Executive Director, Head of Cellular Therapy Operations

Job description

Kyverna Therapeutics is a patient-centered, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell therapies for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. Guided by our core values, Stay True to Why, Collaborate to Accelerate, Lead with Clarity, Boldly Innovative, and Own the Outcome, we are committed to transforming the future of treatment for autoimmune disease. Join us at the forefront of cell therapy innovation and help redefine what’s possible.

Position Overview

Kyverna is seeking an Executive Director, Head of Cellular Therapy Operations to design, build, and lead an integrated, end-to-end customer operations organization supporting the commercialization of Kyverna’s cellular therapies. This role carries enterprise-level accountability for the post-prescription lifecycle, including patient registration, scheduling, manufacturing and logistics coordination, patient support services, compliant product sale, and invoicing. The mandate is to deliver a seamless, reliable, and scalable experience for CAR T treatment centers, patients, and internal stakeholders.

The Executive Director will establish a single, unified front door for treatment centers through a Kyverna-branded Navigator organization and standardized operating model. By consolidating scheduling, patient services, logistics coordination, and trade operations within one organization, this role will eliminate operational fragmentation, reduce handoffs, improve customer experience, and enable efficient scale while minimizing overall FTE burden. This leader will serve as a key strategic partner across Commercial, Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and Compliance.

Department: Commercial

Reports To: VP, Global Market Access

Location: Remote eligible or Emeryville, CA (Hybrid – onsite two days per week)

Responsibilities

• Own the complete customer and patient journey from initial patient registration through legally compliant product sale and invoicing.
• Ensure consistent, on-time execution of scheduling, delivery, and patient support across all cellular therapy programs.
• Serve as the single point of accountability for customer operations outcomes, including service quality, operational performance, scalability, and customer satisfaction.
• Serve as a core member of the site activation team, providing executive leadership and operational oversight to design, implement, and scale patient support services in alignment with site readiness, treatment center onboarding, and launch milestones, ensuring seamless integration of patient access, scheduling, reimbursement support, and care coordination workflows from initial site activation through steady-state operations.
• Design, launch, and lead a Kyverna-branded Navigator organization serving as the primary interface for CAR T treatment centers.
• Establish a unified service model and single point of contact for scheduling, logistics coordination, and patient support.
• Drive scale through standardized workflows, technology enablement, and automation.
• Own and govern the end-to-end scheduling ecosystem, including digital scheduling portals and enabling technologies.
• Ensure tight integration between scheduling, manufacturing, logistics, and patient services.
• Partner with IT and Operations to continuously improve system performance, data visibility, and user experience.
• Define the enterprise patient support strategy and operating model.
• Ensure patient support services are fully integrated with scheduling and site operations.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing patient support organization focused on consistency, compliance, and quality.
• Provide executive oversight of state licensing, government price reporting, trade policy, distributor operations, and order-to-cash execution.
• Ensure all commercial activities are conducted in full compliance with regulatory, legal, and contractual requirements.
• Partner closely with Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Market Access to manage risk and enable sustainable commercialization.
• Define and execute Kyverna’s distributor and channel strategy aligned with commercial and supply chain objectives.
• Oversee distributor selection, governance, performance management, and continuous improvement.
• Design the future-state customer operations operating model to support pipeline expansion and long-term growth.
• Establish enterprise KPIs, SLAs, governance structures, and performance management frameworks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred (MBA, MPH, PharmD, or equivalent).
• 15+ years of progressive experience in biopharmaceutical operations, customer operations, patient services, trade, distribution, or related functions.
• 5+ years of experience in senior leadership roles with enterprise-level accountability.
• Demonstrated experience building and leading end-to-end customer operations organizations in specialty pharma, rare disease, oncology, or cellular and gene therapy environments.
• Direct experience supporting CAR T or other autologous therapies strongly preferred.
• Deep understanding of U.S. trade, distribution, order-to-cash, state licensing, government price reporting, and compliance requirements.
• Proven ability to design scalable operating models and lead organizational transformation.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills across Commercial, Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and IT.
• Experience leading technology-enabled operations, including scheduling platforms, workflow automation, CRM systems, and digital service models.
• Demonstrated track record of building high-performing teams and developing senior leaders.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, executive communication, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth, launch-stage environment.

The national salary range for this position is $275,000 to $305,000 USD annually. The final compensation will be based on individual qualifications, experience, skills, internal equity, and market alignment. This position is also eligible for an annual bonus, comprehensive benefits, and participation in the Company’s stock option plan.