Senior Principal Engineer - Automation Engineering – Biologics

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly · Pharma · Lebanon, IN

Senior Principal Engineer role focused on automation engineering within Biologics manufacturing at Eli Lilly. The role involves providing automation support for operating areas and capital projects, ensuring reliable and compliant control applications and systems. Responsibilities include technical leadership, mentoring, overseeing system integrators, designing and implementing DCS/SCADA software, troubleshooting control loops, supporting electronic systems for data capture, maintaining validated systems, and supporting capital projects. The role requires experience in biopharma engineering, SCADA, DCS, PLC, and MES systems, with a strong emphasis on GMP and computer system validation.

What you'd actually do

  1. Provide automation support for one or more operating areas across site and/or for capital projects.
  2. Ensure that reliable and compliant control applications and systems are used in the manufacturing at Foundry.
  3. Influence and implement within the process control organization and across functional disciplines to support the process control technical agenda, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives.
  4. Technically lead and oversee the work of Site Area leads and System Integrator including Functional Requirements, Design Specifications, DCS Application Software, Test Specifications.
  5. Lead a team of automation engineers supporting commissioning

Skills

Required

  • B.S. in Engineering
  • 8+ years working experience in Biopharma engineering, operations, or manufacturing
  • Experience in design, development, commissioning and qualification of highly automated greenfield manufacturing sites utilizing SCADA, DCS, PLC and MES systems (DeltaV, Rockwell, Syncade, etc).
  • Experience in facilitating and driving decision-making at an organizational level.
  • Knowledge of GMP, regulatory requirements, computer system validation

Nice to have

  • Automation Engineering, preferably in Biologics manufacturing.
  • Process control work implementation and coordination
  • DCS and SCADA software design, coding/configuration and testing
  • Perform automation engineering activities including design, tuning and troubleshooting of control loops
  • Implement and support electronic systems (such as plant historians, applications and software integration) used to capture process automation related production data
  • Automation support for capital projects including new product introductions
  • Promoting the use of automation to improve productivity, operational efficiency and compliance
  • Developing a ‘network’ of corporate contacts and leveraging corporate expertise when needed
  • Set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
  • Demonstrated initiative, good planning and organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks, commitment to task completion and timelines.
  • Possess a keen technical curiosity and has demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and a desire for continuous improvement
  • Demonstrated ability to influence peers and business partners
  • Good written and verbal communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences

What the JD emphasized

  • GMP operations
  • GMP manufacturing
  • computer system validation
  • validated state of the site control systems