Associate Director, Engineering - Digital Lead

Job Description

Our Animal Health Division is investing $895 million in expanding our manufacturing and research & development facilities in De Soto, Kansas — the state’s largest economic development project to date. As a Digital lead, you will be part of a world-class team at our Center of Excellence in the Animal Health Corridor, contributing directly to the production of veterinary products that improve animal health and welfare globally. As a Technical Digital lead, you will be given the opportunity to challenge and grow your talents, as well as development of interpersonal and leadership skills to overcome difficult situations and solve technical problems.  You will support the start-up of a new manufacturing facility by ensuring that digital solutions fully meet process and business needs, with a strong focus on MES (Manufacturing Execution System).

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as the primary point of contact for digital topics related to the manufacturing process, translating process and operational needs into system requirements.

• Collaborate with the central/global digital team, IT, engineering, operations, QA, and automation to design and implement digital capabilities (e.g., MES, data collection, eLogbook’s, dashboards) that align with site standards, GMP, and business processes.

• Lead the on-site MES implementation, including defining requirements (recipes, master batch records, workflows), supporting configuration and testing, coordinating validation activities, and ensuring integration with systems such as ERP, automation, LIMS (Lab Information Management System), and data historians.

• Represent the site in digital and MES project forums, contribute to planning and issue resolution, and provide clear updates on progress and risks to stakeholders and site leadership.

• Support user readiness and adoption by contributing to training, documentation, and change management activities; collect user feedback and drive improvements in digital workflows.

• Provide on-site support during commissioning, qualification, and initial production, helping troubleshoot MES and digital workflow issues and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

• Ensure compliance of digital solutions with Gapp, data integrity, cybersecurity, and internal standards, and support good governance of MES configuration and master data.

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Bachelor's Degree, preferably in science, engineering, or supply chain management with at least eight (8) years of experience working in vaccine/biopharma manufacturing

Required Experience and Skills

• Strong working knowledge and experience with MES implementation and usage

• Strong knowledge of vaccine/biopharma manufacturing

• Strong knowledge of the change control system

• Strong knowledge of SAP

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Understanding of cGMP, and Process Automation System Life Cycle methodologies

• Record of effectively leading teams through the change management process

• Consistent demonstration of strong leadership, communication, interpersonal, teamwork

• Technical and problem-solving skills to motivate cross-functional team responsible for implementation

• Ability to prioritize, focus on and obtain business results

• Principled and effective communication and organizational skills

Schedule Requirements

• Able to work first shift, Monday through Friday as base schedule

• Off-shift coverage may be required during periods of electronic Batch Record go-live

GAHM ILC

Required Skills:

Accountability, Applied Engineering, Change Management, Data Integrity, Digital Workflow Management, Prioritization, Process Automations, Product Formulation, Project Management, Technical Support, Vaccine Manufacturing

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

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. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

04/28/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.