Senior IT Change Management Specialist

Join our Mission to Protect Humankind!

Vaxcyte is a clinical-stage vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases, which have serious and costly health consequences when left unchecked. Working to eradicate or treat bacterial infections such as invasive pneumococcal disease, Group A Strep, and Shigella is just the beginning. Our path to success is clear and well-defined, and Vaxcyte is set up to go the distance.

WHAT we do is every bit as important as HOW we do it! Our work together is guided by four enduring core values:

• RETHINK CONVENTION: We bring creative and intellectual diversity to every facet of the work we do in order to innovate and re-innovate the way vaccines are delivered.
• AIM HIGH: We embody our collectively audacious goal to courageously make the most complex biologics ever attempted to protect humankind.
• LEAD WITH HEART: Everyone leads at Vaxcyte with a kindness-first, inclusive approach to collaboration and vigorous debate that advances our business objectives.
• MODEL EXCELLENCE: The magnitude of our challenge requires our shared commitment to demonstrating integrity, accountability, equality and clarity across communications and decision making.

Summary:

The Senior IT Change Management Specialist is responsible for planning, managing, and communicating IT Change Management activities across IT and IT QSC (Quality, Security, Compliance). This role operates as a senior individual contributor and program coordinator, providing structure, governance, and visibility across all IT changes impacting systems, infrastructure, and processes in a regulated GxP environment. This position plays a critical role in enabling the business to implement technology changes efficiently while maintaining compliance, minimizing risk, and ensuring alignment with organizational priorities. The role partners closely with IT leadership but does not have direct people management responsibility.

Essential Functions:

Change Planning & Coordination

• Plan, coordinate, and oversee ongoing and new IT changes across systems, infrastructure, and processes.
• Maintain and manage the IT change calendar and roadmap.
• Ensure proper documentation, tracking, and lifecycle management of all changes.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Collaborate with IT, Quality Assurance, Security, and business stakeholders to gather and communicate change requirements.
• Translate technical changes into clear, business-friendly communications.
• Provide regular updates to stakeholders, including executive-level summaries.

Change Governance & IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Alignment

• Support and enforce ITIL-based Change Management best practices.
• Ensure changes follow appropriate approval workflows, risk assessments, and documentation standards.
• Support Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings and governance processes.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Collect, analyze, and interpret data related to IT changes, validation, and quality activities.
• Develop and maintain dynamic reports and dashboards for stakeholders.
• Provide insights to support decision-making on implementations, upgrades, migrations, and deprecations.

Change Impact & Risk Management

• Assess and communicate change impacts, risks, and dependencies across IT and GxP systems.
• Support evaluation of changes related to software/hardware implementations, upgrades, migrations, and process improvements.
• Ensure alignment with compliance requirements including 21 CFR Part 11 and GxP standards.

Validation & Compliance Support

• Collaborate with IT Quality & Compliance teams to align changes with CSV/CSA validation requirements.
• Support documentation and processes required for validated systems.
• Ensure change activities maintain audit readiness and compliance posture.

Meeting Facilitation & Coordination

• Plan, schedule, and facilitate recurring and ad hoc meetings (e.g., CAB, stakeholder reviews).
• Document meeting outcomes, action items, and follow-ups.

Demand Planning & Resource Forecasting

• Support planning and forecasting of change demand vs. available resources.
• Assist leadership in prioritizing change initiatives based on business needs and capacity.

Continuous Improvement & Process Optimization

• Identify opportunities to improve change management processes and workflows.
• Leverage tools, automation, and AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and reporting.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Business, Quality, or related field

• Minimum 8 years of experience in IT project management, coordination, or change management roles. Other combinations of education and/or experience may be considered.

• Strong understanding of:

• ITIL Change Management best practices

• IT systems, infrastructure, and operations

• GxP environments and regulatory requirements (21 CFR Part 11)

• Experience with:

• Change management processes and governance

• Data collection, analysis, and reporting

• Cross-functional stakeholder coordination

• Ability to plan and facilitate meetings across diverse stakeholder groups.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with CSV/CSA (Computer System Validation / Computer Software Assurance).
• Understanding of IT Quality & Compliance activities (audits, validation, CAPAs).
• Experience with AI tools for data analysis, reporting, or process optimization.
• Familiarity with tools such as Smartsheet, Excel, Word, FreshService.
• Experience in life sciences or regulated environments.

Reports to: Director, IT Quality and Compliance

Location: San Carlos, CA

Work Arrangement (may be adjusted based on business needs, job responsibilities, or changes to company policy):

Hybrid (minimum of 2-3 days per week onsite)

Compensation:

The compensation package will be competitive and includes comprehensive benefits and an equity component.

Salary Range: $153,000 - $178,000 (SF Bay Area). Salary ranges for non-California locations may vary.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.