Associate Director, Translational Program Manager (Early Development & Cell Therapy)

Working with Us

Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us .

Position Summary

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting Translational Research Leaders in a Thematic Research Center (TRC) to enable the effective & efficient execution of our translational development plans. The Translational Program Manager, as part of the Translational Development team in Research, would support the development and management of integrated program timelines for biomarker activities within clinical studies from Phase 1 through clinical Proof of Concept and/or for cell therapy studies through commercialization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage the integrated program timeline of translational activities to support the execution of the translational plan for defined portfolio of assets, including but not limited to facilitating assay development/validation, clinical contracting, data transfer, and internal and external collaborations

• Provide strong collaboration, coordination, and communication skills to support cross-functional interactions and prioritization of activities to meet demands across Translational Research team in line with program priorities (i.e., other translational teams, assay teams, outsourcing representatives, vendors, biospecimen leads, data management, biostatistics, operations leads and specialty testing labs, as relevant for the program and assays)

• Establish, manage, and maintain cross-functional relationships in coordination with BMS biomarker leads, supporting teams, and relevant stakeholders/technical experts. This includes conducting meetings, organizing agendas, preparing meeting minutes, and following up on action items. Meetings may include translational sub-teams, vendor meetings, other internal meetings with translational focus or components

• Identify, track, and monitor project risks, confirming mitigation and contingency plans are in place for identified risks to reduce the risk of failure and support success of the project. Escalate risks and deficiencies as required

• Responsible for ensuring timely delivery of project goals from various types of technologies, such as genomics, flow cytometry, LC/MS, ligand binding assays, IHC and pathology, including end-to-end oversight from project initiation through data delivery, analysis, and report documentation related to clinical assay readiness

• Establish and maintain a book of work for relevant assets, creating visibility and maintaining transparency into translational activities to key stakeholders that contribute to the overall translational plan for a defined portfolio of assets using effective visualization tools (e.g., Smartsheet, PowerPoint, Office Timeline)

• Contract monitoring for assay development/validation to ensure execution and delivery, including partnership with vendor management, alliance management, finance, global procurement and outsourcing management as appropriate to drive from initial draft contract through issuing of purchase orders

• Coordinate review with biomarker lead and appropriate stakeholders of documents from vendors (e.g., contracts, contract amendments, validation plans, reports, data transfer agreements) and storage of appropriate final documents in relevant SharePoint sites and/or repositories

• Facilitate publication planning and ensure data delivery for internal/external presentations and publications

• Provides strategic operational leadership, including oversight of translational budgets and alliances; partners with Translational leadership to establish effective ways of working; and leads the planning and execution of cross‑functional governance forums to enable timely, high‑quality decision‑making

• Inform senior leadership of key activities and create periodic dashboard/visualizations summarizing project status, risks, and required actions and associated timelines

• Support transition of programs/assays internally from collaborations and/or due diligence, and/or to late-stage translational team, as appropriate per program

• Support continuous evolution and measurement of processes and tools to drive efficiency and enhance business value across all Thematic Research Centers and Translational Development. Proactively seek opportunities to leverage and streamline processes and tools to drive improved engagement and program management support. Develop and implement agile, creative solutions to solve business challenges within the line organization, across the company, and in partnership with external collaborators

Qualifications & Experience:

• B.S., M.S. (or Ph.D.) in a scientific discipline; PMP or equivalent experience is desirable

• 5+ years pharmaceutical industry experience in a variety of operational/scientific roles minimum 5+ years’ experience as a team leader in a highly matrixed environment

• Shapes strategic approaches to scientific delivery, utilizing sophisticated negotiation and scenario planning

• Works with a sense of urgency and experience managing multiple projects, building structure from ambiguity and helping teams to develop priorities

• Experience designing and leading complex, global projects comprised of virtual team members of diverse styles, driving to successful outcomes with and without direct management responsibilities

• Drives effective contract/fiscal management of project activities; experienced with the development of business cases for options-based decision-making

• Skilled listener with ability to manage complex internal – up, across, and down the hierarchy - and external relationships through constructive conflict management; experience with third party governance oversight desirable.

• Negotiates an enterprise (vs. functional) perspective across BMS

• Experienced in developing and implementing agile, creative solutions, utilizing direct and indirect resources, to solve business challenges within the line organization, across the company, and in partnership with external collaborators

• Strong communicator experienced with influencing and interacting at all levels including with senior scientific, operational or external thought leaders to drive connectivity and efficiency of collaborative research.

#LI-Hybrid

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview:

Cambridge Crossing: $180,430 - $218,638 Madison - Giralda - NJ - US: $156,890 - $190,117 Princeton - NJ - US: $156,890 - $190,117 San Diego - CA - US: $167,560 - $203,044 Seattle - WA: $162,990 - $197,503

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience.

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.

• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​ Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)

• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

*Eligibility Disclosure: T he summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers

With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to View email address on click.appcast.io . Visit careers.bms.com/ ( eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information:

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If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at View email address on click.appcast.io . Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.

R1604193 : Associate Director, Translational Program Manager (Early Development & Cell Therapy) Company: BMS

Req Number: R1604193

Updated: 2026-07-11 05:25:59.619 UTC

Location: San Diego-CA

Bristol Myers Squibb is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, gender expression, genetic information, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law.