Remote Sr Director, Global Engineering & Capital Projects

Avantor; Michigan; Remote; USD 168,000 - 282,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) matching

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Job summary

Avantor seeks a Senior Director, Global Engineering, to lead and unify engineering strategy across a global network of sites. You will drive capital programs up to $150M, implement front-end design, and oversee digital transformation to enable reliable, scalable, and data‑driven operations.

The role emphasizes cross-functional governance, process safety, Lean/Six Sigma, and organizational development, with remote work and travel to support multi-site execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or Operations (or related discipline).
• 15+ years of progressive engineering and operations leadership in regulated environments.
• Experience leading global engineering organizations and capital portfolios.
• Strong background in process engineering and discrete automated manufacturing systems.
• Proven expertise in Process Safety Management (PSM) and regulatory compliance.
• Experience managing new plant builds, large-scale expansions, and brownfield transformations.
• Track record of building and leading high-performing technical and leadership teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the global engineering strategy aligned with Avantor's growth objectives, operational excellence standards, and sustainability goals.
• Translate strategy into objectives, governance, and roadmaps across a multi-site engineering organization.
• Establish global engineering standards, design principles, and best practices for consistency and compliance.
• Serve on the operations PMO leadership team guiding manufacturing footprint, capacity, and technology strategy.
• Own and govern a global capital portfolio including programs up to $50M and projects up to $150M.
• Lead end-to-end project lifecycle from concept to handover and commissioning.
• Drive front-end engineering design and execution of major capital investments.
• Coordinate with operations, supply chain, quality, EHS, and finance to meet KPIs and business cases.
• Drive Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement across sites.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for major events.
• Provide technical leadership in discrete assembly & fill, chemical processing, scale-up, and optimization.
• Guide deployment of automated manufacturing systems including robotics, PLC/SCADA, MES, and advanced controls.
• Ensure GMP/ISO/compliance and validation of processes.
• Support modernization through automation, digitalization, and advanced process control.
• Ensure PSM compliance, hazard studies, mechanical integrity, and MOC.
• Embed safety and risk-based decision making into strategy and execution.
• Partner with leadership to ensure safe design and environmental stewardship in capital decisions.
• Define methods and evaluation criteria for multi-year investments.
• Lead talent development and workforce planning across global engineering.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Capital portfolio

Digital manufacturing

IT/OT integration

OEE performance

Engineering mastery

Decision making

Workforce planning

Global collaboration

Risk-based judgment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Job description

Avantor seeks a Senior Director, Global Engineering, to lead and unify engineering strategy across a global network of sites. You will drive capital programs up to $150M, implement front-end design, and oversee digital transformation to enable reliable, scalable, and data‑driven operations.

The role emphasizes cross-functional governance, process safety, Lean/Six Sigma, and organizational development, with remote work and travel to support multi-site execution.