Senior Manager, HVAC

AbbVie•Durham, NC

6d•$124,500 - $236,500

About The Position

AbbVie is recruiting a Senior Manager, HVAC for its new manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina. The campus will include manufacturing facilities, next-generation laboratories, a warehouse, administrative offices, and employee wellness facilities, supporting production of medicines in immunology, oncology, and neuroscience. The role leads technical workstreams and contributes to program outcomes through actionable methods and analyses, cross-functional technical collaboration, and advice on complex technical decisions and risks. It designs site-level processes and improvements, leads process improvement and optimization, conducts process validation and troubleshooting, and establishes standards for technical documentation and change execution. The position also guides engineers through technical decisions and delivers high-quality technical outputs for complex projects. The Senior Manager provides technical leadership and subject matter expertise for pharmaceutical HVAC system design and implementation across GMP manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, and support areas. Systems include air handling units, cleanroom air distribution, HEPA filtration, temperature and humidity control, room pressurization, exhaust systems, and building automation/HVAC controls. The role leads design reviews and provides operational input throughout project execution, addressing process requirements, contamination control, GMP requirements, industry standards, capacity, redundancy, maintainability, energy efficiency, and lifecycle considerations. The role leads cleanroom environmental control and contamination-control strategies; HVAC start-up, commissioning, and qualification; and system turnover to site operations. After turnover, it establishes and manages HVAC operating and maintenance programs, including procedures, maintenance, HEPA filter management, calibration, alarms, spare parts, training, monitoring, and cleanroom certification and requalification. It partners with Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, Engineering, Maintenance, Automation, and EHS to sustain safe, compliant, and reliable HVAC and environmental-control systems throughout the facility lifecycle. The position requires a bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a similar related discipline and 8 or more years of relevant industry experience. Experience in drug substance, drug product, biologics, and/or aseptic sterile fill finish is required. The role involves travel 50% of the time. The stated annual salary range is USD 124,500–236,500.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a similar related discipline.
At least 8 years of relevant industry experience.
Experience in drug substance, drug product, biologics, and/or aseptic sterile fill finish.
Demonstrated ability to partner cross-functionally with successful teams in a GMP manufacturing environment.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in a start-up facility.

Responsibilities

Lead technical workstreams and contribute to program outcomes by developing actionable methods and analyses, collaborating with cross-functional partners, and advising on complex technical decisions and risks.
Design site-level processes and improvements by defining operating ranges, critical parameters, and acceptance criteria that support efficient, high-quality production.
Lead process improvement and optimization workstreams, define technical approaches, coordinate trials with production, and document results.
Conduct process validation and troubleshooting by analyzing performance data, investigating deviations, and drafting corrective actions and supporting documentation for review and approval.
Establish technical standards for process documentation and change execution, ensuring methods, assumptions, and evidence are complete.
Guide engineers through technical decisions by leading working sessions, documenting decision logic, and tracking actions to closure.
Deliver technical outputs for complex projects and programs, validate methods, document results and assumptions, ensure adherence to applicable standards and controls, and communicate progress, impacts, and recommended mitigations.
Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise for design and implementation of pharmaceutical HVAC systems supporting GMP manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, and support areas.
Lead HVAC design reviews and provide operational input throughout project execution, ensuring systems and facility zoning meet process, contamination-control, GMP, and industry requirements.
Lead cleanroom environmental-control and contamination-control strategies, including pressure cascades, air-change requirements, airflow patterns, filtration, temperature and humidity requirements, recovery performance, room classification, and segregation of processes and flows.
Lead HVAC start-up, commissioning, and qualification, including equipment start-up, testing and balancing, controls verification, cleanroom certification, environmental performance testing, protocol execution, deviation resolution, punch-list management, and turnover to site operations.
Establish and manage HVAC operating and maintenance programs after system turnover, including procedures, preventive and predictive maintenance, HEPA filter management, calibration, alarm management, spare parts, training, system monitoring, and cleanroom certification and requalification.
Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, Engineering, Maintenance, Automation, and EHS to manage deviations, investigations, change controls, system performance, reliability improvements, energy optimization, capacity planning, and continuous improvement.