Senior Specialist, Cell Therapy Vein-to-Vein Coordinator

About this role

AstraZeneca is making one of the boldest investments in Cell Therapy in the industry — building a portfolio that spans autologous, allogeneic, and in vivo modalities with the ambition to bring these transformative treatments to patients around the globe.  

Every autologous cell therapy begins with a single patient — their cells collected, shipped, engineered, and returned as a living treatment designed specifically for them .  The   Senior Specialist, Cell Therapy Vein-to-Vein Coordinator   is at the center of that orchestration. You will manage active patient and product journeys end-to-end — from slot scheduling and apheresis collection through courier transportation, manufacturing, release, and final product delivery. You are the connective thread across a complex, multi-stakeholder chain where precision, proactive coordination, and real-time decision-making directly protect patient outcomes.  

You'll work within AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy Global Supply Chain Vein-to-Vein Operations team using digital orchestration systems, milestone-based tracking, and established playbooks — partnering daily with Clinical Operations, Patient Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Trade Compliance, depots, couriers, and logistics providers to keep every journey on track.  You may be b ased in Gaithersburg, MD or Tarzana, CA and report to the Senior Director, Global Logistics.

Accountabilities  

• Execute day-to-day Vein-to-Vein coordination  across active patient and order journeys, supporting the full continuum from slot scheduling and apheresis collection through courier transportation, manufacturing, release, and final delivery.  

• Coordinate slot scheduling and booking activities  in alignment with approved slot management rules, study requirements, and capacity parameters, including confirmation, adjustment, and rescheduling of bookings as needed.  

• Support patient and order orchestration  by maintaining accurate visibility of active cases and ensuring key milestones, dependencies, and operational handoffs are actively managed.  

• Monitor product journey milestones in real time  across collection, transit, manufacturing, release, and return shipment using cell orchestration systems, courier portals, and operational tracking tools.  

• Monitor and manage time-critical shipments in real time , identifying  shipment delays, missed pickups or deliveries, temperature excursions, transit disruptions, and courier-related issues, and initiating escalation and recovery actions in line with approved playbooks .  

• Identify and respond to off-path events  by applying defined escalation pathways and exception playbooks, and by coordinating with internal teams and external logistics partners to support issue resolution and continuity of care.  

• Book, coordinate, and monitor time-critical shipments  across specialized cold chain, cryogenic, refrigerated, ambient, or on-board courier models as applicable to study and product requirements.

• Coordinate with couriers, logistics providers, and internal stakeholders  to support real-time recovery actions, investigation follow-up, documentation, and continuity of the active patient and product journey when transit events occur.  

• Maintain disciplined execution of V2V and COI/COC traceability requirements , ensuring accurate documentation, milestone capture, labeling, records, and chain of identity / chain of custody controls are preserved throughout the journey.  

• Ensure timely and accurate data entry  in orchestration systems, scheduling platforms, and logistics partner portals to support real-time visibility, escalation, and reporting.  

• Provide proactive communication and status updates  to internal stakeholders and operational partners, helping support a seamless and reliable customer experience for treatment centers and patient operations stakeholders.  

• Support investigations, courier follow-up, deviation follow-up, and corrective actions  related to live operational issues and transport-related exceptions by providing accurate fact gathering, timeline reconstruction, documentation, and operational input.  

• Follow approved SOPs, work instructions, templates, and exception playbooks , while identifying ambiguities, recurring issues, or improvement opportunities and escalating them through the appropriate channels .  

• Support readiness, onboarding, mock shipments, and hyper care activities  for new studies , sites, products, countries, or logistics lanes as needed.  

• Contribute to operational reporting and continuous improvement  by maintaining accurate metrics, identifying trends, and sharing feedback on recurring operational pain points.  

Essential Skills/Experience  

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain , Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.  

• 5+ Years Experience in biopharma clinical or commercial logistics , supply chain, or cell therapy operations, with hands-on involvement in time-critical or highly controlled logistics environments or patient operations . C ell therapy experience is strongly preferred.  

• Working knowledge of GDP, GxP , and GMP requirements, including documentation accuracy and deviation awareness in regulated operations.  

• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple active cases, priorities, and timelines across time zones.  

• Demonstrated ability to apply sound judgment, follow escalation pathways, and respond effectively to operational issues including shipment delays, temperature excursions, and transport-related disruptions in a fast-paced environment.  

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide concise and accurate operational updates to internal and external stakeholders.  

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Desirable Skills/Experience  

• Experience in autologous cell therapy, clinical trial logistics , or control tower / real-time monitoring environments.  

• Strong understanding of patient and order orchestration,

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