Engineering Standards Manager - Altavista, VA

Abbott (abbottcareers2 board); United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free medical coverage

Generous retirement plan

Tuition reimbursement

FreeU education benefit

Job summary

Abbott Nutrition's Altavista, VA site seeks an Engineering Standards Manager to establish and sustain engineering standards, asset management practices, and long-range capital planning aligned with enterprise expectations. The role ensures capital governance, lifecycle management, and regulatory readiness while supporting site performance.

The position requires leading cross-functional teams, coaching engineers, and collaborating with division networks to deploy enterprise strategies locally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, or related discipline).
• Minimum 5 years progressive experience in manufacturing or industrial environments.
• Experience in engineering leadership, asset management, capital planning, or operational excellence roles within regulated industries.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, utilities, infrastructure, and process equipment.
• Experience with capital portfolio governance, lifecycle planning, and risk-based investment decision making.
• Familiarity with regulated quality and validation environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the site's long-range capital plan, including asset condition assessment, lifecycle strategies, and capital prioritization aligned to business objectives.
• Establish, own, and continuously improve engineering standards, specifications, and governance processes to ensure technical consistency, compliance, and scalability.
• Provide capital portfolio governance, partnering with Finance and site leadership to monitor scope, cost, schedule, risk, and benefit realization.
• Provide strategic oversight of engineering-related validation and compliance practices, ensuring alignment with quality systems and regulatory expectations.
• Drive operational excellence and change management through standard work, performance metrics, structured problem-solving, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Lead and develop engineering staff through coaching, performance management, and talent development.

Skills

Engineering Leadership

Asset Management

Capital Planning

Operational Excellence

Regulatory Knowledge

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, or related discipline)

Job description

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor's degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This position works out of our Altavista, VA location in the Abbott Nutrition division. Our Nutrition business develops science-based nutrition products for people of all ages, from helping babies and children grow to keeping adult bodies strong and active. Millions of people around the world count on our leading brands - including Similac®, PediaSure®, Pedialyte®, Ensure®, and Glucerna® - to help them get the nutrients they need to live their healthiest lives.

Altavista, Va. , is one of Abbott's largest nutrition manufacturing plants equipped with advanced technology to ensure efficient production. Working here will make you feel like you're part of a family that works together to make a difference and help nourish millions of families around the world.

The Engineering Standards Manager is accountable for establishing and sustaining engineering standards, asset management practices, and long-range capital planning frameworks that enable safe, compliant, and cost-effective manufacturing operations. The role ensures alignment between site execution, division strategies, and enterprise engineering expectations by translating business needs into standardized, risk-based, and value-driven engineering practices. This position exists to strengthen capital governance, asset lifecycle management, and technical consistency while supporting long-term site performance and regulatory readiness.

What You'll Work On

• Support development of the site's long-range capital plan, including asset condition assessment, lifecycle strategies, and capital prioritization aligned to business objectives.
• Establish, own, and continuously improve engineering standards, specifications, and governance processes to ensure technical consistency, compliance, and scalability.
• Provide capital portfolio governance, partnering with Finance and site leadership to monitor scope, cost, schedule, risk, and benefit realization.
• Provide strategic oversight of engineering-related validation and compliance practices, ensuring alignment with quality systems and regulatory expectations.
• Drive operational excellence and change management through standard work, performance metrics, structured problem-solving, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Lead and develop engineering staff through coaching, performance management, and talent development.
• Collaborate with division and enterprise engineering networks to deploy enterprise strategies at the site level.

You’ll be accountable for meeting our compliance standards including FDA, OSHA and Abbott policies and procedures.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial,, or related discipline)
• Minimum 5 years Progressive experience in manufacturing or industrial environments.
• Experience in engineering leadership, asset management, capital planning, or operational excellence roles within regulated industries.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, utilities, infrastructure, and process equipment.
• Experience with capital portfolio governance, lifecycle planning, and risk‑based investment decision making.
• Familiarity with regulated quality and validation environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Engineering (MBA) or related field preferred.
• Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, or Project Management (PMP) training preferred.

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: www.abbottbenefits.com