Job Description
The Enabling Facilities (EF) group within the Chemical Engineering Research & Development (CERD) Department is seeking a highly motivated individual to work in a fast-paced job that provides a high degree of technical and project management responsibility. The Senior Specialist – Manufacturing Automation position will report to the Associate Director, Engineering, Automation Lead position and will be a member of the EF Team at the Rahway NJ facility. EF is responsible for development of new technologies/capabilities, execution of capital and non-capital improvement projects, and the automation system assets spanning production, utility systems and associated infrastructure. Responsibilities of the Senior Specialist – Manufacturing Automation include the following:
The automation engineer role at the Senior Specialist level will serve as technical SME and capital team member supporting the Modality Agnostic Chemistry Scaleup (MACS) Center. This is a new potent, multi-modality (small molecule, macrocyclic peptides, bioconjugates) Drug Substance development and GMP clinical manufacturing plant currently planned in Rahway, New Jersey. The automation engineer role at the Senior Specialist level will serve as a team member of the MACS Center design, commissioning, and qualifications teams; and will go on to support new and/or existing facilities across the Small Molecule Process Research & Development (SM PR&D) network.
As the facility is currently under construction, the selected candidate will contribute to automation equipment and software design, system commissioning/qualification, as well as other automation areas critical activities to enable facility startup. The selected candidate is expected to be a key part of the MACS Project Automation Team and foster a culture of collaboration, learning and innovation. This will also require close collaboration with the development engineers & chemists, compliance representatives, and other team members. This role will be part of the broader Enabling Facilities Automation Team supporting facility operations, process development activities, compliance investigation, change management and the authoring of GMP documentation in any of our enabling facilities, and will help to develop future strategies for support optimization and expansion.
Key Responsibilities:
- The automaton engineer will troubleshoot automation and instrumentation issues, perform root cause analysis and implement corrective/preventive actions to improve reliability, safety, and energy performance.
- Develop deployment strategies for various systems in the facility.
- Manage system patches, firmware upgrades, backup/restore strategies, and cybersecurity hardening aligned with corporate policies.
- Ensure robust data integrity and audit trails suitable for operations.
- Serve as a technical lead for capital projects work to design, install, and commission new equipment to support. Write, review or execute test documents.
- Provide on-call support rotation for facility operations as needed.
- Collaborate closely with operations, maintenance, and IT to align automation solutions with uptime, safety, sustainability, and efficiency goals.
- Support continuous improvement initiatives: standardization, modular code libraries, alarm rationalization, and enhanced diagnostics/monitoring for utilities equipment.
Additional Supported Areas
As required and in addition to support of current capital projects the Senior Specialist may provide direct support to other areas such as:
Small Scale Organics Pilot Plant (SSO): The SSO uses an Emerson DeltaV Distributed Control System. The SSO is a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing facility in the Process Research and Development (PR&D) organization. The pilot plant’s mission is to serve as PR&D’s internal node for small molecule drug substance clinical manufacture, and as preferred site for first pilot of commercial small molecule processes, enabling gain of critical internal experience with scale-up of manufacturing GMP steps, demonstration of new manufacturing technology/processes, training opportunities for improved manufacturing process development and seamless tech transfer to commercial sites.
Hazardous Reactions Lab (HRL):** **The Hazardous Reactions Lab (HRL), or Bldg. 801, uses GE PLC 90-30 processors and Genius I/O blocks. The Graphical interface is an Intellution iFix platform run on redundant SCADAS and seven workstations, with historical data collected on a local historian as well as OSI PI. The B801 High Pressure Lab and Low-Pressure Lab Automation Systems support Hydrogenation Hazardous reactions using a wide variety of vessels and equipment. The High-Pressure Barricades Cells are divided up into ten cells where each cell is electrically classified as Class 1 Division 2 Hazardous Area, Group B.
**Education Minimum Requirement: **
Bachelor’s degree in Automation, Engineering, Science, or Computer-Programming related degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience, or a Masters degree with 5 years of relevant experience.
Required Experience and Skills:
- Pharmaceutical Operations experience, in a GMP Pilot Plant, Manufacturing environment or related facility.
- Ability to understand, update, design and implement required code modifications in DeltaV or PLC based systems (i.e., Rockwell)
- Experience with automation system design, start-up and/or qualification.
- Experience providing project level direction to contractors and/or third-party vendor staff.
- Knowledge of all the details of automation including wiring, electrical, device selection and integration.
- Experienced problem solver/troubleshooter, skilled in root cause analysis.
- Ability to prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and cGMP documents.
- Experience with Quality Systems.
- Experience in supporting compliance investigations and change management activities.
- Familiarity with US and EU GMP and Safety compliance regulations.
- Effective interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Excellent organizational skills to multi-task.
- Desire and willingness to learn, contribute and lead.
- Project Management experience with demonstrated skills, and ability to lead larger teams in complex solution and problem resolution.
- Candidates must be able to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
- Strong analytical thinking and technical writing skills.
- Proficient in MS Office Platform and document storage systems.
- A high level of innovation, creativity, and self-initiative.
Desired Experience and Skills:
- Experience with DeltaV Live and Batch, Charms I/O, and wireless technologies.
- Ability to perform PID tuning of instrumentation & control loops.
- Working knowledge of general OPC and Modbus interfaces.
- Knowledge of PLCs, HMIs or other types of Control Systems including Rockwell and Siemens.
- Subject Matter Expert on Control Systems.
- Understanding of Object-Oriented languages with experience programming systems in a professional setting.
- Strong background in IT systems; specifically, integration of Automation systems with IT systems.
- Networking experience; working knowledge of Enterprise Networking and local control networks.
- Experience providing technical mentorship of less experienced engineers and training if operations personnel in use and troubleshooting of automated systems.
- Experience with coordinating maintenance activities around processing activities to support reliable facility operation.
- Experience in Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) and/or Level of Protection Analysis (LOPA).
**Required Skills: **
Audit Management, Automation Engineering, Automation in Systems Integration, Automation Systems Design, Business Process Improvements, Data Integrity, Data Management, Deployment Management, Emerson DeltaV, Equipment Monitoring, GMP Compliance, Networks, Pilot Plant Operations, PLC Programming, Problem Management, Production Process Development, Quality Management, Real-Time Programming, Rockwell Automation Software, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Systems Troubleshooting
**Preferred Skills: **
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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
$106,200.00 - $167,200.00
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
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**Employee Status: **
Regular
Relocation:
Domestic
VISA Sponsorship:
Yes
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable
Shift:
1st - Day
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
05/15/2026
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