entered into a global, strategic collaboration to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. This innovative strategic partnership is designed to combine the strengths and expertise of two companies to advance the promise of an immunotherapy CAR T platform and investigational treatment

The Operational Excellence Manager is responsible for working with business partners to identify improvement opportunities and assess, develop and implement improvement project plans across the site. Also supports the deployment of the Continuous Improvement programs and ensures projects and initiatives meet customer and company requirements by providing technical and business program leadership. This role supports the Business Partners to act as a change agent in driving continued operational excellence in the organization.

The person will be responsible for the establishment and implementation of standard processes to ensure performance targets are met as it relates to Continuous Improvement. The Operational Excellence Manager will employ process excellence methodologies to bring value to the customer and drive ‘Right the First Time’ mentality. The incumbent supports project leads and project teams in developing program schedules and tactical implementation plans to meet overall program targets.

Responsible for providing leadership in the tactical approach, deployment & execution of Process Excellence (Six Sigma, Lean & Design Excellence) in partnership with production leadership & the PE team. The person evaluates potential business impact for improvement projects and advises on their implementation.

Key responsibilities

The Operational Excellence Manager CAR-T will lead and drive continuous improvement initiatives across the organization, applying Lean principles, JJPS, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Kaizen, and structured root-cause problem solving to improve quality, flow, productivity, cost, and overall operational performance. This role will partner cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and other key stakeholders to identify improvement opportunities, eliminate waste and bottlenecks, implement high-impact CIP and strategic programs, and ensure measurable and sustainable business results.

The role will also be responsible for building Operational Excellence capabilities and strengthening a culture of continuous improvement through coaching, Lean/Six Sigma belt development, talent development, and problem-solving facilitation. The Manager will support performance management through tiered daily management, site scorecards, critical metric monitoring, Gemba, and corrective action management, while helping leaders translate business priorities into clear actions, accountability, and sustainable performance improvements.

Responsible for all JJPS business processes, lean leadership and the Culture of Excellence at the site.

Value Stream Mapping – Responsible to Maps site capabilities, identifies gaps, and delivers reliability improvements for all strategic brands.

CIP Pipeline Process- This person is the owner for the CIP pipeline process, yearly site CIP targets, support business planning/financial cycles, lead the site cost improvement portfolio in Planisware, and the CIP site important metric.

Site Performance Management Process- Leads the performance management cadence, execution & prepares site performance review decks for external platform reporting. Leads and manage the Performance management processes through all site tiers.

Lead Key Site/Global Programs- Executes key OPEX Strategic Initiatives and programs such as Smart Change Over & OEE Program, Golden Batch, Waste to Excellence/Yield, ZBB, Conceptualization Workshops for GP Improvement, etc.

Capability Building- Responsible for the training and certification of YB, GB and BBs at the site. Provides coaching & mentoring to candidates for Project Management and Lean/Six Sigma certifications.

Base Business-Supports Idea generation programs, Kaizen and Internal/External benchmark. Lead talent development of direct reports through delivery of performance management processes (goal setting, development plan creation and performance reviews). Lead team resources through project planning, resource allocation and prioritization, recruitment, and budget preparation. Organisational change and collaborator management for the team.

Strategy Deployment-Partners with leaders to develop and implement the site vision, mission, and long-term strategic roadmap aligned with ATSC, IMSC MTO, and Platform Strategy. Uses business metrics, analytics, and internal and external data to generate insights that shape strategic direction, goals, objectives, and decision-making at appropriate levels. Coordinates development and deployment of the site’s goals and objectives. Supports deployment of organizational change programs.

Continuous improvement projects: Manage individual initiatives to deliver CIPs and process improvements. Collaborate with business partners to implement targeted improvements in production areas to improve operational efficiencies. Perform data analysis to identify areas of improvement and to ensure the right focus. Apply Process Excellence methodologies and tools to monitor and improve the site processes based on identified performance measures. Assess effort and impact of improvement opportunities and advise on their implementation

Ability to lead, motivate, and influence individuals and teams within an organization, fostering collaboration across functions and effectively leading complex business challenges.

Shown ability to prioritize and implement in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple concurrent initiatives and responding effectively to urgent business needs .

Experience building, developing, and retaining high-performing teams while promoting an inclusive culture that encourages engagement, innovation, and continuous improvement .

Strong ability to collaborate with internal and external collaborators to identify, implement, and share standard processes that enhance organizational effectiveness and operational excellence.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and influencing capabilities.

Demonstrated emotional intelligence, self-awareness, adaptability, and the ability to navigate change in a dynamic business environment.

Values and promotes different perspectives, demonstrating inclusivity to drive better decision-making, innovation, and business results. .

Results-oriented leader with a consistent record of delivering objectives, driving accountability, and achieving measurable business outcomes. .

Requirements Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science discipline is required.

Experience and Skills

• Minimum of 6 Years of Operations/GET/MSAT/Planning/Project Management experience is required
• Minimum 3-5 years in a continuous improvement/lean function
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in business, management, or a related field is preferred.
• Required Years of Related Experience: 6-8 Years
• Minimum of 5 Years of Operations/GET/MSAT/Planning/Project Management experience is required
• undefined.
• Minimum 3-5 years in a continuous improvement/lean function
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in business, management, or a related field is preferred.
• Must have the business & financial competence to understand strategic issues impacting the company and to translate them to value creation and reasons.
• Demonstrated ability in identifying, developing and driving execution of key projects
• Certification in Lean/CI, such as Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt required. Broad understanding of Lean concepts is required.

Other

Requires the ability, through our flexible work policy, to work on-site a minimum of three days each week, with the option of two remote workdays each week.

Approximately 20% travel is required

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants’ needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers or contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

Required Skills

Preferred Skills

Agile Decision Making, Benchmarking, Crisis Management, Developing Others, Disruptive Innovations, Emerging Technologies, Inclusive Leadership, Leadership, Lean Supply Chain Management, Process Control, Process Engineering, Process Improvements, Product Costing, Program Management, Project Schedule, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Application, Team Management, Technical Research, Technical Support

The anticipated base pay range for this position is

102,000-173,400

Additional Description for Pay Transparency

Subject to the terms of their respective policies and date of hire, Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits: Vacation –120 hours per calendar year Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington –56 hours per calendar year Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child Condolence Leave – 30 days for an immediate family member: 5 days for an extended family member Caregiver Leave – 10 days Volunteer Leave – 4 days Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours Additional information can be found through the link below. https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits