Engineering COE Lead

Merck; Upper Hutt; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck in Upper Hutt, NZ, seeks an Engineering COE Lead to unify strategic vision with operational excellence across Capital Projects, Maintenance, Validation, Facilities and Shared Services.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team of ~35 employees (3 managers and 3 specialists direct reports), shaping site strategy, improving safety and quality while ensuring reliable assets and on-time project delivery to support our long-term manufacturing plan.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of 3 managers and 3 specialists providing guidance, training, and performance evaluations.
• Shape the site's long-range asset, infrastructure and capital investment strategy.
• Maintain integrated management systems for assets, validation, and project delivery.

Job description

Job Description

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Local Position Title

Engineering COE Lead

Job Profile

56911111 - Assoc. Dir., Engineering

CCF B/P/L

400, M2

Division

GAHM, Upper Hutt, NZ

Reports to (Title)

Site Manager

Written By

Arjen Vermolen

Date

October 2026

Our Company

Our company invents for a more hopeful tomorrow. our company is inventing medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases through our diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. We have always been and always will be inventing, and we do it for the single greatest purpose: Life.

Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of our people. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork. As part of our global team, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

Our company in Australia and New Zealand operates in a highly regulated and competitive environment. Our success largely depends on our ability to build customer loyalty and optimize the return on customer segments. Success is often dependent on getting new products to market quickly and reimbursed at a price acceptable to both the market and the organization. Our success depends on high levels of market penetration and effective management of emerging and existing customers. This requires a high level of collaboration with stakeholders and a sense of urgency in our activities.

About this Role

As Engineering COE Lead, you bring strategic vision and operational excellence together.

The Upper Hutt site relies on safe, compliant and reliable assets, infrastructure and engineering capabilities to maintain global supply and deliver its long-term manufacturing strategy. You have a direct impact by ensuring the site's equipment, facilities, capital investments and validation systems provide the capacity, reliability and cost competitiveness required now and into the future.

As a member of the Site Leadership Team, you help shape site strategy, operational performance and continuous improvement priorities. You are accountable for the site's Engineering Centre of Excellence (COE), spanning Capital Projects, Maintenance and Reliability, Validation, Facilities and Shared Services.

You lead a multidisciplinary organization of approximately 35 employees, excluding contractors, through six direct reports. You build organizational capability and management systems that enable strong performance across people, safety, quality, delivery and cost.

Primary Activities and Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Leadership & Strategy - As a member of the Site Leadership Team, contribute to the strategic direction and long-term success of the Upper Hutt site: Develop and adapt site strategy to identify and prioritize key site projects and KPIs, and track strategic performance through senior leadership reviews.


• Sponsor site strategic workstreams and translate their strategies into specific site and Engineering COE priorities, targets and projects.


• Strengthen Site Leadership Team effectiveness through collaboration, communication and an open feedback culture.


• Foster an inclusive culture where colleagues feel respected, valued and able to contribute at their best. (e.g. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives).


• Development of Managers and Teams: Lead and develop a team of 3 managers and 3 specialists providing guidance, training, and performance evaluations.


• Coach and continuously improve daily and weekly cross-functional performance management forums to drive prioritization, alignment and accountability.


• Conduct routine 1:1s and on-floor coaching to strengthen management systems, develop team capability and actively manage succession planning.


• Embed a culture of continuous improvement by empowering teams to solve problems at the right level leveraging lean manufacturing methodologies.


• Promote a strong safety and compliance culture through active leadership presence on the manufacturing floor.


• Operational Leadership and Daily Management : Maintain integrated management systems that support the value stream through reliable assets, compliant validation and effective project delivery, while making risks and improvement opportunities visible and driving timely resolution.


• Maintain effective operational review meetings and shop-floor engagement processes to ensure performance meets budget and forecast expectations and all legal, safety, quality and financial compliance requirements are met.


• Own relevant site-wide Safety and Quality Systems and mentor Subsystem Owners to establish more effective and efficient standards.


• Be accountable for people, safety, quality, delivery and cost performance across the Engineering COE.


• Specifically, within this role you will: Shape the site's long-range asset, infrastructure and capital investment st