Associate Director, Engineering - Control Leader

Merck & Co.; Wilmington (DE); Hybrid; USD 142,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Paid holidays

Job summary

Merck & Co. in Elkton, USA (primary location) seeks an Area Control Leader, Global Estimating Solutions, Associate Director, to lead project cost control and scheduling across the portfolio.

Establish control plans, monitor cost reports, and support delivery methods while coordinating with internal teams. Requires 10+ years in project control, strong leadership, SAP, Primavera P6 and MS Project, with up to 25% travel.

Qualifications

• BS in Engineering or a related field required.
• 10+ years of experience in project control related roles.
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Experience with SAP or similar financial systems and scheduling tools.

Responsibilities

• Establish and implement Project Control execution plans.
• Develop and monitor project cost reports including budgeting, forecasting, and earned value.
• Support implementation of Target Value Delivery and continuous improvement.
• Coordinate with AE & CM teams to meet scheduling and reporting requirements.
• Travel up to 25% across the Americas.

Skills

Capital Planning

Project Estimations

People Leadership

Risk Analysis

PM Methodology

Scheduling

Contract Management

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Tools

SAP

Primavera P6

Primavera Risk Analysis

MS Project

Job description

Area Control Leader, Global Engineering Solutions (Associate Director)

The Area Control Leader is a key position in the Global Estimating Solutions, Project Business Services (PBS) Organization. This role has the mandate to provide effective and innovative cost and schedule solutions for our business partners to maximize their value and for our teams to ensure successful project execution.

The leader will need to bring energy, experience and innovation to carry out the following:

• Ensure minimum essential planning/scheduling and controlling elements are in place for all projects in their assigned portfolio.
• Support deployment of innovative methods and tools to improve project/portfolio performance -(Target Value Delivery, Last Planner® Production Planning & Control, AI solutions).
• Monitor leading indicators and trends to provide early warning of issues to project teams, the E&C Lead and Regional Directors
• Collaborate with teams to solve problems before they become overruns or missed deadlines.
• Focus on control and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities:

• Establish and implement Project Control execution plans.
• Develop, monitor and maintain overall Monthly Project Cost Reports including:- cost budgeting/forecasting/reporting, earned-value analysis, progress measurement/schedule status, change management, risk management, and early warning of issues.
• Support implementation of Target Value Delivery.
• Develop and maintain overall Project Spending Plans.
• Interface with AE (Architect Engineer) & CM (Construction Management) Project Control personnel to ensure timely communication and support of project scheduling, control and reporting requirements.
• Work with internal SMEs in estimating and strategic scheduling to support transition from planning to execution.
• Schedule development, maintenance, analysis and reporting using the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Last Planner® System.
• Development and monitoring of project staffing plans for new projects and ongoing projects.
• Implementation of Change Management and Risk Management processes.
• Support of project financial close out requirements including asset definition and valuation.
• Liaison with various groups outside the Engineering organization.

Required Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a relevant discipline.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years applicable Project Control related experience.
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills and willing to accept and drive change and innovation.
• Working knowledge of project cost and financial management aspects within SAP system (or similar) software.
• Working knowledge of scheduling and risk analysis software (e.g. Primavera P6, Primavera Risk Analysis, MS Project).
• Ability to travel across the Americas up to 25% of their time.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in Lean Project Delivery Methodologies (e.g. Target Value Delivery and Last Planner®).
• Pharmaceutical experience, including facility qualification and validation.
• Project Management, Construction Management and/or Estimating experience.
• Knowledge of Capital Management processes.
• Lean/Six Sigma experience.
• Understanding of MS Power Applications and AI.

Required Skills:

Capital Planning, Capital Projects, Engineering Principle, Engineering Standards, Environmental Safety, Maintenance Supervision, Microsoft Project, Path Analysis, People Leadership, Primavera Risk Analysis, Project Budgeting, Project Delivery, Project Estimations, Project Facilitation, Project Implementations, Project Management Methodology (PMM), Project Planning, Project Progress Reporting, Project Resource Management, Project Tracking, Sterile Manufacturing, Strategic Thinking

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The primary location for this posting is:

USA - Virginia - Elkton

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

Additional location(s):

Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

San Francisco Residents Only:

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

10/28/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE -the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:

R422190