Logistics Specialist

Salary Range: 60000 to 90000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)

Physical Demands

• Production Associate Roles: Must have visual acuity of 20/20 (corrected or uncorrected) and normal color vision to safely perform critical tasks such as visual inspection of materials, equipment, and labeling, including distinguishing color-coded components in a GMP environment.
• Most roles must be able to meet cleanroom gowning requirements, including wearing full gowning (face coverings, gloves, hoods, goggles) for extended periods, as needed. Use of cosmetics (makeup, painted nails), jewelry, or facial piercings is not permitted in the cleanroom, and any skin conditions that cause shedding must be disclosed.

Work Conditions

• Many roles must be able to work at either Orca Bio Sacramento location (3400 Business Dr. or 7910 Metro Air Pkwy) based on operational needs, as well as regularly participate in video-based meetings. Also, may be required to work scheduled overtime, weekends, or holidays based on business needs.

Essential Duties & Key Responsibilities:

Real-Time Transport Monitoring

• Provide live tracking of courier flights throughout active runs.
• Serve as the point person for monitoring incoming weather systems for the upcoming week or so, flagging potential impacts early and planning effectively to keep runs on schedule, in addition to tracking real-time weather and emergency events that may affect active transport.
• Maintain daily communication with Orca Porters during active runs.
• Actively monitor shipments and resolve delays or issues in real time.
• Participate in on-call coverage during active courier transports to handle non-routine issues.
• Manage up to 8 concurrent incoming and outbound transports at a time, seeing every issue that arises across them through to resolution.
 
Disruption & Incident Response
• Serve as the trusted, in-the-moment decision-maker when a disruption hits: you are fully empowered to independently rebook flights, hotels, and ground transport, re-route the courier, and take whatever action gets the courier and product to the treatment center as fast as possible, without waiting on sign-off.
• Rebook delayed flights and hotels, and re-issue itineraries and TSA letters as travel plans change.
• Assess the impact of flight delays on batch and delivery timelines, including triage with manufacturing and scheduling.
• Manage third-party delays and issues routed through the courier, and negotiate third-party itineraries.
• Lead courier incident management (personnel), clean up incident paperwork, and follow up with TSA and couriers on potential and actual changes.
• Communicate changes urgently and professionally to all impacted stakeholders.
 
Chain of Custody, Data & KPIs
• Upload chain-of-custody (CoC) and third-party records; verify temperature data; and track the return of materials.
• Update delivery times in OrcaLink and capture vein-to-vein (V2V) times for KPI reporting.
• Ensure all documentation and compliance requirements for pickups and deliveries are met.
 
Courier Program & Vendor Coordination
• Schedule couriers for donor cell pickups and deliveries, and coordinate outbound drug product shipments to recipient sites.
• Manage flight and travel logistics for couriers, liaising with airlines and travel providers.
• Lead third-party courier implementation and troubleshoot transportation issues as they arise.
• Review and approve courier invoices, and track and optimize courier performance.
• Conduct commercial site feasibility assessments for new and existing treatment centers, and support dry-run paperwork.
• Partner with clinical schedulers and commercial case managers to troubleshoot and triage non- routine issues during transports.
 
Cross-Coverage & Continuous Improvement
• Serve as cross-trained backup for night packaging operations during surge or coverage gaps, covering coordination-adjacent, non-aseptic tasks: Credo and dry-shipper charging and preparation, asset checkout and batch assignment in TrakSYS, final packing/handover and CoC, shipping-condition confirmation, temperature-data upload, and asset recirculation.
• Continuously evaluate and improve logistics workflows to support operational scalability.
• Contribute to training materials and ensure the courier team remains compliant and current.
• Assist with additional logistics and operations-related projects as needed.

Minimum Experience, Education, Certifications, Licenses:

• Bachelor's degree and 2–3 years of relevant logistics experience required. B.S. in biology, life sciences, or logistics preferred.
• Proven success in logistics coordination, preferably in a regulated environment.
• Familiarity with handling biological materials and associated transportation regulations is a plus.
• Proficiency in logistics tracking systems or software required.

Preferred Experience:

• Logistics or courier coordination in fast-paced, time-sensitive industries (e.g., healthcare, biotech, or medical transport).
• Working with regulated materials, such as biological specimens or pharmaceuticals, with knowledge of chain-of-custody, IATA, or DOT compliance.
• Real-time problem-solving and communication during transport disruptions or delays.
• Managing relationships with vendors, third-party couriers, airlines, and internal stakeholders simultaneously.
• Exposure to continuous improvement efforts, workflow scaling, or SOP development.
• Familiarity with logistics tools and platforms such as shipment tracking systems, Google Workspace, Smartsheet, or equivalent.
• Prior dispatcher experience.

Personal Qualities:

• Highly detail-oriented, with an unwavering commitment to quality, safety, and compliance.
• Takes ownership and drives forward without waiting for instruction.
• Is naturally curious, eager to learn, and energized by solving problems.
• Brings creative solutions to unexpected challenges.
• Is comfortable juggling multiple priorities in a fast-paced, startup environment.
• Communicates clearly and professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Works both independently and collaboratively with a team-first mindset.
• Stays calm under pressure and adapts quickly to change.
• Embraces a positive attitude, a collaborative spirit, and a good sense of humor