About the Role
<strong>Job Requirements </strong><br><p>Candidate Persona</p><p>Job Title: Senior Director – Device Assembly & Packaging (DAP) Operations Location Focus: Alabama (primary clusters: Huntsville, Birmingham, Opelika, Mobile) Industry: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing / Combination Products / Medical Devices Source Job Spec: JD - DAP [JD - DAP | Word]</p><p>Segment 1: The Basics (paragraph)</p><p>The ideal candidate for the Senior Director – Device Assembly & Packaging (DAP) Operations in Alabama is a seasoned manufacturing leader with deep experience in GMP-regulated, highly automated environments, particularly in device assembly, pharmaceutical packaging, and combination products. Comparable market job titles include Director of Manufacturing Operations, Senior Director of Packaging & Device Operations, Head of Technical Operations, Director of Drug-Device Manufacturing, and Site Operations Director. Common search keywords include Device Assembly, Pharmaceutical Packaging, Combination Products, GMP Manufacturing, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Automation, MES, TrackWise, Operational Excellence, Lean Manufacturing, and Capital Project Delivery.</p><p>Predominant skills and expertise include HSE and Quality leadership, cross-functional site leadership, regulatory inspection readiness, equipment qualification and process validation, automation and digital manufacturing systems (MES, electronic batch release), deviation and change management, and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, RCA, FMEA). Education is typically a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or Industrial), with many candidates holding an MBA or advanced technical certifications. Average experience ranges from 12–20+ years in manufacturing, with 7–10+ years in people leadership roles.</p><p>In Alabama, this talent commonly comes from pharmaceutical, CDMO, medical device, aerospace, defence, automotive, and food & beverage manufacturers, including organisations such as Eli Lilly, TriRx Pharmaceutical Services, Evonik, Pharmavite, STERIS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Toyota-Mazda Manufacturing. Competitor organisations use similar titles such as Senior Director Technical Operations, Director of Manufacturing Excellence, or Head of Packaging Operations. [JD - DAP | Word], [alabamanew...center.com], [trirx.com]</p><p>Segment 2: Job Preferences (paragraph)</p><p>Common pain points for this persona include legacy equipment constraints, misalignment between engineering and operations, regulatory pressure during inspections, and insufficient investment in automation or digital systems. If not already captured in hiring-manager intake, recommended questions include: What level of autonomy does this role have over capital investment? and How mature is the site’s operational excellence journey?</p><p>Must-haves in a role typically include executive visibility, clear accountability for safety and quality, authority to influence site strategy, strong capital project ownership, and competitive total rewards aligned to senior leadership in Alabama’s growing advanced-manufacturing market. Nice-to-haves increasingly include greenfield or site-start-up experience, exposure to AI-enabled manufacturing, onshoring or supply-chain resilience initiatives, and strong employer reputation tied to purpose and innovation.</p><p>Segment 3: Behaviours (paragraph)</p><p>This candidate persona is motivated by legacy-building, technical challenge, and leading high-impact teams. Career-wise, they are driven by roles where they can shape operations from the ground up, influence long-term manufacturing strategy, and interact at enterprise level. Key job decision drivers include site importance within the global network, investment scale, leadership trust, stability, and future growth potential.</p><p>Behaviourally, they are deliberate movers — typically considering a job change over 6–12 months, often triggered by major site investments, leadership transitions, or strategic expansions. They rarely apply directly; instead, they are reached via executive search, targeted LinkedIn outreach, referrals, or industry networks. They monitor opportunities quietly and engage seriously only once value, scope, and organisational commitment are clear.</p><p>Eli Lilly as the Next Employer – Alabama Context</p><p>Eli Lilly’s $6B advanced manufacturing investment in Huntsville, Alabama, creating a next-generation pharmaceutical manufacturing campus and hundreds of high-value technical leadership roles, is a major draw for this persona. The scale, long-term horizon, and strategic importance of the site strongly appeal to senior leaders seeking career-defining roles in domestic manufacturing expansion. [alabamanew...center.com], [huntsvilleal.gov], [madeinalabama.com]</p><p>Indicative Alabama Talent Snapshot (Estimated, Market-Informed)</p><p>(Used when a visual map is not possible)</p><p>State Core Skill Focus Estimated Senior-Level Talent Pool Actively Open to Move*</p><p>Alabama GMP Manufacturing & Packaging Medium (growing rapidly) Low–Moderate</p><p>Alabama Automation / Validation Medium Low</p><p>Alabama Site Operations Leadership Limited but expanding Low</p><p>*Open-to-move reflects typical senior-director behaviour, not applicant volume. [linkedin.com], [alabamanew...center.com], [www2.labor...labama.gov]</p><p>Strategy & Messaging Guide (paragraph)</p><p>Selling points for Eli Lilly should focus on unprecedented capital investment, long-term site significance, technology-driven manufacturing, leadership trust, and purpose-driven impact on global patient supply. Messaging should emphasise building something enduring, owning operational strategy, and leading at the forefront of U.S. pharmaceutical onshoring.</p><p>To tailor for this persona, outreach should be highly personalised, referencing site scale, investment horizon, and leadership influence, not generic job responsibilities. Recruitment strategy should prioritise executive search-style engagement, discreet networking, and values-based storytelling over high-volume advertising. Early conversations should centre on vision, autonomy, and organisational commitment, with compensation discussed transparently and credibly.</p><p>SOURCING PLAYBOOK</p><p>1. Target Profile & Calibration</p><p>Primary target: Senior Directors / Directors currently leading device assembly, packaging, or technical operations within GMP environments.</p><p>Secondary adjacencies (strong transferability):</p><p>· CDMO manufacturing leaders (liquids, semi-solids, devices)</p><p>· Medical device operations leaders</p><p>· Highly automated food & beverage or automotive site leaders with validation exposure</p><p>· Aerospace/defence manufacturing leaders with strong quality and regulatory discipline</p><p>2. Where to Find Them (Channels)</p><p>· LinkedIn Recruiter: Primary channel (focus on Huntsville/Birmingham/Opelika + national relocation-ready leaders)</p><p>· Executive referrals: Internal Lilly leaders, former Lilly alumni, vendor partners</p><p>· Industry ecosystems: CDMOs, automation suppliers, validation consultants</p><p>· Passive mapping: Track leaders at TriRx, Evonik, Pharmavite, STERIS, large GMP sites</p><p>Avoid reliance on job boards — this persona does not apply cold.</p><p>3. Boolean & Search Strategy (Examples)</p><p>Title-led:</p><p>(“Senior Director” OR “Director”) AND (Manufacturing OR Operations OR “Technical Operations”) AND (Packaging OR “Device Assembly” OR “Combination Products”)</p><p>Skill-led:</p><p>GMP AND (IQ OR OQ OR PQ OR validation) AND (automation OR MES OR “electronic batch”) AND (packaging OR device)</p><p>Company-led:</p><p>TriRx OR Evonik OR Pharmavite OR STERIS OR “medical device manufacturing”</p><p>4. Outreach Messaging Framework</p><p>What to lead with (first 2 lines):</p><p>· Scale of Lilly’s Alabama investment</p><p>· Strategic importance of the site (not “a role”, but a build)</p><p>What to avoid:</p><p>· Long job descriptions</p><p>· Generic “career opportunity” language</p><p>· Early compensation focus</p><p>Example positioning (not a script):</p><p>“This is a rare opportunity to shape device and packaging operations at one of Lilly’s most significant U.S. manufacturing investments, with real authority over safety, quality, technology, and long-term site strategy.”</p><p>5. Interview & Assessment Focus</p><p>Prioritise evaluation of:</p><p>· Leadership through scale and ambiguity</p><p>· Regulatory inspection credibility</p><p>· Capital and technology decision-making</p><p>· Cross-functional influence (Quality, Engineering, Tech, Supply Chain)</p><p>· Track record of building teams and capability</p><p>Avoid over-weighting narrow technical detail at the expense of enterprise leadership capability.</p><p>6. Offer & Close Strategy</p><p>· Anchor on legacy, impact, and autonomy before compensation</p><p>· Clearly articulate what they will own vs influence</p><p>· Reinforce long-term investment horizon and site importance</p><p>· Expect deliberate decision-making — silence does not equal disengagement</p><p>Important Note</p><p>This candidate persona and sourcing playbook were generated using AI-assisted analysis based on the provided job specification and publicly available labour-market information. While designed to be highly practical and market-aligned, it should be reviewed and calibrated with hiring-manager input before making final hiring or sourcing decisions</p><br><br>