Director, Integrated Process Team (IPT) Leader

HireLifeScience; Wilson (NC); On-site; USD 173,000 - 273,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, is seeking a Director of Operations to lead the Wilson site IPT. You will guide strategic and tactical planning, ensuring quality, safety, and budget alignment while driving continuous improvement and lean initiatives across production, packaging, and support functions.

The role requires extensive cross-functional leadership across Operations, Quality, Technical, Engineering, and Supply Chain, with strong communication and stakeholder management capabilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years relevant industry experience across Operations, Quality, Technical, Engineering, or Supply Chain.
• Concurrently, minimum 5 years Operations experience with multi-layered organizations.
• Strong leadership, influencing skills, and ability to drive change.
• Working knowledge of cGMP and pharma regulatory requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication with cross-functional teams and authorities.

Responsibilities

• Provide tactical and strategic direction to the IPT and direct Operations teams.
• Ensure safety, environmental, quality compliance and budget adherence.
• Develop budget for the IPT and manage capital projects and efficiency gains.
• Staff positions for multi-shift operations at the Wilson site.
• Foster an inclusive culture and build relationships across the company network.
• Embed continuous improvement and lean processes to reduce variability and waste.
• Lead site initiatives and support network strategies and projects.

Skills

DP Operations

Leadership

Lean Manufacturing

Packaging

People Leadership

Plant Operations

Process Optimization

Production Scheduling

Safety Compliance

Sterile Manufacturing

Strategic Planning

Team Collaboration

Team Strategy

Education

Bachelor's degree (Science or Engineering)

Master's Degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

The Director, Operations position serves as the business unit manager for the cross-functional integrated process team (IPT) supporting a business area. This role provides leadership to the IPT and will also represent the business area on the Wilson Site Leadership Team.

Primary responsibilities for this position include providing tactical and strategic direction to the IPT. This includes ensuring that business objectives are met, a high standard for Quality and EHS compliance is maintained, and the IPT operates efficiently and within budget. The position will also be expected to promote continuous improvement within the IPT (aligned with lean manufacturing principles) and maintain an inclusive culture that supports positive employee relations. Additional activities, responsibilities, and competencies include but are not limited to the following.

Compliance

• Ensure that operations are executed in compliance with Safety, Environmental, Quality (cGMP), and Labor regulations.
• Demonstrate leadership by maintaining a safe workplace and managing actions to prevent safety incidents.
• Investigate, determine root cause, and implement robust CAPAs for any compliance discrepancies noted during activities, trend reviews, internal audits, or inspections.

Delivery

• Utilize a high degree of independent judgment and decision-making to direct production, packaging, and support personnel to ensure customer supply requirements are achieved.
• Resolve and elevate issues impacting supply within the daily, weekly, and monthly IPT and site management processes.

Cost

• Develop budget for the IPT and ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with budget forecast.
• Identify and execute capital projects needed to support the IPT short and long-term strategies.
• Recognize and implement opportunities for efficiency and financial savings including elimination of waste.

People and Team

• Define and staff positions necessary to execute multi-shift operations at the Wilson site.
• Provide leadership to the cross‑functional team and direct Operations team providing coaching, development, and performance management where appropriate.
• Ensure culture of inclusion and consistency is maintained supporting positive employee relations within the team and site.
• Build effective relationships with other functional areas as well as stakeholders across our Company network.

Strategic Support and Continuous Improvement

• Help develop the strategy for the IPT as well as tactical plans to meet those goals.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement and MPS into the Operations team focused on standard work, making problems visible, minimizing waste, reducing process variability, and problem solving.
• Identify and implement opportunities for process optimization and efficiency.
• Provide site support and leadership to high‑priority network strategies and initiatives.

Education Minimum Requirement

• B.A./ B.S. degree (preferably in Science or Engineering related field), Master's Degree preferred

Required Experience and Skills

• Minimum 12 years relevant industry experience across multiple functions (Operations, Quality, Technical, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, etc.)
• Concurrently, minimum 5 years Operations experience with some responsibility managing multi-layered organizations.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills: ability to drive change, influence stakeholders, and motivate teams to achieve stretch goals.
• Working knowledge of cGMP and regulatory requirements as they apply to the pharmaceutical industry
• Strong communication skills: ability to effectively communicate with cross-functional teams, above-site stakeholders, and external authorities.
• Willing to work irregular hours to support multi-shift operation on an as needed basis

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience leading a complex manufacturing or packaging operation within a plant site (Operations, Quality, or Technical role)
• Experience licensing a new facility or start-up/scale-up of new capital installations for commercial supply
• Experience in continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, problem solving, and/or right first time methodologies
• Familiarity with change execution management and behavioral coaching / consequence management tools
• Strong written and verbal communication including presentation skills and technical writing experience (investigations, change requests, standard operating procedures, protocols, etc.)
• Project management skills: ability to prioritize tasks, manage timelines, and meet deadlines.
• Experience supporting regulatory inspections (FDA, EMA, etc.)

Required Skills

DP Operations, Leadership, Lean Manufacturing, Packaging, People Leadership, Plant Operations, Process Optimization, Production Scheduling, Safety Compliance, Sterile Manufacturing, Strategic Planning, Team Collaboration, Team Strategy

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.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $173,200.00 - $272,600.00.

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.

Benefits

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.

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.

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status

Regular

Relocation

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship

No

Travel Requirements

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements

Not Applicable

Shift

1st - Day

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

N/a

Job Posting End Date

10/17/2026

A note about posting end date

*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

R420278