Senior Director, Facilities&Engineering (Cell Therapy …, Hoofddorp

Join Kite and help shape where our business and medical science goes next. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

The

Senior Director, Facilities&Engineering (Cell Therapy Manufacturing)

is a strategic, hands‑on leader responsible for keeping our site running safely, reliably, and in full compliance so teams can deliver life‑changing therapies without interruption. You will own end‑to‑end performance across facilities engineering, maintenance, calibration, utilities, and site services, and set the long‑term roadmap for asset lifecycle, resilience, and capacity in a highly regulated cGMP environment.

In this role, you will lead an organization of approximately 50 employees and a significant contractor population. You’ll build a high‑performing, safety‑first culture with clear accountability, strong technical capability, and disciplined execution. You will also serve as the senior owner for key service providers, setting expectations, governing performance through metrics, and driving continuous improvement in quality, responsiveness, and cost.

Job Description Position Summary As a member of the Site Leadership team, you will lead facilities and engineering strategy and day‑to‑day execution across the site, ensuring safe operations, inspection readiness, and reliable utilities and infrastructure to support manufacturing and QC labs.

Site Reliability, Compliance&Operational Excellence

Provide overall leadership for site engineering, maintenance, calibration, and facilities services to ensure manufacturing continuity and GMP compliance.

Ensure critical utilities and systems (e.g., HVAC, automation/controls, compressed gases, cryogenic infrastructure, temperature controls) are robust, qualified, maintained, and fit for purpose.

Establish and sustain strong preventive maintenance and calibration programs with right‑first‑time documentation and inspection readiness.

Maintain compliance with applicable codes/standards and good practices, including cGMP/GLP expectations where relevant.

Accountability for the problem solving of complex, high‑impact facility and equipment issues, driving root cause analysis and durable corrective actions.

Environment, Health&Safety (EHS) Leadership

Role‑model a proactive safety culture across employees and contractors, with strong risk assessment and safe systems of work.

Partner with cross‑functional teams to embed safety into planning, shutdowns, and project execution, especially for high‑risk activities.

Drive the implementation of sustainability initiatives locally and in alignment with the global network strategy across energy, utilities, waste, and emissions reduction, balancing compliance, resilience, and cost.

Capital Projects, Engineering Strategy&Lifecycle Management

Set the site engineering strategy and multi‑year roadmap for asset lifecycle, resilience, capacity, and modernization aligned to business priorities.

Lead CAPEX planning, governance, and delivery from scope and business case through design, procurement, construction, commissioning/qualification/validation, and close‑out.

Build pragmatic contracting and procurement strategies, maintaining schedule and budget discipline with transparent stakeholder communication.

Ensure robust design review, change control, and risk management so projects meet internal standards and external requirements.

Own contractor strategy and performance across outsourced services, including maintenance, calibration, pest control, and more, building strong partnerships and clear accountability.

People Leadership&Organizational Development

Lead, coach, and develop a multi‑disciplinary organization of approximately 50 employees plus contractors, building strong leaders and deep technical bench strength.

Set clear direction, priorities, and operating rhythms; create effective resource plans, talent development, and succession plans.

Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders.

How you’ll partner

Drive collaboration within the Site Leadership Team and with relevant functional leaders across Manufacturing, Quality, QC Labs, Supply Chain, EHS, Finance, and Procurement, locally and globally.

Manage external partnerships including engineering firms, contractors, OEMs, and other relevant stakeholders.

Represent Kite EU BV with key external parties including regulatory, city, Business Park, and state agencies as needed for facilities and infrastructure topics.

Required qualifications

BS degree in Engineering and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience in a related field.

An MA/MBA degree can be substituted for 2 years of related experience.

A Ph.D. degree can be substituted for 4 years of related experience.

What you bring

12+ years of progressive experience in facilities/engineering leadership within regulated environments, with a track record of building and managing high‑performing teams.

Deep expertise in utilities and critical systems, maintenance and calibration programs, and contractor‑led service models.

Demonstrated ownership of OPEX/CAPEX planning and delivery, including project execution through construction and commissioning/qualification.

Sound judgment and comfort operating in ambiguity, able to make decisions when precedent may not exist.

Strong cross‑functional leadership and stakeholder management, translating business needs into engineering strategy and execution.

Leadership strengths

Strategic thinking with operational rigor:

you can build multi‑year roadmaps and still drive daily execution excellence.

People‑first leadership:

you develop leaders, build engagement, and create clear expectations and accountability.

Metrics‑driven management:

you use governance, KPIs/SLAs, and disciplined cost control to improve performance.

Influence and partnership:

you collaborate across functions and levels to deliver results.

What Success Looks Like (12–18 months)

Improved utilities and critical systems reliability, enabling stable manufacturing throughput and QC lab readiness.

Stronger preventive maintenance and calibration performance with sustained inspection‑ready documentation.

A contractor governance model with clear KPIs/SLAs and demonstrable gains in responsiveness, quality, and cost/value.

On‑time, on‑budget delivery of prioritized capital projects with robust commissioning/qualification and handover.

A strengthened, safety‑first F&E organization with clear structure, capable leaders, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies, focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors.

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