Automation Engineering Technician (2nd Shift)

GlaxoSmithKline; Zebulon (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits program

Equal Opportunity Employer

Job summary

GlaxoSmithKline in Zebulon, North Carolina, is looking for a Controls Engineer to design and maintain manufacturing instrumentation systems. This critical role requires hands-on problem solving and collaboration with engineering and production teams.

Ideal candidates will have an associate degree and 3+ years of experience in industrial control systems. The position involves daily on-site work and offers opportunities for technical growth in a regulated environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience with industrial control systems.
• Experience with programming and tuning control systems.
• Experience in a regulated environment such as FDA.

Responsibilities

• Provide on-floor support for production equipment.
• Implement equipment improvements and solutions.
• Mentor and support maintenance staff as needed.

Skills

PLC programming

Industrial control systems

Instrumentation

cGMP knowledge

Team collaboration

Education

Associate degree or technical certificate in relevant field

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

SAP

Kepware

Wireshark

Job description

We manufacture and supply reliable, high‑quality medicines and vaccines to meet patients' needs and drive our performance. Our network of 37 manufacturing sites delivered 1.7 billion packs of medicines and 409 million vaccine doses in 2024 to help make a positive impact on the health of millions of people. Our supply chain is vital to bringing our innovations to patients as quickly, efficiently and effectively as possible. Technology is transforming how we manufacture medicines and vaccines, enabling us to increase speed, quality and scale of product supply. We need the very best minds and capability to help us on our journey to make more complex products, harnessing the power of smart manufacturing technologies including robotics, digital solutions and artificial intelligence to deliver for patients.

Position Summary

You will design, maintain and improve control and instrumentation systems for manufacturing equipment. You will work closely with production, maintenance, automation and engineering teams. We value hands‑on problem solving, clear communication and a focus on safety and quality. This role offers technical growth, exposure to modern manufacturing systems, and the chance to support work that helps get ahead of disease together.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily on‑floor production support to value stream areas with engineering/automation or instrumentation and controls equipment issues or failures.
• Work with maintenance, engineering, and production staff to develop and implement equipment improvements, primarily in the areas of OEE, reliability engineering, safety, or process and/or quality improvements.
• Evaluate corrective, preventative, and predictive maintenance strategies on production equipment and systems and participate in continuous improvement projects.
• Develop technical documentation, including e‑PIPs, Change Control Requests, technical specifications, and training documents as directed by the maintenance supervisor.
• Mentor and support maintenance staff as needed.
• Support engineering technicians' capability development by participating in skills assessments and training sessions.

Why You?

Work type: This role is site based and requires 100% on site activities. 2nd shift Monday through Friday.

Basic Qualification

• Associate degree, technical certificate, or equivalent experience in controls, instrumentation, electrical or related field.
• 3+ years hands‑on experience with industrial control systems, including PLC programming.
• Experience with instrumentation, sensors, actuators, and control loop tuning.
• Experience supporting commissioning, start‑up or validation activities in a regulated environment.
• Experience using maintenance or enterprise systems (e.g., SAP) to document work and parts.

Preferred Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related discipline.
• Technical expertise in P&ID nomenclature, instrumentation, and electrical wiring diagrams.
• Proficiency in SAP (work orders, history, maintenance plans).
• Good knowledge of cGMPs and experience in an FDA‑regulated environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Bachelor’s in science in Engineering.
• Experience in mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil/structural, instrumentation & controls.
• Technical knowledge of the technology and ability to problem‑solve.
• Works well on a team, flexible, time‑management, task prioritization, strong communication skills, self‑motivated.
• Ability to learn quickly, think creatively and apply new skills given rapid change in technology.
• Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (Modbus, Ethernet/IP, DeviceNet, ControlNet, BACnet, OPC UC, etc.).
• Experience with software: Kepware, Wireshark, Patch Manager, ServiceNow, Panorama, Tenable.IO, VMware ESXi Host Manager, familiar with Nutanix or other hyperconverged environments.
• Experience administering Windows Active Directory, Network Services (IP, DHCP, DNS, WINS), group management.
• Experience with serialization systems, MES solutions, laboratory automation, and databases.
• Experience working in a regulated/GMP environment.
• Experience working onsite with local teams and remotely with global teams.
• Knowledge of industrial cybersecurity standards.
• Availability for on‑call as required.

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.

Please visit GSK US Benefits Summary to learn more about the comprehensive benefits program GSK offers US employees.