Project Director, Infrastructure
About The Position
AbbVie is recruiting a Project Director, Infrastructure to join the core start-up leadership team for its new manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina. The campus will integrate advanced manufacturing, laboratory technologies, and AI to support production of immunology, oncology, and neuroscience medicines. Its first phase includes manufacturing facilities, next-generation laboratories, a warehouse, administrative offices, and employee wellness facilities. The role provides operational and process leadership for Facilities Engineering, leading short- to medium-term planning and execution while supporting career development through coaching and feedback. The Project Director will lead infrastructure strategy across sites and deliver the Durham campus infrastructure portfolio, coordinating planning, design, procurement, contracting, construction, commissioning, and handover. The position partners with Global Engineering, the Construction Director, Commissioning and Start-up teams, Operations, and other stakeholders to integrate requirements and achieve approved scope, schedule, cost, delivery, and quality objectives. The role also leads and develops managers and engineers, oversees cross-site utilities and building systems practices, ensures facilities work meets safety and regulatory requirements, and implements workforce and succession plans. The position involves travel 50% of the time.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field.
- At least 15 years of relevant experience.
- Extensive experience leading complex, multidisciplinary capital projects or programs from planning and design through construction, commissioning, and handover.
- Strong technical expertise in cGMP manufacturing, utilities, and design principles.
- Experience managing scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, procurement, and contractor performance.
- Proven ability to lead and develop managers responsible for multiple project packages.
- Ability to work effectively in matrixed organizations with engineering, construction, commissioning, operations, procurement, and other cross-functional teams.
- Ability to establish priorities across a portfolio and align package-level execution with program objectives.
- Ability to develop procurement and contracting strategies and oversee contractor performance and change management.
- Ability to use budgets, forecasts, integrated schedules, milestones, and performance measures to monitor delivery and address variances.
- Ability to identify risks, constraints, and interfaces and develop practical mitigation plans.
- Ability to integrate campus and operational requirements, constructability, maintainability, vendor inputs, and project interfaces with technical teams.
- Understanding of construction execution and coordination across construction, commissioning, start-up, qualification, and operations.
- Strong communication, stakeholder-influence, leadership, coaching, and mentorship capabilities.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree or relevant professional credentials.
- Experience implementing Factory of the Future concepts.
Responsibilities
- Provide operational and process leadership for Facilities Engineering, including short- to medium-term planning and execution.
- Lead infrastructure strategy across multiple sites and guide planning and design priorities for facilities and utility systems.
- Oversee cross-site practices for utilities management and building systems performance, reinforcing consistent operational standards and service expectations.
- Direct renovation and infrastructure programs through site leadership, aligning scope, sequencing, and constraints with portfolio priorities.
- Ensure risks, findings, corrective actions, safety requirements, and regulatory requirements for facilities work are addressed through closure.
- Develop site leaders and engineers through disciplined planning routines, stakeholder alignment, coaching, and documented decisions and actions.
- Lead and optimize operational aspects across teams and implement workforce and succession plans.
- Lead Durham infrastructure projects—including campus development, utilities, the Spine, warehouse, laboratory, administrative, office, and support buildings—from planning through design, construction, commissioning, and handover.
- Coordinate campus priorities, project interfaces, dependencies, design inputs, and vendor-provided information to meet approved scope, schedule, cost, delivery, and quality objectives.
- Establish and maintain integrated plans, budgets, schedules, milestones, and performance measures across the infrastructure portfolio.
- Identify risks, constraints, and decision points early; develop mitigation plans; and provide stakeholders and leadership with timely progress and issue updates.
- Represent infrastructure requirements in design development led by Global Engineering, incorporating operational needs, constructability, maintainability, local conditions, and campus requirements.
- Coordinate design reviews and stakeholder input, integrate project interfaces, and help resolve design issues.
- Develop and execute procurement plans; establish selection criteria; coordinate bid and proposal evaluations; assess vendor capabilities and delivery risks; and recommend vendors and contractors.
- Develop and apply contracting approaches, including contract packaging, delivery models, commercial terms, and risk allocation; oversee contract formation and administration, change control, performance monitoring, and issue resolution.
- Partner with the Construction Director to define, validate, and control scope from design through construction and coordinate designers, contractors, vendors, campus stakeholders, and other projects.
- Assess proposed changes for impacts on cost, schedule, quality, and delivery, and support timely decisions that protect project outcomes.
- Work with Commissioning and Start-up and Operations teams to prepare infrastructure for safe start-up, commissioning, and qualification.
- Lead and develop package managers, build team accountability and collaboration, and improve team capability.
- Apply project-management practices and lessons learned to improve delivery consistency, performance, and outcomes.
Benefits
- Paid time off, including vacation, holidays, and sick time.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees.
- 401(k) for eligible employees.
- Eligibility to participate in long-term incentive programs.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
