TOPS RunOps Research Application Lead

Merck • Upper Gwynedd Township, PA

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking professionals with the following qualifications, skills and experience:
The successful candidate will be responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the end to end operations management of assigned application portfolios. Further, the candidate will drive operations excellence through aherence to enterprise and organizational standards and industry leading practices. The ideal candidate will be techno-functional and comfortable in both technical and functional operations subject matter.
Education Level:
A bachelor’s degree in IT/Computer Science, or a related field is preferred. However, candidates with proven expertise in IT operations, infrastructure management, and service delivery will also be considered without a formal degree. Industry certifications are highly valued as proof of practical knowledge and skills.
We are seeking energetic, forward-thinking professionals to join our Information Technology group in Technology Operations and Services (TOPS). As part of that team, you will be part of the IT Technology Center, focused on developing and applying advanced capabilities in information sciences and information security. You will have the opportunity to work with global teams to identify and tackle the biggest opportunities and challenges at the intersection of healthcare, information and technology. We offer project-based rotations to help with your professional development, and a flat, collaborative environment. Overall, the IT Technology Center in Rahway, NJ or West Point, PA offers technology professionals incredible opportunities to learn from others across the globe, and to enjoy a reward that technology careers don’t often bring: the satisfaction of helping to save lives.
The successful candidate will be responsible for Oversight and end to end Operations management of applications within assigned portfolio.
With Intermediate knowledge and experience, Operational Lead will independently (or with minimal oversight from Sr. Operational Lead, would lead, drive, and execute the following list of responsibilities:

Requirements

• 3+ years intermediate experience in IT Operations, infrastructure management, and service delivery.
• Intermediate knowledge of SDLC processes and ITSM frameworks and practices
• Practical experience in Agile methodology and SCRUM processes
• Intermediate understanding and experience in DevSecOps, CI/CD Pipelines as well as SRE principles and practices
• Intermediate understanding of the cloud technologies, including networking, storage, database, security and integration services
• Intermediate working knowledge in cloud based DevSecOps solutions
• Intermediate knowledge of software lifecycle management patterns, practices, methods and industry common supporting technologies.
• Intermediate skills in implementing and managing automation tools and processes
• Intermediate knowledge of quality engineering and release management tools and practises
• Intermediate problem-solving skills with the ability to handle complex technical issues.
• Ability to manage and execute technology lifecycle activities, inclusive of incident and problem lifecycle management
• Relevant certifications such as ITIL, PMP, or other industry-recognized credentials are highly desirable
• Self-learner with a drive to automate and simplify IT Operations
• At least 3 years of experience in Research & Development Pharmaceutical domain operations, with proven expertise managing application lifecycles, compliance, and stakeholder engagement in Research & Development environments.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, and manage the execution of application end-to-end lifecycle operations (e.g., monitoring, incident resolution, patching, DR, minor enhancements, archival, decommission, other) for assigned groupings of applications (portfolios); inclusive of their front-end, middleware, reporting, and Infrastructure components.
• Determine, establish, measure, and report application operational performance for relevant targets (e.g., SLA, SLO, SLI, OLA, Error Budget Policy).
• Determine, plan, organize, and managed the execution of application operations performance improvements (e.g., modernization, reliability, recoverability, FinOps, SLA/SLO/OLA/other).
• Plan, organize, and manage the ongoing adherence of assigned application groupings to Company standards (e.g., operations excellence, compliance, audit, DevXOps, security, other).
• Responsible for setting, publishing, governing, and driving operations standards and procedures across the enterprise
• Detect, surface, socialize, and action application operations insights (e.g., trending, performance, results) with stakeholders.
• Plan, organize, socialize, and implement application annual support plans (e.g., scope, estimates, resourcing, contracting, other).
• Manage the resolution of application support issues (non-Prod and Prod) and subsequent problem investigations (RCA/CAPA).
• Manage customer and stakeholder application operations service support escalations and CSAT/NPS.
• Collaborate with peers, customers, and others on common opportunities to simplify, optimize, and enhance application operations support.
• Partner with Customer Success Manager on new engagements, improvements, and escalations.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration
• Challenging career
• Professional growth based on performance
• Innovative and flexible working environment
• Wide range of benefits
• The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.
• We offer a comprehensive package of 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.

What This Job Offers

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