Manager, Plant Engineering & Operations

Galderma•Boston, MA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, Plant Engineering & Operations role provides operational engineering leadership for a regulated manufacturing site, ensuring that utility and facility systems support business needs, production continuity, quality standards, EHS expectations, regulatory compliance, and site performance. The role is accountable for the operation, maintenance, reliability, lifecycle planning, compliance, and continuous improvement of site utility and facility systems, including water production and distribution, domestic/process/purified water where applicable, compressed air, black steam, clean steam, chillers, chilled water networks, cooling towers, electrical infrastructure, fire systems, HVAC interfaces, clean areas, wastewater/waste liquid treatment, buildings, grounds, offices, and general site infrastructure. The role also leads the Integrated Facilities Management, including internal resources and external service providers for hard and soft services such as facility maintenance and repair, cleaning, pest control, grounds, office and workplace services, building-related services, space utilization, and site support functions. The role is accountable for implementing locally the Global Plant Engineering strategy, alignment of standards, asset reliability expectations, engineering governance, sustainability objectives, compliance requirements, insurance risk and operational excellence priorities.

Requirements

Plant engineering, utilities, facilities, and infrastructure technical expertise.
GMP / cGxP, quality systems, validation / qualification, and inspection readiness
Integrated Facilities Management, including hard and soft services
CAPEX support, project sponsorship, business case development etc.
OPEX / CAPEX budget planning
Automation / BMS interface knowledge – reporting for KPIs (energy, water etc)
Operational leadership in regulated environments
Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability
Strong risk-based decision-making
Supplier and contractor governance
Continuous improvement mindset
Ability to advise the business on facility and utility limitations
Supplier and contractor governance
People leadership, including coaching, feedback, recruitment etc.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, preferably Mechanical, Electrical, Process, Automation, Chemical, Industrial, Utilities, Building Services, or a related technical discipline
8–10 years of related experience in Plant Engineering, Utilities, Facilities, Maintenance, Engineering Operations, or a comparable regulated manufacturing environment.
Minimum 5 years of leadership, supervisory, or managerial experience preferred
Fluent written and spoken English required and Site Local language
Previous experience within cGxP, pharmaceutical, medical aesthetics, consumer healthcare, cosmetics, sterile/injectable manufacturing, or another regulated industry is highly recommended.
Experience with utility systems, facility systems, maintenance programs, shutdown planning, reliability programs, site services, external contractors, project handover, OPEX/CAPEX planning, and cross-functional stakeholder management

Responsibilities

Lead the local Plant Engineering and Operations function to ensure safe, compliant, reliable, and efficient site operations.
Provide engineering leadership for manufacturing operations across e.g. Consumer Cosmetics, Rx/OTC, and Injectable Aesthetics areas.
Ensure engineering services support production continuity, product quality, EHS requirements, and regulatory compliance.
Act as the primary site engineering interface for Operations, Quality, EHS, Technical Services, Validation, Procurement, and Global Engineering.
Lead site engineering governance forums, performance reviews, issue escalation, and improvement planning.
Maintain strong operational discipline across maintenance, utilities, infrastructure, and facilities activities.
Translate global plant engineering strategy, standards, and performance expectations into local site execution plans.
Accountable for the reliable and compliant operation of site utility and infrastructure systems, including but not limited to: Water production, treatment, storage, and distribution systems; Purified water, process water, potable water, and associated monitoring requirements, where applicable; Compressed air generation and distribution; Black steam and clean steam generation and distribution; Chilled water systems, chillers, cooling towers, and associated distribution networks; Electrical infrastructure, switchgear, power distribution, emergency power, and resilience systems; HVAC utilities interfaces supporting classified and non-classified manufacturing areas; Waste liquid treatment, effluent handling, and environmental control systems; Process utilities required to support, depending on site, to cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and injectable manufacturing; Facility infrastructure, buildings, roads, drainage, roofs, civil assets, fire protection systems and site services.
Give input to maintenance strategy execution for site utilities, facilities, and infrastructure assets.
Liaise with Maintenance & Reliability teams to ensure robust preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs are in place.
Help drive asset reliability, uptime, and lifecycle performance using data-led maintenance and reliability tools.
Monitor and improve KPIs such as asset availability, maintenance compliance, breakdown frequency, recurring failures, backlog, schedule adherence, and cost performance.
Lead root cause analysis for significant equipment, utility, and infrastructure failures.
Ensure maintenance plans are risk-based and aligned with GMP, EHS, business continuity, and production criticality.
Maintain accurate asset registers, equipment hierarchy, criticality assessments, spare parts strategies, and lifecycle replacement plans.
Support development of site capital plans for asset renewal, reliability improvement, compliance remediation, and capacity expansion.
Ensure engineering operations comply with applicable GMP, GDP, GEP, EHS, local regulatory, and company requirements.
Maintain engineering systems in an inspection-ready state.
Ensure appropriate documentation, maintenance records, calibration interfaces, change controls, deviations, CAPAs, and validation support are completed in accordance with quality requirements.
Partner with Quality and Validation teams to ensure qualified utilities and systems remain in a validated state.
Support internal and external audits, regulatory inspections, and customer audits as the engineering subject matter expert.
Ensure engineering changes are assessed for quality, safety, validation, and operational impact.
Promote a strong culture of compliance, documentation accuracy, and right-first-time execution.
Lead the site Integrated Facilities Management model, including governance of outsourced service providers and internal facilities resources.
Manage service delivery across hard and soft services, which may include building maintenance, cleaning, landscaping, security interfaces, waste management, pest control, workplace services, and technical facilities operations.
Ensure IFM suppliers deliver against agreed service levels, compliance obligations, safety requirements, cost targets, and continuous improvement expectations.
Own supplier performance reviews, contract governance, issue escalation, and improvement plans.
Ensure facilities services are appropriate for a regulated manufacturing environment and do not compromise GMP, EHS, business continuity, or employee experience.
Partner with Procurement and Legal on IFM contract scope, renewals, commercial performance, and supplier risk management.
Ensure all engineering, maintenance, utilities, and facilities activities are performed safely and in compliance with EHS standards.
Lead engineering risk assessments for utilities, infrastructure, maintenance activities, and contractor works.
Drive energy efficiency, water stewardship, waste reduction, emissions reduction, and sustainability initiatives across site engineering operations.
Support site decarbonization, energy optimization, and resource efficiency targets.
Ensure statutory inspections, permits, pressure systems, electrical safety, confined space controls, contractor safety, and environmental systems are managed effectively.
Own or support business continuity planning for critical utilities and infrastructure.
Ensure emergency response plans are in place for major utility failures, infrastructure incidents, and site service disruptions.
Maintain risk registers with Insurer actions followed and alignment with Business Continuity Plans.
Provide site engineering input into capital investment planning, project prioritization, and engineering project execution.
Support project delivery for utility upgrades, infrastructure improvements, compliance remediation, capacity expansion, and asset replacement.
Ensure local operational requirements are captured in project scopes, user requirements, design reviews, commissioning, qualification, and handover.
Partner with Global Engineering and project teams to ensure projects meet site needs and are operationally sustainable.
Ensure smooth transition from project delivery into routine operation, including maintenance plans, spare parts, training, documentation, qualification, and asset master data.
Lead or support technical change controls associated with utilities, facilities, infrastructure, and equipment modifications.
Lead, coach, and develop the local engineering operations team.
Build capability in maintenance excellence, reliability, utilities operation, GMP compliance, EHS, troubleshooting, and contractor management.
Set clear objectives, manage performance, and create development plans for team members.
Establish a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration, and service to operations.
Ensure adequate technical capability, succession planning, and resource planning to support site needs.
Promote cross-functional teamwork with Operations, Quality, EHS, Technical Services, Validation, Finance, Procurement, and Global Engineering.