Associate Director - Automation Engineering (m/w/d)

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

At Lilly in Germany, we are currently planning and building a high-tech production facility in Alzey (Rhineland-Palatinate), which is expected to expand our production of injectable drugs from 2027 and employ up to 1,000 skilled workers. To make the most of the potential of our innovative production site, we are looking for motivated reinforcements who want to work with us on an equal footing and under the three Lilly values of "Excellence", "Integrity" and "Respect for People" to ensure the supply of Lilly medicines to patients in Germany, Europe and worldwide.

Become part of our Engineering team at the Alzey site and start as soon as possible as: Associate Director - Automation Engineering (m/w/d)

The Associate Director – Automation Engineering is responsible for establishing and maintaining systems to ensure the reliable operation, maintenance and qualified state of automation systems and process equipment, through management of a team of automation engineers. The individual in this position will ensure that the automation systems and process equipment are in control, compliant and capable of meeting plant production needs, while also driving continuous improvement efforts. This position is responsible for serving as subject matter expert in one or more disciplines, and for providing technical and leadership guidance to the engineering team, while also understanding the business impact and drivers outside of their own business area.  This position requires contribution to development of technical plans for Automation engineering Front Line & Subject Matter Expert (SME) team members.

What tasks await you?

• Manage Automation Engineering support for Commercial Manufacturing Operations.

• Manage team of automation engineers providing Front Line automation engineering support in one or more of the following areas: Parenteral Operations (Parts Washers, Autoclaves, Formulation, Isolator – Syringe Filler, Automated Visual Inspection) Device Assembly and Packaging Operations, Warehouse and Logistics (Autonomous Guided Vehicles, Automatic Storage and Retrieval System), Site Utilities (HVAC, Steam Water, Gases, etc.), BMS, Chambers (i.e. Refrigerators, Incubators, Cold Rooms, etc.), Automation systems (OSI PI Historian, MES, etc.)

• Ensure appropriate technical support for manufacturing or utilities automation processes of the assigned area.

• Guide SMEs that will provide coaching/assistance to Front Line Engineers and help drive continuous improvements, support capital delivery, among other key strategic initiatives. 

• Make decisions guided by engineering standards and policies, procedures and business plan that impact the ability of the Automation Engineers to meet performance objectives.

• Provide Functional Leadership to Automation Team engineering representatives by coaching the following business processes: Change Management, Deviations/Investigations, Equipment and Process Improvements, Process Controls and Variability Reduction

• Support and peer review root cause analysis around equipment and operational events, support complex change controls, investigations. 

• Lead Complex investigations and have strong Root Cause analysis capability.

• Ensure continuous improvement mindset for process and operational improvements.

• Apply statistical thinking and methods to understand process variability and capability and drive improvements.

• Support regulatory inspections.

• Provide oversight to equipment to ensure clear understanding of equipment flow, process flow and critical process requirements across all process steps on site.

• Establish control systems to monitor, trend and verify equipment performance and downtime.  Identify and Optimize unit operation cycle time, yield performance, loop tuning, recipes, etc.

• Support or lead troubleshooting efforts to resolve equipment and operational problems and ensure formal problem-solving techniques are appropriately utilized.  On call/off hours support required.

• Support the safety agenda for the equipment.

• Understand and ensure compliance with engineering standards, and environment health & safety requirements.

• Develop, review and approve technical documentations such as SOPs, Investigations, Functional Specifications, Work orders, Software Design Specifications, etc.

• Present and attend various Governance teams to represent automation engineering.

• Represent group as automation technical SMEs on capital projects supporting/leading design, code modifications, testing, qualifications, and associated documentation.

• Support commissioning and qualification activities.

How do you convince us?

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree, preferably a Master's degree in Engineering discipline with 5+ years of industrial experience in cGMP environment.

• 5+ years of industrial experience in Automation System (preferably Rockwell Automation, OSI PI, SQL).

• Knowledge of/experience with several biopharmaceutical processes and equipment such as Filling equipment, Visual Inspection, Packaging Equipment, CIP/SIP, Utilities (HVAC, Water, Steam, Gases, etc.), and Chambers (Refrigerators, Incubators, cold rooms, etc.).

• In-depth knowledge of regulatory compliance (GMP, OSHA, etc.)

• Strong leadership skills.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Self-directed personality, with ability to work independently, self-sufficiently and pro-actively in the performance of work duties.

• Ability to resolve conflict and promote good decision making among team members.

• Experience with various root cause analysis tools/techniques.

• Fluent in English and German.

• Occasional travel may be required when in operation, but more frequent travel required in the first 18 months.

What can you look forward to with us?

• Pioneering spirit: Become part of a team of specialized professionals that is being built up and will grow to up to 1,000 colleagues over the next three years.

• Innovation: You will work in a medical high-tech production facility equipped with the most advanced technology.

• Creative freedom: From the beginning, you will have the freedom to contribute your ideas and implement them in cross-functional teams.

• Development: We value promoting our employees' career development individually and ensure fair access to professional development worldwide through our "Corporate Lilly University".

• Financial benefits: In addition to your attractive salary, we offer you the option of excellent company pension schemes and other individual benefits.

Have we piqued your interest? Then please apply online through our applicant portal.

We look forward to your application!

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

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