Senior Operational Excellence Process Engineer/Digital Champion

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany•Tamaqua, PA

11h•$130,000 - $165,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Operational Excellence Process Engineer/Digital Champion is an onsite role in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, with less than 10% travel required to meet business needs. The role identifies and delivers high-value productivity improvements for Hometown Synthesis/Purification Operations, including Thin Films and Specialty Gas, by integrating Lean Six Sigma methods with digital solutions. It works with the OE Global Network, Digital Transformation, Operations, Maintenance, and Global Engineering to deliver quick wins and identify longer-term operational excellence and digital opportunities. The position also enables data access and analytics to improve productivity across HVM processes, fleet builds, and new product launches. The role does not offer work-authorization sponsorship; external applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or a related scientific field.
At least 5 years of manufacturing or process engineering experience with Lean Six Sigma experience, including demonstrated problem-solving in chemical or physical processing environments.
Green Belt certification or similar, at minimum.
Hands-on experience applying DFSS, DMAIC, RCCA, and FMEA.
Experience with data storytelling, basic analytics, and using real-time data to drive decisions.
Must be eligible to work in the United States; work-authorization sponsorship is not offered.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree, preferably an MS or PhD in Chemical Engineering or a related field.
Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
Data analytics experience, such as SPC/SQC or multivariate analysis, and familiarity with data platforms such as Palantir Foundry or similar.
Strong leadership, organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills across operators, engineers, and leadership.
Ability to work effectively in a matrixed team, partner across functions, and manage stakeholder change.
Experience in technology transfer from small to large scale, commissioning/start-up, and operation of systems used in electronics materials manufacturing, including synthesis, purification, filling, and storage.
Knowledge of semiconductor materials, packaging, processes, and customer experience.

Responsibilities

Lead productivity initiatives across synthesis and purification product lines.
Develop and maintain Value Stream Maps (VSMs) and Daily Management Systems (DMS).
Drive process variation reduction using root-cause analysis (RCCA), FMEA, and DOE.
Use dashboards, apps, and data platforms to access and interpret process data; apply SPC and analytics to improve OEE, throughput, and quality.
Work with Digital Solutions and Data & Digital IT (DDIT) to improve data access, data quality, and analytics readiness for manufacturing decisions.
Own Management of Change (MOC) for operational excellence implementations.
Design and deliver training on VSM, DMS, RCA, 5S, DOE, and digital tools; mentor site teams in problem-solving and data storytelling.
Define and track KPIs, including WAVE-related productivity, cycle time, scrap, yield, and on-time delivery; report to leadership and escalate risks and opportunities with remediation plans.
Support technology transfer from pilot to commercial scale and contribute to commissioning and start-up activities for operational-excellence-driven projects.
Capture learnings for future scale-up across product lines.