Principal Program Manager – Engineering Projects

Company Overview
ImmunityBio is a vertically integrated commercial stage biotechnology company developing next-generation therapies that bolster the natural immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases. The Company’s range of immunotherapy and cell therapy platforms, alone and together, act to drive and sustain an immune response with the goal of creating durable and safe protection against disease. Designated an FDA Breakthrough Therapy, ANKTIVA is the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer CIS that activates NK cells, T cells, and memory T cells for a long-duration response. The Company is applying its science and platforms to treating cancers, including the development of potential cancer vaccines, as well as developing immunotherapies and cell therapies that we believe sharply reduce or eliminate the need for standard high-dose chemotherapy. These platforms and their associated product candidates are designed to be more effective, accessible, and easily administered than current standards of care in oncology and infectious diseases.

Why ImmunityBio?

• ImmunityBio is developing cutting-edge technology with the goal to transform the lives of patients with cancer and develop next-generation therapies and vaccines that complement, harness and amplify the immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases.

• Opportunity to join a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company with headquarters in Southern California.

• Work with a collaborative team with the ability to work across different areas of the company.

• Ability to join a growing company with professional development opportunities.

Position Summary

The Principal Program Manager, Engineering Projects leads a portfolio of complex capital, facility, utility, equipment, and technical-infrastructure programs that enable ImmunityBio’s clinical and commercial GMP manufacturing operations. This role provides strategic program leadership from concept development and capital approval through design, construction, commissioning, qualification, operational handover, and closeout. The Principal Program Manager establishes integrated governance, portfolio priorities, execution strategy, project controls, and executive decision support; leads cross-functional internal teams and external engineering, construction, CQV, and vendor partners; and ensures programs are delivered safely, compliantly, on schedule, within approved capital budgets, and in alignment with business, quality, and regulatory requirements.

Essential Functions

• Lead a portfolio of capital, facility, utility, equipment, and technical-infrastructure programs that enable clinical and commercial GMP manufacturing, from concept and business case through construction, CQV, operational turnover, and closeout

• Establish the program strategy, integrated roadmap, governance model, decision cadence, portfolio priorities, resource plan, and performance measures in alignment with business objectives.

• Develop and maintain integrated project controls, including scope, WBS, schedule, critical path, cost forecast, cash flow, resource requirements, risks, assumptions, dependencies, changes, and mitigation plans.

• Lead cross-functional delivery across Engineering, Facilities, Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, EHS, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, and external architecture, engineering, construction, and equipment-vendor partners.

• Integrate GMP, Quality, and CQV requirements into project plans, including design qualification where applicable, commissioning, IQ/OQ/PQ, documentation review, deviation/change-control dependencies, and readiness for release to operations.

• Provide executive-ready portfolio reporting, decision briefs, scenario analyses, risk escalations, and recommendations on scope, schedule, cost, capacity, and compliance tradeoffs.

• Direct capital planning and financial controls, including business cases, appropriation requests, budget baselines, forecasting, cash-flow management, invoice review, vendor performance, and change-order governance.

• Establish and continuously improve scalable project-management standards, tools, dashboards, SOPs, templates, and lessons-learned practices across the Engineering Projects portfolio.

• Establish project closeout and operational-handover requirements, ensuring equipment, facilities, utilities, documentation, training, maintenance strategies, and quality deliverables are complete and accepted by the receiving operating function.

• Ensure capital-project execution is integrated with applicable quality-system processes, including change control, quality risk management, deviation/CAPA support, document control, and inspection readiness.

• Provide functional leadership, coaching, and mentorship to project managers and project-team members; promote consistent program-management practices across the Engineering Projects organization.

• Lead project readiness for internal and external audits and inspections; coordinate project evidence and subject-matter experts, present project execution and CQV status as appropriate, and support timely responses to observations.

• Perform ad-hoc and cross-functional duties and/or projects as assigned to support business needs and provide developmental opportunities.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science or relevant field required.

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience leading engineering, facilities, manufacturing, validation, or capital-project programs, including at least 6 years managing complex projects in a GMP-regulated biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, medical-device, or similarly regulated manufacturing environment is required.

• Experience delivering capital projects through design, construction, commissioning, qualification, operational handover, and closeout, including ownership of scope, schedule, budget, risk, contractor coordination, and change control is required.

• Experience with facility buildouts and equipment CQV strongly preferred.

• Experience leading capital or infrastructure projects involving construction, utilities, and equipment installation in cGMP or similarly regulated environments preferred.

• Experience working with cross-functional teams, external design and construction partners, and multiple stakeholders in a matrixed organization preferred.

• PMP or other project management certification preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Demonstrated executive presence, strategic judgment, influence without authority, conflict resolution, and the ability to translate technical, regulatory, schedule, and financial information into clear decisions and recommendations.

• Demonstrated knowledge and application of stage-gate, predictive, and hybrid project-delivery methodologies appropriate to regulated capital, engineering, and CQV environments.

• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills across technical, operational, quality, contractor, and executive audiences.

• Strong experience facilitating project team meetings, cross-functional communication and decision making, and ensuring alignment with internal and external stakeholders.

• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams in a highly matrixed organization

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically when planning, managing teams, and managing processes.

• Solid understanding of facility and utility systems (e.g., clean utilities, process gases, HVAC, process equipment) and their impact on GMP operations.

• Working knowledge of commissioning and validation principles, including development and execution of IQ/OQ/PQ protocols and related documentation.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and compliance.

• Proficiency with project management tools and MS Office (e.g., MS Project or equivalent, Excel, PowerPoint, Word); familiarity with CAD or BIM tools is a plus.

Working Environment / Physical Environment

• This position works on site as noted in the offer letter.

• Regular work schedule is Monday – Friday, within standard business hours.  Flexibility is available with manager approval.

• Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and in construction/plant environments, and to use standard office equipment, including a computer.

• Lift and carry materials weighing up to 20 pounds.

This position is eligible for a discretionary bonus and equity award. The annual base pay range for this position is below. The specific rate will depend on the successful candidate’s qualifications, prior experience as well as geographic location.

$148,500 (entry-level qualifications) to $165,000 (highly experienced) annually

The application window is anticipated to close on 60 days from when it is posted or sooner if the position is filled or closed.

ImmunityBio uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with sourcing and identifying potential candidates for open positions. These tools help us reach qualified applicants and improve the efficiency of our recruitment outreach. No preference is given to applicants sourced or identified by AI tools.

Important: AI is not used to screen, evaluate, rank, assess, or make hiring decisions about applicants. All applications are reviewed by human recruiters and hiring managers. Hiring decisions are made solely by ImmunityBio personnel without automated decision-making.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity and ensure that all candidates are assessed based on their qualifications, skills, and experience through human review.

ImmunityBio employees are as valuable as the people we serve. We have built a resource of robust benefit offerings to best support the total wellbeing of our team members and their families. Our competitive total rewards benefits package, for eligible employees, include: Medical, Dental and Vision Plan Options • Health and Financial Wellness Programs • Employer Assistance Program (EAP) • Company Paid and Voluntary Life/AD&D, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability • Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts • 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match • 529 Education Savings Program • Voluntary Legal Services, Identity Theft Protection, Pet Insurance and Employee Discounts, Rewards and Perks • Paid Time Off (PTO) includes: 11 Holidays • Exempt Employees are eligible for Unlimited PTO • Non-Exempt Employees are eligible for 10 Vacation Days, 56 Hours of Health Pay, 2 Personal Days and 1 Cultural Day •  We are committed to providing you with the tools and resources you need to optimize your Health and Wellness.

At ImmunityBio, we are an equal opportunity employer dedicated to diversity in the workplace. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, gender, color, disability, national origin, age, religion, union affiliation, sexual orientation, veteran status, citizenship, gender identity and/or expression, or other status protected by law.