Automation Engineering Manager, Drug Product Manufacturing Lead

Location: Wilson, North Carolina, United States; full-time on-site support required. Frequent travel of more than 25% is required during facility design and project execution.

Company

Johnson & Johnson MedTech develops healthcare and pharmaceutical solutions focused on improving patient health and advancing innovative treatments.

What you will do

• Lead, coach, and develop the Drug Product automation team and extended delivery organization.
• Define automation strategy, control-system architecture, engineering standards, software practices, and lifecycle roadmaps.
• Lead automation delivery from concept and detailed design through controls development, FAT/SAT, commissioning, qualification, start-up, handover, and lifecycle support.
• Provide technical authority for automation supporting formulation, aseptic filling, inspection, device assembly, packaging, robotics, and material handling.
• Oversee PLC/DCS, SCADA/HMI, batch control, motion control, vision systems, robotics, industrial networks, OT infrastructure, MES, historians, and system interfaces.
• Manage project cost, quality, schedule, scope, suppliers, risks, operational readiness, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Science, or a related technical discipline.
• At least 8 years of progressive industrial automation and controls engineering experience in pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Direct technical ownership of automated manufacturing systems in cGMP environments, including design, implementation, commissioning, qualification, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management.
• Drug Product automation experience in sterile or aseptic manufacturing, including formulation, aseptic filling/finish, inspection, device assembly, packaging, robotics, or similar processes.
• Strong knowledge of ISA-95 Level 1 and Level 2 systems, Level 3 integrations, ISA-88, cGMP, GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11, EU GMP Annex 11, data integrity, and risk-based validation.
• Leadership experience with engineers, contractors, OEM teams, suppliers, and system integrators, plus willingness to support travel and on-site execution.

Nice to have

• Experience with aseptic filling/finish equipment, isolators, barrier technologies, inspection systems, packaging machinery, robotics, and motion control.
• Experience with Emerson DeltaV, Rockwell Automation, Siemens, OSI PI, Werum PAS-X, or comparable platforms.
• PMP certification or equivalent project-management experience.
• Experience in reliability engineering, asset lifecycle management, operational readiness, maintenance strategy, Industry 4.0, IIoT, or advanced analytics.

Culture & Benefits

• Inclusive work environment guided by the company's Credo.
• Cross-functional collaboration with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Quality, CSV, OT Infrastructure, MES, Digital, Utilities, Procurement, and project teams.
• Opportunity to contribute to highly automated pharmaceutical manufacturing and digital enablement.
• Support for employee wellness, career development, and life journey.