Lab Design Project Engineer

Amgen Inc. (IR); Thousand Oaks (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Amgen Inc. is seeking a Lab Design Project Engineer to provide technical leadership in planning, design, renovation, and delivery of laboratory facilities. You will ensure safe, compliant, and flexible environments aligned with scientific and business needs.

The role requires collaboration with researchers, engineers, facilities, EHS, and external partners, and may involve travel to project sites to support development, reviews, and commissioning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture, laboratory science, facilities management, or related technical discipline.
• Significant experience in laboratory design, operations, or capital project delivery.
• Knowledge of laboratory planning principles, space programming, equipment integration, and utility requirements.
• Ability to interpret architectural and engineering drawings, specifications, and design documents.
• Willingness to travel to support projects and site stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for laboratory planning, design standards, workflows, and facility requirements.
• Translate scientific needs into design criteria, space programs, and equipment requirements.
• Develop and maintain laboratory design standards, guidelines, and standard details.
• Review design packages for functionality, safety, and compliance.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define capacity, adjacencies, and workflows.
• Lead technical aspects of capital projects from feasibility to occupancy.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Stakeholder management

Technical writing

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree

Doctorate degree

Tools

GMP

GLP

Biosafety standards

Chemical hygiene

Commissioning

Job description

Career Category Engineering Job Description Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission—to serve patients living with serious illnesses—drives all that we do. Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives. Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career.

Lab Design Project Engineer What you will do Let’s do this. Let’s change the world.

The Laboratory Design Project Engineer provides technical leadership and subject matter expertise for the planning, design, renovation, and delivery of laboratory facilities.

This role ensures laboratory environments are safe, compliant, functional, flexible, and aligned with scientific, operational, and business requirements.

The Lab Design Project Engineer partners with researchers, engineers, architects, project managers, facilities teams, EHS professionals, equipment manufacturers, external design firms and global insurance partners throughout the project lifecycle.

This position requires travel to project sites and organizational locations to support project development, design reviews, field assessments, construction activities, commissioning, and stakeholder engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for laboratory planning, design standards, workflows, and facility requirements.
• Translate scientific and operational needs into laboratory design criteria, space programs, equipment requirements, and functional layouts.
• Lead or support the development and maintenance of laboratory design standards, specifications, guidelines, and standard details.
• Review laboratory design packages—including concepts, layouts, drawings, specifications, and equipment plans—for functionality, safety, constructability, and compliance.
• Ensure designs address laboratory ventilation, containment, biosafety, chemical safety, ergonomics, utilities, waste handling, material flow, security, and emergency response needs.
• Collaborate with users and stakeholders to define current and future laboratory capacity, flexibility, adjacencies, and workflow requirements.
• Lead technical aspects of capital projects from early feasibility and programming through design, construction, commissioning, qualification, and occupancy.
• Travel as needed to support site assessments, project meetings, design workshops, construction reviews, commissioning, and operational-readiness activities.
• Coordinate with Engineering, EHS, Facilities, Quality, Operations, external consultants, FM Insurance, and construction teams to resolve technical issues and manage design decisions.
• Evaluate laboratory equipment requirements and integration needs, including utilities, controls, automation, and supporting infrastructure.
• Identify design risks, recommend practical mitigations, and support risk assessments associated with laboratory operations and facility modifications.
• Support commissioning and turnover activities to confirm laboratory systems and spaces meet intended use and operational requirements.
• Monitor industry practices, codes, standards, and emerging laboratory design technologies; incorporate relevant improvements into organizational standards.
• Provide technical mentoring and laboratory design expertise for project teams and less experienced engineers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, laboratory science, facilities management, or a related technical discipline.
• Significant experience in laboratory design, laboratory operations, engineering, architecture, facilities, or capital project delivery.
• Demonstrated knowledge of laboratory planning principles, including space programming, workflow design, equipment integration, and utility requirements.
• Working knowledge of applicable building codes, fire and life-safety requirements, EHS expectations, and relevant laboratory standards.
• Ability to interpret architectural and engineering drawings, specifications, and design documents.
• Strong project execution, problem-solving, communication, stakeholder-management, and technical-writing skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel as required to support projects and site‑based stakeholders.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and influence decisions across multidisciplinary teams.

Success Measures

• Laboratory designs meet user requirements, safety expectations, regulatory needs, and project objectives.
• Projects are delivered with reduced design rework, operational disruptions, and avoidable scope changes.
• Laboratory standards are current, practical, consistently applied, and support scalable project delivery.
• Stakeholders receive timely, clear, technically sound guidance throughout the project lifecycle.

What we expect of you We are all different, yet we all use our unique contributions to serve patients. The dynamic professional we seek is a collaborate leader with these qualifications.

Basic Qualifications: Doctorate degree and 2 years of engineering or laboratory science experience OR Master’s degree and 4 years of engineering or laboratory science experience OR Bachelor’s degree and 6 years of engineering or laboratory science experience OR Associate’s degree and 10 years of engineering or laboratory science experience OR High school diploma / GED and 12 years of engineering or laboratory science experience

Preferred Qualifications

Advanced degree or professional certification in engineering, architecture, laboratory planning, safety, or a related field. Experience designing regulated laboratory environments, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical, research, manufacturing, or quality‑control laboratories. Familiarity with GMP, GLP, biosafety, chemical hygiene, and commissioning or qualification practices. Experience with laboratory ventilation systems, fume hoods, biosafety cabinets, cleanrooms, containment systems, and specialized laboratory utilities. Professional licensure or credentials such as PE, RA, EIT, LEED AP, or laboratory‑planning certification.

What you can expect of us

• A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts
• A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales‑based incentive plan
• Stock‑based long‑term incentives
• Award‑winning time‑off plans
• Flexible work models where possible.

Salary Range 140,334.15USD -189,863.85 USD

Refer to the Work Location Type in the job posting to see if this applies.

Sponsorship for this role is not guaranteed.

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Application deadline Amgen does not have an application deadline for this position; we will continue accepting applications until we receive a sufficient number or select a candidate for the position.

As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the world, Amgen fosters an inclusive environment of diverse, ethical, committed and highly accomplished people who respect each other and live the Amgen values to continue advancing science to serve patients. Together, we compete in the fight against serious disease.

Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. Amgen will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.