Maintenance Manager Pharma Engineering (m/f/d)

Gr?nenthal GmbH; Aachen; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 holidays + bridging days

Bilingual daycare centre Karlinis

Supplementary company health insurance

(E-) Bike leasing and e-charging

Job summary

Grünenthal GmbH in Germany seeks a Maintenance Manager for Pharma Engineering to lead a high-performance team and drive asset reliability. You will partner with Production Leadership to optimize plant performance and implement strategic maintenance initiatives.

The role requires a deep GMP understanding, a technical engineering background, and fluent German/English. You will oversee maintenance planning, external providers, and continuous improvement projects on-site.

Qualifications

• University degree in a related engineering field.
• 10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, engineering, maintenance or technical operations.
• Proven leadership of engineering/maintenance teams in complex manufacturing.
• Strong GMP understanding and qualification/validation knowledge.
• Experience with SAP PM is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performance maintenance team focused on safety, quality and continuous improvement.
• Act as senior technical partner to Production Leadership to drive plant performance and improvement initiatives.
• Define and execute site maintenance and asset reliability strategy to maximize availability and OEE.
• Ensure GMP-compliant maintenance, calibration, qualification, and repair activities.
• Drive TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Reliability Engineering and Operational Excellence initiatives.
• Manage maintenance planning, shutdowns, external providers, and engineering resources.
• Monitor and improve maintenance KPIs including reliability, downtime and costs.
• Support audits and inspections ensuring compliance with GMP, safety and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Maintenance management

GMP knowledge

Mechanical engineering

Electrical engineering

Process engineering

Industrial engineering

Budget management

Asset reliability

Fluent German & English

Education

University degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Process Engineering or Industrial Engineering

Tools

SAP PM

Job description

Maintenance Manager Pharma Engineering (m/f/d)

Country: Germany

Department: Global Operations & Production

Job ID: 45499

Management | Permanent | Full-time | On-Site

Our people in Manufacturing & Global Operations share two priorities: getting things done and making things better. If you’re a dynamic person with a positive mindset, you’ll fit in well here. It’s an international team with a powerful spirit of collaboration. Together, we make sure our products meet the highest standards of quality by constantly searching for ways to improve at every stage of our value chain – from the raw materials we buy through to the logistics network that brings our medicines to patients. Join our team and help us make an even bigger contribution to Grünenthal’s future.

What the Job Looks Like

Each day you'll enjoy a variety of challenges, such as:

• Leading and developing a team, fostering a high-performance culture focused on safety, quality and continuous improvement
• Acting as the senior technical partner to Production Leadership, jointly driving plant performance, operational excellence, and strategic improvement initiatives
• Defining and executing the site maintenance and asset reliability strategy to maximize equipment availability and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Ensuring GMP-compliant maintenance, calibration, qualification, and repair activities across pharmaceutical manufacturing assets and critical utility systems
• Driving the long-term development and modernization of production equipment, facilities, and maintenance processes
• Leading root cause investigations of critical equipment failures and implementing sustainable corrective and preventive actions
• Managing maintenance planning, shutdown activities, external service providers, and engineering resources to support delivery of production targets
• Driving TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Reliability Engineering, and Operational Excellence initiatives throughout the maintenance organization
• Defining, monitoring, and improving maintenance KPIs, including equipment reliability, downtime, maintenance costs, and planning effectiveness
• Supporting audits and inspections by ensuring technical systems remain compliant with GMP, safety, and regulatory requirements

What You'll Bring to the Table

To make the most of this role and truly thrive, you should have:

• University degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, engineering, maintenance or technical operations
• Significant leadership experience managing engineering, maintenance, or technical operations teams in a complex manufacturing environment
• Strong expertise in pharmaceutical production equipment, packaging technologies, and critical utility systems
• Deep understanding of GMP requirements, qualification and validation processes, maintenance excellence, and asset lifecycle management
• Good knowledge of maintenance management systems, such as SAP PM, is considered a plus
• Experience leading technical investment projects, equipment upgrades, and manufacturing improvement initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive change across functions
• Strong financial understanding, including maintenance budget management and investment prioritization
• Fluent German and English language skills

What are some of the local benefits

• 30 holidays, plus 6-8 bridging days and possibility to convert salary into up to 5 additional holidays
• Bilingual daycare centre "Karlinis" and holiday activities for employees' children
• Supplementary company health insurance
• (E-) Bike leasing and e-charging stations

Grünenthal is a global leader in pain management and related diseases. As a science-based, privately-owned pharmaceutical company, we have a long track record of bringing innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to patients worldwide. Our purpose is to change lives for the better - and innovation is our passion. We are focussing all of our activities and efforts on working towards our vision of a world free of pain.

Grünenthal is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and has affiliates in 28 countries across Europe, Latin America and the US. Our products are available in more than 100 countries. In 2024, Grünenthal employed around 4,300 people and achieved sales of € 1.8 billion.