---
title: 'Associate Director, Commercial Operations at ElevateBio'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-commercial-operations-elevatebio-waltham-r8n0qy392tf2'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Associate Director, Commercial Operations at ElevateBio

- **Company:** ElevateBio
- **Location:** Waltham, MA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://elevate.bio/about/jobs/6218390004?gh_jid=6218390004

## Job description

ElevateBio is a technology-driven company powering the industry forward by helping partners realize the potential of their therapies from design to commercialization. We have integrated a differentiated set of technologies, end-to-end services, and industry-leading manufacturing expertise to develop advanced therapies faster and more efficiently.

The Role:

ElevateBio is seeking an Associate Director of Commercial Operations who will be instrumental in managing long-term partnerships and aiding ElevateBio’s strategic goals and objectives. This role, specifically focused on CMC partnerships in Cell and Advanced Therapies, involves process development, clinical and commercial manufacturing knowledge, and requires a high level of engagement and collaboration. The Associate Director will ensure the seamless integration of manufacturing operations and business teams. Responsibilities also include driving deal closures for existing partner statements of work and change orders, providing guidance on CMC scope, pricing, and negotiations. The Associate Director will collaborate with internal Manufacturing Services teams, including leadership teams, as well as external partners. This role will be an individual contributor with potential to lead a team as the Commercial Organization grows.

Here’s What You’ll Do:

- Own the end-to-end deal closure process for new SOWs and change orders across select partners, ensuring alignment with Manufacturing Services’ commercial objectives and growth strategy.
- Provide strategic guidance on CMC scope, pricing, and negotiation strategies; serve as a decision-maker in key contract negotiations.
- Route contracts for approval per established policies, proactively identifying and resolving bottlenecks.
- Represent the Commercial team in partner Joint Leadership Team (JLT) meetings as a primary relationship owner and voice of ElevateBio's strategic interests.
- Lead preparation, facilitation, and follow-up of Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meetings — setting agendas, driving accountability, and ensuring executive alignment on partnership milestones.
- Hold regular alliance management meetings with select partners.
- Direct operational execution of contracts with existing and new partners, aligning cross-functional teams on deliverables, timelines, and risk mitigation.
- Support strategic and budgetary planning for manufacturing operations, partnering with leadership on resource allocation and long-range financial planning.
- Serve as a senior cross-functional integrator and key member of the S&OP team, ensuring enterprise-wide visibility into partner commitments and capacity constraints.
- Review SOWs, change orders, and approval memos for commercial accuracy, strategic consistency, and policy compliance.
- Drive accountability for KPIs across alliance management; identify trends and recommend corrective actions.
- Lead executive-level internal and external discussions on contract alignment, partnership development, and resolution of complex cross-organizational challenges.
- Champion optimization of partnership workflows through cross-functional collaboration, identifying scalable improvements across the partner portfolio.
- Oversee financial partner accounts with internal and external finance teams, ensuring accurate invoicing, budgeting, and revenue recognition.
- Mentor junior alliance management team members, fostering a culture of operational excellence and strategic thinking.

Requirements:

- Minimum bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences or related field.
- 9+ years previous experience in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, CMO, CDMO or related industries.
- Experience in cell and gene therapy CMC. Specifically, CMC operations, process development, regulatory, manufacturing and supply chain.
- Contract negotiation and interpretation skills gained through involvement in business-to-business relationships.
- Strong project management skills.
- Familiarity with Hubspot or other customer management system preferred.
- Ambitious, energetic, and dedicated to delivering objectives/targets while keeping enduring partnerships in mind.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, relationship, influence, and networking skills.
- Ability to develop and deliver effective presentations to partners and internal leadership.
- Solid understanding of business, negotiation and financial fundamentals.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work independently, multitask, and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.

The budgeted range for this position is $165,000 - $225,000. This range is a good faith estimate of the expected salary range for this position, based on a wide range of factors including qualifications, experience and training, operational and business needs and other considerations permitted by law. ElevateBio is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person’s race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation or any characteristic protected under applicable law. ElevateBio will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

## About ElevateBio

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: ElevateBio is a technology-driven contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that powers the creation of genetic medicines by providing integrated gene editing, process development, and cGMP manufacturing capabilities.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D – raised $401M in November 2025; total capital raised ~$1.3B)
- **Headquarters**: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Biopharmaceutical CDMO (cell and gene therapy, gene editing, mRNA therapeutics)
- Target customers: Biopharmaceutical innovators (B2B, enterprise)
- Mission: “To be the world’s most indispensable advanced therapy technology company, changing how companies operate, how products are created, and how disease is treated.”

## Products & Services
- **Gene Editing Tools & Discovery Services**: One of the world’s largest toolboxes of gene editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR enzymes), enabling flexible editing and broad access to the genome. Includes discovery services to move from target to optimized therapeutic candidate.
- **Process Development**: Scalable, robust manufacturing process design from preclinical through commercial scale.
- **Manufacturing (cGMP)**: Viral vectors, cell therapies, mRNA therapeutics, and lipid nanoparticles (LNP). Multi-modality capabilities with 98% batch success rate. Automated cell therapy manufacturing platform.
- **Regulatory Support & Commercialization**: Navigate CMC regulatory strategy from IND through BLA.
- **Next-Generation Sequencing / Rapid Analytics**: In-house analytics for quality and characterization.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding ~$1.3 billion (as of Series D close in November 2025)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Novo Nordisk (multi-target R&D collaboration worth up to ~$1.9B), Amazon Web Services (generative AI for CRISPR discovery), Sartorius (automated cell therapy platform), University of Pittsburgh / Richard King Mellon Foundation ($100M grant for biomanufacturing facility)
- **Growth Signals**: CNBC Disruptor 50 in 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025; Fast Company’s 2024 Most Innovative Companies; Boston Globe Top Place to Work (2022, 2023); first genetic medicines manufacturer to achieve ICMC multi-modality certification; opened flagship purpose-built biomanufacturing facility in Waltham, MA; achieved 98% manufacturing batch success rate across cell therapy, viral vector, and mRNA batches.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated Model**: Science, process development, manufacturing, and quality operate under one roof – no hand-offs between stages.
- **Continuous Technology Investment**: Automation, AI-assisted design, and process innovation embedded as a permanent operating principle to reduce costs and timelines.
- **Multi-Modality Expertise**: Covers viral vectors, cell therapies, mRNA, LNP delivery, and gene editing – enabling partners to switch modalities without restarting.
- **Proprietary Gene Editing Toolbox**: Acquired Life Edit Therapeutics, adding one of the largest collections of gene editing enzymes and patents.
- **Industry-Leading Quality**: ICMC certification across multiple modalities and 98% batch success rate exceed industry standards.

## Strategic Focus
- Expand gene editing capabilities and delivery technologies (e.g., LNP in vivo delivery for nuclease editing).
- Scale manufacturing capacity through new facilities (Waltham flagship, Pittsburgh site).
- Deepen collaborations with pharma (Novo Nordisk) and tech (AWS) to accelerate therapy development.
- Apply generative AI to broaden CRISPR discovery for complex monogenic and polygenic diseases.
- Establish manufacturing blueprints for novel modalities such as base-edited therapies.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a group of “explorers” passionate about constant discovery, new technology, and progress in life-transforming therapies.
- **Benefits**: Medical, vision, and dental covered at 90%; low deductible; employer-paid life insurance and disability; 401(k) with 4% match (no vesting); 12 weeks parental leave; competitive PTO; commuter reimbursement; monthly cell phone stipend; fitness reimbursement; access to wellness apps.
- **Development**: LinkedIn Learning access, Insights Discovery training, ongoing professional development and manager training.
- **Work Environment**: Roles primarily based in Waltham, MA (on-site for manufacturing and lab positions). Hybrid/remote not explicitly stated but likely limited for operational roles.
- **Recognition**: Boston Globe Top Place to Work; named to CNBC Disruptor 50 multiple years.

## Sources
1. [elevate.bio](https://elevate.bio/)
2. [elevate.bio/about](https://elevate.bio/about/)
3. [elevate.bio/about/careers](https://elevate.bio/about/careers/)
4. [elevate.bio/about/our-journey](https://elevate.bio/about/our-journey/)
5. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevatebio)

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