Senior Specialist, Engineering

Merck • Upper Gwynedd Township, PA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Senior Manufacturing Automation Engineer — Hybrid (West Point Vaccine Manufacturing)
The Senior Manufacturing Automation Engineer is responsible for Life Cycle Management and Connected Instruments for the west point vaccine manufacturing facility.
Automation system lifecycle management encompasses the assessment, scoping, funding, and execution of system upgrades to mitigate obsolescence risks and improve cybersecurity posture. This role coordinates with facility automation leads and business capital owners to define upgrade scope, secure capital approval, and manage project delivery. Key automation technologies include Distributed Control Systems (DeltaV), Programmable Logic Controllers (Allen-Bradley and Siemens), OEM process equipment (washers, autoclaves, filter-integrity testers), and purified water systems (WFI and clean-steam systems).
Management of connected instruments covers the support, qualification, and integration of manufacturing instruments, including portable particle counters, pH/conductivity meters, spectrophotometers, and additional integrated instruments. The role is responsible for executing on-site support and qualification activities for site-owned devices and coordinating with global product owners to manage middleware and integrations with target systems such as MES and LIMS. As this is a growing area, the position will participate in planning new qualifications and in reviewing and approving SDLC documentation required for deployments in new areas. The role will typically be supported by one to two dedicated contractors who assist with support and qualification work.

Requirements

• Five years in process automation or equivalent
• Experience in Automation Platforms such as DCS's (DeltaV), PLCs (Allen Bradley, Siemens), SCADA, OSI PI, Batch Reporting (Informetric Info Batch)

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Computer System Validation
• Familiar with lean manufacturing principles with an ability to convert business logic and requirements into detailed system requirements

Responsibilities

• Provide direct support to the operation of automation systems in manufacturing including troubleshooting of ongoing operation, investigations of automation anomalies to prevent a recurrence, and development of changes to code/configuration to improve system performance
• System administration including identifying trends, process monitoring, maintaining system documentation, data querying, and analysis, and upskilling operations and supports groups in the functions and use of automated systems
• Support projects including the introduction of new equipment, integration of new system functionality and obsolescence management, replacement, or upgrade to deliver tangible improvements to overall production unit performance
• Communicate daily with the business, technical, and quality representatives within the area of support through the tier process
• Understand and support all GMPs, safety, and environmental regulations

Benefits

• Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days.
• annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees