Job Description
Location Rahway, NJ (supports multiple sites)
Role Summary
This role serves as the senior technical and product leader for pilot plant and manufacturing-facing research automation platforms. The Associate Director is accountable for strategy, architecture, delivery, and operational excellence of plant-side automation and OT infrastructure, while also providing hands-on technical leadership and oversight of system integration, cybersecurity, and regulated operations.
This position owns the plant automation technology portfolio end-to-end, from concept and design through validation, deployment, support, and lifecycle management.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and own the strategy for pilot plant and plant-facing research automation platforms
- Act as technical lead and single point of accountability for plant automation solutions for capital end project deployments
- Translate business, scientific, and manufacturing needs into platform roadmaps and execution plans
- Lead OT architecture, infrastructure design, and system integration across plant environments
- Ensure secure, compliant OT networking aligned with ISA/IEC 62443 principles
- Oversee integration of plant automation systems with enterprise platforms (PI, MES, data platforms)
- Lead and approve system design, architecture decisions, and technical standards
- Within the scope of the product, manage capital and non-capital project execution, including scope, estimates, and delivery timelines
- Ensure adherence to SDLC, change control, validation, and GmP requirements
- Partner with Quality, Engineering, Infrastructure, Security, and vendors on delivery and support
- Provide escalation leadership for incidents, root cause analysis, and remediation
- Lead continuous improvement of OT platforms, including obsolescence and modernization
- Manage and mentor R3 engineers and contractors supporting plant automation
- Communicate platform status, risks, and roadmap clearly to leadership and stakeholders
Required Skills and Experience
- 8+ years experience in automation, OT infrastructure, or plant automation systems
- Strong experience with DeltaV, PLCs, Ignition, SCADA, MES
- Hands-on knowledge of OT networking, firewalls, VLANs, and segmented architectures
- Experience designing and operating virtualized OT environments (VMware, Hyper-V)
- Proven experience integrating plant systems with enterprise IT platforms
- Demonstrated leadership in regulated (GmP) environments
- Strong understanding of SDLC, validation, and change management
- Ability to lead multiple concurrent initiatives and cross-functional teams
- Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Automation, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- Master’s degree preferred
**Required Skills: **
Asset Management, Automation Solutions, Benefits Management, Computer Science, Firewall Security, GMP Compliance, Industrial Automation, Infrastructure Design, Management System Development, Operational Excellence, Pilot Plant Operations, Pilot Plants, Plant Automation (Industrial), Product Management, Requirements Management, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs, Technical Leadership, VMware
**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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EEOC GINA Supplement
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:
No relocation
VISA Sponsorship:
No
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
05/11/2026
***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. **