Senior Operations Project Lead – Readiness & Governance

MSD; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 96,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Job summary

MSD in Durham, NC seeks a Senior Specialist, Operations (Project Management) to lead complex projects across Manufacturing Operations, partnering with Quality, Engineering, Regulatory, and other functions to advance readiness, filing deliverables, and schedule performance.

The role emphasizes governance, risk management, and disciplined project controls, with opportunities to influence without direct authority and to contribute to continuous improvement in a regulated manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Engineering, Science, Business, Project Management, or related field.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience in manufacturing, operations, quality, engineering, or a regulated environment.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional projects or governance processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for clear technical/business documentation.
• Experience maintaining project plans, schedules, action logs, risk registers, dashboards, or portfolio reports.

Responsibilities

• PAI and Filing Readiness: coordinate cross‑functional plans, maintain readiness trackers, and document decisions.
• Project Portfolio Management: manage project inventory, prioritization, and governance; develop dashboards.
• Change Review Board Leadership: lead CRB cadence, review changes, capture actions and dependencies.
• Incident Writing & Investigation Support: draft incident narratives, support root‑cause analysis and CAPAs.
• Project Scheduling & Operational Excellence: develop integrated schedules, track progress, and report milestones.

Skills

Project leadership

Cross-functional facilitation

Portfolio governance

Integrated scheduling

Coaching & capability development

Technical writing & documentation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, Business, Project Management, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

MSD in Durham, NC seeks a Senior Specialist, Operations (Project Management) to lead complex projects across Manufacturing Operations, partnering with Quality, Engineering, Regulatory, and other functions to advance readiness, filing deliverables, and schedule performance.

The role emphasizes governance, risk management, and disciplined project controls, with opportunities to influence without direct authority and to contribute to continuous improvement in a regulated manufacturing environment.