Sr. IT Quality Engineering Specialist

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet.

Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

Job Description

Position Summary

The Senior IT Quality Engineering Specialist serves as the technical lead for the Kite Laboratory Information Management System (KLIMS) within North America West Coast (El Segundo). This role is responsible for the operational stability, compliance, maintenance, enhancement, and technical governance of the LabVantage platform and associated integrations. The position partners closely with Quality Control, Manufacturing, Validation, Infrastructure, and Kite Business stakeholders to ensure reliable and compliant laboratory operations.

Key Responsibilities

System Administration & Operational Support

• Provide day-to-day administration and technical support for KLIMS and related systems.

• Work with local Kite SMEs to prioritize roadmap initiatives with significant benefit to site operations.

• Deliver immediate troubleshooting for issues/incidents experienced at the site.

• Improve change management at the site level by communicating new Global functions being implemented that impact the site.

• Provide hands-on training when needed to local QC personnel.

• Sit on site tech councils to represent KLIMS initiatives and assess system impact by initiatives outside of the QC organization.

• Monitor system health, performance, and operational stability.

• Perform break-fix investigations and resolution activities.

• Support 24x7 incident response and escalation processes.

• Maintain technical documentation, knowledge articles, and support procedures.

• Support business continuity, disaster recovery, and system resilience initiatives.

Technical Leadership

• Act as a North America technical lead for KLIMS.

• Provide technical strategy and guidance for system enhancements, upgrades, and sustainment activities.

• Perform technical impact assessments for proposed changes.

• Review technical solutions, configurations, and code changes.

• Partner with global technical leads to ensure alignment of standards and best practices.

Platform Maintenance & Compliance

• Execute application patching, upgrades, and routine maintenance activities.

• Support validation activities and infrastructure qualification efforts.

• Ensure compliance with GxP, CSV, and internal quality procedures.

• Maintain CMDB records, system inventories, and controlled documentation.

• Support audits, inspections, investigations, CAPAs, and deviation resolution activities.

Project Delivery & Enhancements

• Participate in project planning and technical scoping activities.

• Identify and manage technical deliverables for system projects.

• Support deployment of new functionality, integrations, and site rollouts.

• Collaborate with project managers, business analysts, developers, and validation resources to deliver compliant solutions.

• Provide hypercare and post-deployment support for new releases.

Instrument & Integration Support

• Support laboratory instrument interfaces and integration troubleshooting.

• Investigate hardware, operating system, network, security, and interface-related issues.

• Coordinate interface qualification and requalification activities.

• Support barcode scanners, Zebra printers, SSL certificates, and related technical infrastructure.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with QC, Manufacturing, Validation, and IT teams to resolve technical issues.

• Provide technical training and knowledge transfer to users and support personnel.

• Communicate system status, risks, and project progress to stakeholders.

• Serve as an escalation point for complex technical issues.

 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field with 5+ years of experience.

• Experience supporting regulated GxP applications.

• Experience administering Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), mandatory LabVantage.

• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills.

• Strong documentation and validation experience.

• Experience with SQL and database querying with Java.

• Knowledge of change management, validation, and compliance processes.

• Experience supporting enterprise applications in a production environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with laboratory instrument integrations.

• Knowledge of BarTender, Zebra printers, and barcode technologies.

• Experience supporting cloud-hosted or enterprise infrastructure environments.

• Familiarity with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or cell therapy operations.

• Experience participating in audits, inspections, and regulated validation activities.

Success Measures

• High system availability and operational stability.

• Timely resolution of incidents and technical issues.

• Successful execution of upgrades, patches, and enhancement releases.

• Compliance with quality and validation requirements.

• Positive stakeholder engagement and support effectiveness.

• Delivery of technical project commitments on schedule and with high quality.

 

 

The salary range for this position is: $115,260.00 - $149,160.00. Kite considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies with a goal of providing rapid, long-term durable response and eliminating the burden of chronic care. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies designed to empower the immune system's ability to recognize and kill tumors. Kite is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com. Sign up to follow @KitePharma on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kitepharma.
 

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Kite Pharma is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact [email protected] for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the 'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Kite Pharma will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.
 

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Kite Pharma provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Kite Pharma Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.