Equipment Engineer III - Manufacturing Engineering

Thermo Fisher Scientific • Frederick, MD

5d • Onsite

About The Position

As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer. Discover Impactful Work Join our Manufacturing Engineering team as an Engineer III taking the lead in sustaining and advancing our commercial production operations. Drive equipment-centered improvements through equipment design, development, automation, and validation activities that support our high-impact products. This role is well-suited for a mechanically strong engineer who enjoys solving physical problems, leading equipment projects, and working with vendors on technical solutions to bring concepts through design, build, and into reliable production. The role includes the design, qualification, and implementation of automation, fixtures, and manufacturing processes within our Clinical Sequencing Division. Success requires strong technical fundamentals, hands-on manufacturing experience, and the ability to collaborate effectively in a regulated environment.

Requirements

• BS in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Automation Engineering (or closely related field with demonstrated hands-on manufacturing equipment experience).
• 5+ years’ experience in an engineering role with direct manufacturing interface.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with automated manufacturing equipment, including PLC-controlled systems, machine vision, sensors, actuators, and industrial motion hardware.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing and assembly equipment.
• Strong mechanical intuition with the ability to diagnose, adapt, and implement practical solutions using available tools, fixtures, and resources.
• Proven ability to conceptualize, design, and implement technical solutions that improve manufacturing safety, quality, and efficiency.
• Comfortable learning, troubleshooting, and optimizing a wide range of automated and semi-automated equipment.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or data-driven problem solving to eliminate waste and variation.
• Skilled in 3D CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for designing fixtures, tooling, and system layouts.
• Excels at navigating complex manufacturing processes — identifying root causes and driving continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with PLC and HMI logic sufficient to review and troubleshoot; full controls system ownership is not required.
• Willingness to develop deeper capability in PLC/automation with training and support.
• Equally effective leading capital projects or getting hands-on on the production floor to support urgent needs.
• Clear communicator who can translate technical details into actionable insights for cross-functional partners.
• Builds strong relationships across cross-functional teams.
• Solid grasp of manufacturing and assembly processes, with the ability to collaborate on automation and equipment design projects.
• Comfortable balancing design and analysis work with hands-on troubleshooting, equipment modification, and floor-based problem solving.

Nice To Haves

• Prior exposure to regulated environments (FDA and ISO 13485) and equipment qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) is a plus.
• Experience transitioning manual or semi-automated manufacturing processes toward higher levels of automation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing equipment and automation systems from concept and design through installation, qualification, and sustained production support.
• Lead equipment lifecycle activities including URS development, vendor selection, FAT/SAT execution, IQ/OQ/PQ, and production release.
• Troubleshoot mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and controls-related issues to restore equipment functionality and minimize downtime.
• Design and implement fixtures, tooling, and equipment modifications to improve safety, quality, and throughput.
• Ensure product and process quality by implementing equipment controls, validation strategies, and compliant change management.
• Assist with managing preventive maintenance programs and provide hands-on troubleshooting, repair, and operator training.
• Support off-shift manufacturing through participation in the on-call engineering rotation.
• Drive project execution and stakeholder alignment in cGMP and ISO-regulated environments.
• This role requires frequent time on the production floor and direct interaction with manufacturing equipment and automation systems.

Benefits

• We offer competitive remuneration, annual incentive plan bonus, healthcare, and a range of employee benefits.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific offers employment with an innovative, forward-thinking organization, and outstanding career and development prospects.
• We offer an exciting company culture that stands for integrity, intensity, involvement, and innovation!
• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs
• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement
• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy
• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan
• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees