Rod Freeman

Rod Freeman

Rod Freeman is a Pharmaceutical Engineer and Quality Professional with more than thirty years of experience spanning cell and gene therapy, viral vectors, pharmaceutical and biological operations, and Quality Management Systems. He currently serves as Site Quality Head at Novartis in Carlsbad, where he leads inspection-readiness efforts for the company’s new site and serves on its Site Leadership Team.

Over the course of his career, Rod has built deep expertise in a wide range of technical skills, including validation, quality systems, and facilities engineering. His path has taken him through leadership roles at organizations including Kite Pharma, Beckman Coulter, Teva, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly. While looking back on his career success, Rod credits his degree in chemical engineering and early work as a manufacturing engineer as the foundation that continues to shape his decisions today.

Rod's connection to MiraCosta College runs deep. A longtime champion of its the school’s Biomanufacturing Program, Rod has served as a professor in it himself and his eldest daughter, who is an emerging leader in the region’s biotech industry, is a graduate of the MiraCosta College Biomanufacturing Program.

Outside of his role at Novartis, Rod continues to educate and train the next generation of engineers and leaders. He has served as a lecturer in the Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs since 2018, teaching in the Regulatory Science and Biotechnology programs.