Manager, Manufacturing Support Engineering

Thermo Fisher Scientific • St. Louis, MO

3d

About The Position

The Manager, Manufacturing Support Engineering leads the Manufacturing Support Engineering (MSE) team in providing 24/7 manufacturing equipment support. Reporting to the Senior Manager of Engineering, this role maintains equipment readiness through preventive maintenance, work notifications, troubleshooting, and improvements, including associated automation and infrastructure. The manager balances urgent production needs with planned maintenance and sustained reliability while protecting safety, product quality, and cGMP compliance.

The role develops team capability, coordinates resources across shifts, and partners with Manufacturing, Quality, Automation, and Capital Engineering on equipment qualification and new capabilities. Improvements are driven by failure risk management, Practical Process Improvement (PPI), and sound engineering principles. MSE activities must follow EH&S requirements, site SOPs, and site and corporate standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• At least 8 years of experience in a GMP environment.
• At least 5 years supporting pharmaceutical equipment maintenance and manufacturing, included within the overall GMP experience requirement.
• Proficiency with maintenance or work management systems and Microsoft Office.
• Strong knowledge of cGMP requirements and controlled documentation practices.
• Experience troubleshooting manufacturing equipment, managing preventive maintenance, and improving equipment reliability.
• Experience with equipment qualification, technical documentation, and associated automation systems.
• Experience assessing equipment, system, automation, and process changes through controlled change management.
• Sound judgment when resolving equipment failures while protecting safety, product quality, and compliance.
• Ability to build effective relationships with Manufacturing, Quality, Automation, Capital Engineering, service providers, and clients.
• Effective coaching and leadership skills, including developing technical capability, managing performance, and leading change.
• Clear written, verbal, and presentation skills, including explaining technical risks to site leadership.
• Ability to prioritize competing demands and allocate resources in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.
• Ability to use equipment history and work management data to identify recurring failures and measure improvements.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to coordinate technical specialists across multiple equipment issues and projects.

Nice To Haves

• At least 2 years of supervisory experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead MSE staffing, shift handoffs, and escalation processes to provide consistent equipment support across all shifts, weekends, and holidays.
• Manage preventive maintenance planning, scheduling, execution, and closure; coordinate equipment access and assess overdue maintenance and deferrals through approved procedures.
• Own work notifications from assessment through execution, documentation, and closure, prioritizing work according to safety, quality, equipment criticality, and production impact.
• Guide troubleshooting and repairs, coordinate specialists and vendors, and verify required checks and approvals before equipment returns to service.
• Allocate resources across breakdowns, planned maintenance, and improvements; regularly review backlog and aging work to address unresolved risks.
• Communicate equipment status, recovery plans, and risks to Manufacturing, site leadership, and clients, and lead escalation during significant equipment events.
• Support equipment selection, installation, commissioning, and qualification with Capital Engineering; establish maintenance plans, documentation, spare parts, and training before handover.
• Apply PPI, lean methods, failure trend analysis, and root cause analysis to improve equipment reliability and prevent repeat failures.
• Track preventive maintenance completion, work backlog and aging, downtime, repeat failures, and improvement results to guide team priorities.
• Maintain accurate maintenance history, controlled procedures, and technical records; provide equipment documentation and technical explanations for audits and inspections.
• Support deviations, investigations, corrective and preventive actions, and change control with Quality, assessing maintenance, qualification, and automation impacts.
• Coach team members, manage performance, and maintain training and technical coverage across shifts.
• Coordinate spare parts and external service support.
• Ensure safe work practices, timely documentation, and compliance with EH&S requirements, site SOPs, and cGMP expectations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager