Amgen Inc. Posted June 23, 2026

Specialist Manufacturing - Upstream DS

Thousand Oaks, United States Full time
Manufacturing & CMC

Amgen Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Career Category

Manufacturing

Job Description

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients

At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission, to serve patients living with serious illnesses, drives all that we do.

Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives.

Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Specialist Manufacturing Associate

What you will do

Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will be part of the Manufacturing Systems team which is responsible for supporting manufacturing activities through new product introduction, new technology and equipment introduction, continual improvement projects, supporting the multiproduct facility operation program, CAPA ownership, deviation trending, and optimization/implementation of single use technologies. The position is within the drug substance supply organization in ATO Building 23 which is a dynamic environment and an important launch point for Amgen’s pipeline products. The plant manufactures drug substance at all phases of clinical trials through commercial production. We are seeking an experienced Specialist for the Manufacturing Team to execute a variety of production and process related changes to operations in a large-scale manufacturing plant. This Specialist will own corrective and preventative projects that are implemented into the manufacturing plant. A significant amount of time will be spent working on a collaborative team to identify appropriate corrective/preventive actions and implementing them. Some ‘hands-on’ work on the plant floor executing runs and experiments, working with large-scale equipment, analyzing and summarizing data findings will be required. Additional activities will include defining and documenting operation practices, ensuring documentation accurately reflects operations performed, implementing area improvements, commissioning equipment, design of experiments, effectively communicating findings and participating in operations meetings.

Responsibilities:

Support manufacturing by providing subject-matter expertise for drug substance upstream as process owner (PPO)

Lead cross-function and complex projects using project management skills.

Resolve quick issues and lead troubleshooting, including execution of function tests to troubleshoot and optimize process.

Write protocols and reports in support of validation, function testing, equipment commissioning and qualification, and change management.

Own Quality Records, such as CCMS, CAPA, and CAPA-EV.

Apply technical process, scientific, operational, and compliance knowledge with analytical troubleshooting skills to support the implementation of new technologies into the plant.

Demonstrate strategic problem-solving skills and champion continual improvement.

Present to inspectors on areas of expertise.

Mentor and train junior staff.

Ability to be on-site (flexible worker)

Available to work various shifts (day, swing, graves, weekends, holidays, 5x8hrs, 4x10hrs) as instructed by the production schedule to execute function-testing and project tasks with minimal disruption to operations.

Must be able to work in a clean room environment wearing steel toe shoes, full clean room gowning, hairnet and gloves when performing all work while following GMP documents (SOPs) with strict adherence to safety and compliance.

As Process owner:

Lead operational readiness of new technologies, equipment, or processes by applying technical process, scientific, operational, and compliance knowledge with project management skills

Provide assessment and advice on process impact for changes

Develop/own drug substance manufacturing processes and procedures. Draft and revise GMP manufacturing documents (SOPs, Forms). Draft and develop user requirements for new technologies. .

What we expect of you

We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The collaborative professional we seek is a team-player partner with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications:

Doctorate degree OR

Master’s degree and 2 years of manufacturing and or operations experience OR

Bachelor’s degree and 4 years of manufacturing and or operations experience OR

Associate’s degree and 8 years of manufacturing and or operations experience OR

High school diploma / GED and 10 years of manufacturing and or operations experience

Preferred Qualifications:

Degree in Engineering or Life Sciences

3 years or more experience in Drug substance GMP technical support roles, GMP manufacturing, Engineering, Process Development, or equivalent.

Technical knowledge of drug substance processing and broad understanding of related disciplinary areas

Ability to navigate through ambiguity and identify and deliver on key milestones.

Ability to advise and influence using experience and data.

Ability to successfully communicate complex technical information with internal and external colleagues of varying organizational levels in both presentation and technical writing forms

Ability to coach, mentor and/or cross train colleagues within core technical area.

Team player - Ability to support process owner team by reprioritizing or readjusting projects, tasks, or responsibilities.

Ability to drive results through leadership of cross-functional teams

Experience leading and managing projects

Understanding of single-use technologies

Data analysis and/or data visualization skills

Excellent writing skills. Presentation experience – presentation to leadership or auditors.

Determines work tasks and timelines self-sufficiently – ability to navigate through ambiguity and prioritize effectively

Proficiency in Smartsheet and excel, Trackwise, Visio, pi, SAP, Spotfire

What you can expect from us

As we work to develop treatments that take care of others, we also work to care for your professional and personal growth and well-being. From our competitive benefits to our collaborative culture, we’ll support your journey every step of the way.

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

In addition to the base salary, Amgen offers a Total Rewards Plan, based on eligibility, comprising of health and welfare plans for staff and eligible dependents, financial plans with opportunities to save towards retirement or other goals, work/life balance, and career development opportunities that may include:

A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan

Stock-based long-term incentives

Award-winning time-off plans

Flexible work models where possible. Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Apply now and make a lasting impact with the Amgen team.

careers.amgen.com

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Application deadline

Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider you without regard to your race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

. Salary Range

107,545.40USD -145,502.60 USD

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Thousand Oaks, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1527 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 125 biopharma companies.

1527Comparable roles tracked
1434Currently active
125Companies hiring similar roles
44Countries represented

Salary context

456 of 1527 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Peer group range $0 – $540,400 (median $140,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1527 comparable roles

United States781
India104
Germany74
Singapore67
France64
Ireland54

+ 38 more countries

Seniority mix

705 of 1527 peers have a known seniority level

Senior251
Manager165
Principal79
Associate68
Director64
Associate Director44
Senior Director21
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc8
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

7 of 1527 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease6
Oncology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Alexion New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Alexion New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Associate
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Scientist II, LC Development, Biologics Analytical Development
Alexion · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Global Regulatory Affairs – Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Platform Innovation – Synthetic Peptides and Oligonucleotides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior/Principal Scientist, Bioprocess Purification Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Principal Scientist - Bioanalytical Research
Lilly · Louisville, Colorado, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.