Associate Director, Engineering
About The Position
Join Us in Shaping the Future of Animal Health Our Animal Health Division is investing $895 million in expanding our manufacturing and research & development facilities in De Soto, Kansas — the state’s largest economic development project to date. As an Associate Director, Bioprocess Engineering, you will be part of a world-class team contributing directly to the production of veterinary products that improve animal health and welfare globally. As an Associate Director, Bioprocess Engineering, you will lead a team of technical professionals supporting regional vaccine technology transfer, post-transfer performance, and technical readiness across assigned processes and sites, while also providing technical support to a capital project to build a manufacturing facility. In this people manager role, you will provide both strategic direction and day-to-day leadership to ensure effective execution, sustained performance at receiving sites, and successful project outcomes. You will partner closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Network Strategy, MS&T, and site leadership to deliver compliant, robust, and efficient results while building team capability, engagement, and accountability. Knowledge management remains an important enabling component of the role, supporting standardization, consistency, and effective sharing of transfer-related learnings across the region.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree with significant relevant experience in Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Pharmacy, or a related life science/engineering field.
- Minimum 8 years of experience in biopharmaceutical or vaccine manufacturing, process development, technology transfer, MS&T, or a related technical discipline.
- Prior people management/leadership skills, including coaching, mentoring, performance development, and team building highly preferred
- Demonstrated success leading technology transfers, technical programs, or cross-functional projects with increasing scope and complexity.
- Strong understanding of vaccine/biologicals manufacturing processes.
- Experience in vaccine/biopharma regulated environments.
- Experience with process characterization, scale-up/scale-down, process robustness, and technical troubleshooting.
- Proven ability to lead through influence, build alignment, and drive decisions across functions and sites.
- Excellent problem-solving, decision-making, and analytical skills.
- High degree of ownership, scientific rigor, and continuous improvement mindset.
- Bioprocess Engineering, Bioprocessing, Cell Culture Process Development, GMP Operations, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Manufacturing Processes, Manufacturing Scale-Up, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Process Scale Up, Product Formulation, Technical Leadership, Technology Transfer, Technology Transfer Management, Vaccine Manufacturing
Nice To Haves
- Experience providing technical support to capital projects, preferably involving facility design, build, commissioning, qualification, or readiness activities.
- Familiarity with USDA regulatory expectations.
- Proficiency in technical risk assessment and data analysis for process performance.
- Excellent technical writing and communication skills for diverse stakeholders.
- Strong project and program leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Experience influencing cross-functional teams without formal line authority.
- Demonstrated ability to deliver business results through operational, technical, and people leadership.
- Experience supporting organizational capability building and standardization initiatives.
Responsibilities
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of bioprocess engineering professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
- Provide strategic and technical leadership for regional vaccine technology transfer activities end-to-end, ensuring successful planning, execution, and implementation at receiving sites.
- Provide technical leadership and support to the capital project for the design, build, and readiness of the new blend, fill, and freeze dry facility.
- Set priorities, allocate resources, and manage team workload to support delivery of business objectives across multiple sites and functions.
- Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks associated with transfer execution through structured evaluations, data-driven analysis, and cross-functional action planning.
- Lead cross-functional technical workstreams and programs, ensuring clear ownership, timely execution, and effective issue resolution.
- Partner with site leadership, Quality, Manufacturing, Engineering, Network Strategy, Regulatory Affairs and Technical functions to resolve complex technical issues and ensure robust post-transfer performance.
- Drive strong post-transfer support through monitoring, troubleshooting, escalation management, and continuous improvement activities.
- Ensure compliant technical documentation and clear stakeholder communication in accordance with quality, regulatory, and internal governance requirements.
- Support regional knowledge management activities by contributing to the development and sharing of transfer packages, playbooks, lessons learned, and best practices to strengthen standardization and consistency across sites.
- Build team capability through coaching, mentoring, development planning, feedback, and succession planning for direct reports and technical staff.
- Influence decision-making across functions and sites to support business priorities, operational readiness, and successful transfer outcomes.
Benefits
- medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
- retirement benefits, including 401(k)
- paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
