Associate Director, Operations

Merck & Co.; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co. is seeking an Associate Director of Operations for a capital project start-up in Durham, North Carolina. The role oversees a portion of the manufacturing team across drug substance and product processes, coordinating safety, quality, and project execution.

The position focuses on building the team, aligning with stakeholders, and driving start-up activities for a complex manufacturing facility. The candidate will lead managers and technicians, direct process improvements, and serve

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree + 8+ years in manufacturing/pharma/vaccines.
• Master's degree + 6+ years in manufacturing/pharma/vaccines.
• Demonstrated leadership of teams or projects.
• Strong communication and regulatory inspection experience.

Responsibilities

• Hire, coach, and develop a team of managers and technicians.
• Ensure execution to schedule and ownership for projects.
• Develop a strong safety culture and site strategy.
• Provide technical SME support during inspections and audits.
• Guide daily production, deviations, and changes.
• Contribute to facility leadership and budget-aligned plans.

Skills

Aseptic Operations

Biopharmaceutical Industry

Capital Projects

Manufacturing Operations

Regulatory Compliance

Strategic Thinking

Team Leadership

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Science

Master's degree

Job description

Job Description

Our Manufacturing Operations teams are the people that make our products. We work in the manufacturing plants with a "Safety First, Quality Always, Inclusion for All" mindset striving for continuous improvement. We work in the local plant connected to our global manufacturing network to ensure the highest quality of raw materials, intermediates and finished products.

Position Description:

We are seeking an Associate Director, Operations for a capital project start-up in Durham, North Carolina. The Associate Director will oversee a portion of the manufacturing team. The facility includes end-to-end processing of drug substance, drug product, including culture growth, harvest, filling, lyophilization, product inspection, utilities, warehouse, and quality control laboratories. The Associate Director is accountable for building and leading the manufacturing team and strategy, as well as providing communication across various stakeholders to establish start-up of and execute the manufacturing process.

The duties of the Associate Director include but are not limited to:

• Hiring, coaching, and developing a team of managers and technicians
• Ensure execution to schedule
• Ownership for projects and improvement
• Creating a strong safety culture
• Contributing to the manufacturing team strategy for the facility
• Directing routine process support and improvement activities
• Serving as technical SME during regulatory inspections and audits.
• Providing technical guidance for daily production, projects, deviations and changes.
• Contributing to the facility leadership team, strategy, and guiding facility operations.-
• Adapts plans and priorities based on departmental budget and profit plan to address resource and operational challenges
• Decisions are guided by policies, procedures and business plan; receives guidance from manager
• Provides technical guidance to employees, colleagues or clients
• Ensure compliance to Corporate, Site, and Departmental procedures associated with the manufacturing of vaccine product, and ensuring team is trained on new or revised processes or procedures
• Identifies and resolves technical and operational problems; collaborates with peers to resolve problems that cross into inter-related units
• Adapts and implements departmental plans and priorities based on division scorecard to address local business, service and operational challenges
• Other duties as requested by Management

Position Qualification:

Required Education, Experience, and Skills:-

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Science, or related field AND at least eight (8) years of working in the Manufacturing, Pharma, Biotech, and/or Vaccines industry OR
• A Master's Degree AND at least six (6) years of working in the Manufacturing, Pharma, Biotech, and/or Vaccines industry
• Routine commercial manufacturing experience.
• Direct and/or indirect leadership experience of teams and/or projects, including coaching and developing people
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present complex data sets to diverse audience with varying business acumen.
• Demonstrated technical expertise during regulatory inspections and audits.
• Demonstrated project management and analytical skills

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) operations, tech transfer, capital projects, facility start-up, production, and improvement projects
• Strategic, end-to-end thinking
• Experience in regulated or GMP manufacturing and/or technical support of manufacturing operations
• Experience with aseptic processing operations such as bulk production, formulation, vial filling, and lyophilization, and supporting clean utilities
• Familiarity with change control systems and technical assessment of change in a current GMP production environment
• Experience with sterile processing and sterility assurance practices and guidelines

Required Skills:

Aseptic Operations, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Biopharmaceutics, Bioproducts, Capital Projects, Commercialization, Commercial Loan Restructuring, Decision Making, Global Manufacturing, GMP Compliance, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Lean Manufacturing, Manufacturing Operations, People Leadership, Pharmacology, Process Manufacturing, Production Scheduling, Regulatory Compliance, Strategic Thinking, Team Leadership

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. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

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

Salary

The salary range for this role is $129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this 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 .

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

08/26/2026

*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:

R410340