Senior Specialist, Vaccines Technology

Merck; North Carolina; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck in Wilson, North Carolina seeks a Senior Specialist, Vaccines Technology to provide technical support for formulation, filling, inspection, and packaging in our POD vaccine manufacturing facility. You will join the Technical Team within the Vaccines IPT and help startup operations and ongoing support.

The role acts as SME for commissioning, tech transfer, validation, licensure, and regulatory interactions, with collaboration across Operations, Quality, and Regulatory to ensure robust

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree or higher in Engineering or Science.
• 4+ years direct pharmaceutical packaging experience.
• 2+ years hands-on engineering or technical support in a cGMP biopharmaceutical/vaccine environment.
• Ability to work independently as part of a team.
• Strong interpersonal skills with inclusion and empowerment.
• Working knowledge of cGMP and regulatory requirements.
• Willing to work irregular hours for multi-shift support.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for formulation, primary filling, inspection, and/or packaging operations.
• Serve as SME during commissioning, tech transfer, start-up, validation, licensure, and ongoing support.
• Own MES batch records and implement changes to fit business needs.
• Ensure processes meet critical quality attributes and CPP definition.
• Assist regulatory inspections and document investigations and CAPAs.
• Coordinate cross-functional projects with Operations and Quality.
• Drive continuous improvement and capital projects within the IPT.
• Maintain standard work and visible problem-solving across teams.

Skills

Independent worker

Interpersonal skills

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Bachelor degree or higher in Engineering or Science

Tools

SAP

MES

Job description

Job Description

At our company, we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company. We're at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. Join our team and contribute to our mission of using leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world.

Our Engineers support internal and external manufacturing operations remain operational, continuously improve and innovate. With our extensive range of facilities and environments, our Engineers have opportunities across many diverse areas including Biological, Chemical, Automation, Capital Projects, Maintenance, Safety, Process Development, Technical Services, Utilities and Validation.

The Senior Specialist, Vaccines Technology position is responsible for providing technical support to formulation, primary filling, inspection, and/or packaging operations within our product's Points of Dispensing (POD) vaccine manufacturing facility at the Wilson, North Carolina site. This position will be an individual contributor and member of the Technical Team within the Vaccines Integrated Process Team (IPT).

This will be an engineering role focused on startup of the POD vaccine manufacturing facility as well as providing future routine operational support. This role will act as the technical subject matter expert for all aspects of commissioning, tech transfer, start up, validation, licensure, and ongoing technical support for their area of assignment.

Responsibilities

• Utilize technical expertise, experience, independent judgment, and decision-making to build robust processes that support consistent and reliable supply.
• Resolve and elevate technical issues impacting supply within the daily, weekly, and monthly IPT management processes.
• Provide ownership for Manufacturing Execution System (MES) batch record and facilitate changes as needed to support business needs.
• Ensure that assigned processes are developed in a robust manner and Critical Process Parameters (CPP) defined such that vaccines filled at the Wilson site consistently meets critical quality attributes.
• Act as technical subject matter expert during regulatory inspections for area of assignment.
• Ensure that process development and validation data is generated and documented in a manner that supports successful licensure and positive interactions with regulatory agencies.
• Execute change management for the PT and provide scientific/technical justification for proposed changes to support business needs.
• Investigate, determine root cause, and implement robust Corrective Action and Preventive Action (CAPAs) for any process-related compliance discrepancies noted during day-to-day activities and/or audits and elevate as per IPT management processes.
• Ensure that technical startup activities for area of assignment are managed such that project deliverables and timelines are well defined in advance and met.
• Recommend continuous improvement, productivity, and capital projects for the IPT.
• Partner with Operations, Quality, and other groups to execute projects that support the strategic goals of the IPT.
• Maintain a culture of continuous improvement and MPS focused on standard work, making problems visible, minimizing waste, reducing process variability, and problem-solving.
• Actively participate on cross-functional teams in an inclusive manner to advance project goals and achieve deliverables.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor degree or higher in Engineering or Science, or related areas of study.
• Minimum of four (4) years of direct pharmaceutical packaging experience.
• Minimum of two (2) years of hands-on engineering or technical support experience in a cGMP biopharmaceutical/vaccine manufacturing environment, including direct participation in equipment validation/revalidation.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as a team member.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and support others through a culture of inclusion, feedback, and empowerment.
• Working knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) and of regulatory requirements as they apply to the vaccine/pharmaceutical industry.
• Willing to work irregular hours to support multi-shift operation on an as-needed basis.
• Experience supporting regulatory inspections including Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
• Technical writing experience with investigations, change requests, standard operating procedures, batch records, protocols, etc.

Preferred

• Aseptic filling, qualified inspection processes, Cleaning-in-Place (CIP) and Sterilization-in-place (SIP) systems, pharmaceutical packaging and serialization/aggregation.
• Leading manufacturing/packaging projects and investigations.
• Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, Problem Solving, and/or Right First-Time methodologies.
• Familiarity with Change Execution Management tools.
• SAP/MES working knowledge.
• Working in a Center for Biologics Evaluation and Res