External Job Title Senior Engineering Manager- Maintenance

Hovione Scientia Ltd; Cork; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Hovione Scientia Ltd in Cork is looking for a Maintenance Engineering Leader. In this role, you will oversee the engineering function in a regulated manufacturing environment, ensuring compliance with GMP standards while driving operational excellence.

The successful candidate will have a degree in engineering and over 8 years of experience in maintenance within a regulated industry, such as pharmaceutical or chemical. The role is vital in shaping a high-performing culture with accountability and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in maintenance within a highly regulated industry.
• Extensive experience in regulatory inspections and customer audits.
• Proven leadership in engineering or technical operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the maintenance engineering function in a regulated environment.
• Develop and execute maintenance and asset reliability strategy.
• Drive operational excellence through improved systems and processes.
• Ensure full compliance with GMP and regulatory requirements.
• Act as a key SME during inspections and audits.

Skills

Leadership

Maintenance Engineering

Continuous Improvement

Compliance

Team Management

Education

Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical & Electronic, Instrumentation)

Job description

Join a Market Leader

At Hovione, we help partners turn scientific innovation into medicines that reach patients around the world. For more than 65 years, we have connected science and technology to scale complex ideas into high-quality and innovative solutions that truly make a difference.

As an international Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), we support the development and manufacture of drug substances, intermediates and drug products across the full life cycle. We are globally recognized for our leadership in specialized technologies such as Spray Drying and Continuous Tableting. But what truly sets us apart is not just what we do — it is how we do it: with purpose, care, collaboration and a deep commitment to doing the right things right.

Our people are the reason for our success. We are a global and diverse team of more than 2,600 team members across Europe, the USA and Asia, bringing together different experiences and perspectives to help our partners to overcome complex challenges. We believe that an inclusive environment — where everyone,regardless of background,identity or ability,is respected,heard and empowered to contribute — is essential to drive innovation, ensure quality, and secure long‑term sustainable success.

And as we grow, so do the opportunities for our people to develop, broaden their perspectives and build meaningful careers. Because at Hovione, better starts with those who choose to make a difference every day. Will you be one of them?

You will be responsible to:

To lead our maintenance engineering function within a highly regulated manufacturing environment. This is a critical leadership role that combines strategic direction with operational oversight. Reporting to the Site Engineering Director, this role requires a leader who operates with a systems‑thinking mindset, understands how people, processes, and technology interact, and can translate business strategy into engineering excellence. You will play a key role in building a high‑performing culture and driving continuous improvement across the engineering function.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and executing the site maintenance and asset reliability strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, manufacturing priorities, and long‑term site plans.
• Providing strategic leadership to the maintenance engineering function, building organisational capability, succession pipelines, and a high‑performing team culture.
• Driving operational excellence through the implementation of robust maintenance, reliability, and asset management systems that improve equipment performance and reduce business risk.
• Leading workforce planning activities, identifying capability gaps, future resource requirements, and organizational structures required to support evolving business needs.
• Championing continuous improvement initiatives that enhance maintenance effectiveness, planning and scheduling performance, asset reliability, and overall operational efficiency.
• Establishing a culture of accountability, ownership, engagement, and development through strong people leadership, coaching, and mentoring.
• Partnering with Site Leadership, Operations, Quality, and Technical functions to influence strategic decision‑making and deliver cross‑functional business objectives.
• Ensuring full compliance with GMP, EHS, and regulatory requirements, maintaining a constant state of audit and inspection readiness across engineering operations.
• Leading engineering readiness for internal, customer, and regulatory inspections, acting as a key SME during audits and ensuring timely and effective resolution of observations, CAPAs, and compliance commitments.
• Leveraging data, performance metrics, and systems‑thinking approaches to identify improvement opportunities, drive informed decision‑making, and deliver sustainable business results.
• Carrying out assigned tasks and duties in a safe manner, in accordance with instructions, and to comply with environmental, health & safety rules/procedures, regulations and codes of practice.

We are looking to recruit a Candidate:

• Degree in Engineering, preferably in Mechanical, Electrical & Electronic or Instrumentation or related field.
• 8 years+ experience in maintenance within a highly regulated industry environment, preferably in the food, chemical or pharmaceutical industry.
• Extensive experience supporting and leading successful regulatory inspections, customer audits, and compliance improvement programmes.
• Proven experience leading engineering, maintenance, reliability, or technical operations teams.
• Fluency in English is a requirement.

Hovione is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer

Inclusion and diversity are key to us. We are committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. If you require any reasonable accommodation or support during the application or interview process, pleasecontact us,and we will be happy to assist.