Senior Manager, Global Automation Technology Center (m/w/d)

Lonza; Slough; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A global life sciences leader is seeking a Senior Manager for the Global Automation Technology Center based in Slough, UK. You will develop automation standards and partner with teams to enhance global manufacturing practices. Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor's degree and substantial experience in industrial automation, with expertise in control systems and project leadership. The position involves global travel and supports a dynamic work environment.

Benefits

Relocation assistance

Competitive salary

Lifestyle and leisure benefits

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Bioengineering, or equivalent.
• Experience in industrial automation in regulated environments.
• Expertise in control systems like DeltaV, Siemens PCS 7.

Responsibilities

• Define global automation standards and reference architectures.
• Establish governance for automation standard lifecycle.
• Lead pilot projects and validate new technologies.

Skills

Industrial automation experience

Control systems expertise

Team leadership

Fluent in English

Networking understanding

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

Emerson DeltaV

Siemens PCS 7

Rockwell PLCs

Aveva SCADA

Job description

Overview

A Career at Lonza

What you’ll get

• An agile career and a dynamic work culture

• Opportunities to lead global initiatives and shape automation strategy across Lonza’s manufacturing network

• An inclusive and ethical workplace

• Compensation programs that recognize high performance

• In addition to a competitive salary, you can expect numerous lifestyle, family, and leisure benefits.

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

We are looking for a driven Senior Manager, Global Automation Technology Center to act as strategic technical leader within the Global Automation & MES organization, responsible for defining, harmonizing, and governing automation standards across the global manufacturing network.

The position can be based in Switzerland (Basel or Visp), Spain (Porrino), UK (Slough) and US (Houston, Bend, Portsmouth). 3 days per week on site are expected.

Relocation assistance is available for eligible candidates and their families, if needed.

What you’ll do

• Define and develop global automation standards and reference architectures for control systems, SCADA, and data infrastructure

• Harmonize site-specific standards and align best practices with global strategies

• Establish governance processes for lifecycle, versioning, and compliance of automation standards

• Introduce emerging technologies like MTP, OPC UA, Unified Namespace, and edge computing to enhance scalability and interoperability

• Explore AI and machine learning applications for predictive operations and anomaly detection

• Lead pilot projects and proof-of-concepts to validate new technologies and standards

• Create technical documentation, playbooks, and training programs to support global teams

• Partner with site teams to assess current architectures and align with future-state standards

• Collaborate with Engineering, IT, Quality, and Operations to ensure compliance and performance

• Provide expert consulting during system design, vendor selection, and deployment

What we're looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Bioengineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)

• Relevant experience in industrial automation within regulated manufacturing environments

• Expertise in control systems such as Emerson DeltaV, Siemens PCS 7, Rockwell, PLCs and SCADA/HMI platforms like Aveva, Ignition, FactoryTalk

• Strong understanding of automation infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, and high-availability systems

• Experience with data historians (e.g., Aveva PI) and data operations technologies like MQTT and Unified Namespace

• Experience leading project teams and reporting to senior leadership.

• Fluent in English; additional languages are an asset

• Willingness to travel globally (approx. 25%)

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Inclusion is one of Lonza’s four core values, alongside integrity, innovation, and initiative. We understand the value of our differences and the benefits they bring to our company, community, and culture. We also recognize the value of every person’s contribution, regardless of characteristics, preferences, and beliefs – including race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion.