Specialist, Automation Engineering - 2nd Shift (Onsite)

MSD; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 87,000 - 137,000; Full time

Job summary

MSD Rahway, NJ is seeking a Specialist, Automation Engineering to support sterile clinical manufacturing at the FLEx Center. You'll maintain validated automation systems, lead changes, and ensure data integrity and cGMP compliance across OT/IT in a fast‑paced startup‑like environment.

This onsite role requires a BS in engineering, at least 2 years of automation experience, and strong collaboration to drive capital projects, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement in a multinational pharma

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in process automation or equivalent.
• Strong project management and communication skills.
• Demonstrated performance in cGMP, quality systems, safety, and data integrity.

Responsibilities

• Maintain automation systems in a validated, compliant state per cGMP and lifecycle practices.
• Provide end-to-end operations support for sterile clinical manufacturing (formulation, filling, lyophilization).
• Lead automation changes, CAPAs, and investigations; represent automation in audits.
• Develop and execute automation change control including risk assessments and regulatory filings.
• Coordinate installation, integration, FAT/SAT, commissioning, and qualification of new equipment.
• Collaborate with IT and QA to align standards and manage user administration, backups, and virtualization.

Skills

Automation engineering

PLC/SCADA

Data integrity

cGMP

Cybersecurity

Troubleshooting

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLC

Siemens PLC

iFix/WinCC OA Ignition

Job description

Job Description

The Formulation, Laboratory, and Experimentation (FLEx) Center in Rahway, New Jersey, includes a cutting‑edge sterile drug product cGMP clinical supply manufacturing facility, known as FLEx Sterile, which is currently in the operational start‑up phase. FLEx Sterile is positioned to play a pivotal role in delivering our clinical pipeline to patients worldwide, supporting a diverse range of product modalities including sterile small molecules, biologics, vaccines, and antibody‑drug conjugates (ADCs). The facility supports the formulation and filling of clinical and developmental sterile products for critical program needs, such as new products in process development, products undergoing scale‑up, launch and transfer to the supply network, and existing commercial products undergoing process optimization. Support encompasses both start‑up operations (FLEx Sterile1) and a new capital expansion (FLEx Sterile2). The Specialist, Automation Engineering – role will provide end‑to‑end automation engineering support for the Rahway, NJ FLEx Center, with a primary focus on sterile clinical manufacturing within Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply (PSCS), Pharmaceutical Operations Engineering (Pharm Ops Engineering). The role ensures the reliable and compliant operation of process automation and OT/IT systems that enable formulation, filling, lyophilization, and associated support activities for clinical and development sterile products. This position supports start‑up operations and new capital investments in the clinical supply area, including automation lifecycle management, data and analytics, and site representation on capital projects. Off‑shift (second shift and weekend) or extended shift work will be required on an intermittent basis to support manufacturing operations. This role will be an onsite automation support role and directly reports to the Rahway FLEx Sterile Pharmaceutical Operations Engineering automation lead.

Primary Responsibilities

• Maintain automation systems in a validated, compliant state per cGMP, Safety, data integrity, cybersecurity, and lifecycle best practices (commissioning, qualification, change control, obsolescence, periodic reviews)
• Provide end‑to‑end operations support for sterile clinical manufacturing (formulation and filling/lyophilization), including on‑floor troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and performance/batch reliability improvements
• Implement and sustain platform automation solutions, reporting, and visualization to meet operational and compliance needs; keep documentation, SOPs, drawings, configurations, PMs, and inventories inspection ready.
• Lead and participate in automation system changes, investigations, CAPAs; represent automation and data integrity during internal/external audits and inspections.
• Develop and execute automation change control inclusive of change definition, risk assessments, impact assessments, task execution, implementation, and support of associated regulatory filings.
• Serve as site automation representative for new products, process changes, and operational improvements; lead cross‑functional teams and participate in tier meetings to drive continuous improvement.
• Represent automation in capital projects, embedding OT/IT architecture, cybersecurity, data integrity, and validation requirements in project scope and deliverables.
• Lead and coordinate installation, integration, FAT/SAT, commissioning, and qualification (AIOQ) of new automated equipment and systems; author/execute URS/RS/CS/DS/AIQ/AOQ/AIOQ/UAT.
• Evaluate and plan automation/IT expansions, replacements, upgrades, and obsolescence remediation to ensure quality, stability, scalability, and supportability.
• Partner with enterprise/divisional IT, global infrastructure, and risk/security to align standards and manage user/role administration, patching, backups, disaster recovery, and virtualization in GMP operations.
• Collaborate with GES, FM/GWES, Quality (product/equipment QA and digital data quality -DDQ), Manufacturing Operations, OEM vendors/system integrators to deliver reliable, compliant automation operations.
• Supervise and coordinate contract engineers/vendors and manage workload and deliverables.
• Develop and support data, reporting, analytics, and visualization solutions using historian/SCADA sources to monitor asset health and drive reliability improvements.
• Troubleshoot across controls, instrumentation, electrical, software, and industrial networking layers; apply lean and continuous improvement principles to stabilize and optimize automation system performance.
• Off‑shifts (second shift/weekend) or extended shift work may be required to provide automation support for manufacturing operations.

Education Minimum Requirement

• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering, Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in process automation or equivalent.
• Demonstrated a strong performance record and have excellent project management skills.
• Highly developed communication, teamwork skills.

Required Experience and Skills

• Strong knowledge of cGMP, Quality Systems, Safety, Environmental, data integrity, and validation principles for automation and computer systems.
• Hands‑on experience maintaining validated automation systems, executing change control, investigations/CAPA, periodic reviews, system administration (e.g., user/role management, patching, backups, virtualization), and cybersecurity within GMP operations.
• Proficiency with PLC/SCADA and industrial networking fundamentals; ability to troubleshoot across controls, instrumentation, electrical, and software layers.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and technical writing skills; ability to lead without authority and influence cross‑functional teams.
• Proven root cause analysis and problem‑solving skills; continuous improvement mindset.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Platforms/technologies: Allen‑Bradley and/or Siemens PLCs; SCADA (iFix, WinCC OA, Ignition); OPC; fieldbuses (ASI/Profibus/Profinet/DeviceNet); instrumentation and panel design Programming: Ladder Logic, Sequential Function Charts, Python and/or other scripting for automation, testing, and reporting Knowledgeable of S88 batch standards.
• Experience in biologics, vaccine or bulk sterile manufacturing facilities is strongly preferred.
• OT/IT: Industrial networking, virtualization (e.g., VMs), databases/historians, and basic system administration Experience with electronic validation and quality systems (e.g., Kneat/eVal, Veeva).
• Prior leadership of installation/integration/qualification of automated equipment; experience on capital projects in GMP environments.
• Familiarity with planning/scheduling practices, vendor management, and business/financial acumen for project delivery.
• Track record of independent ownership, prioritization, and delivery in a fast‑paced clinical manufacturing setting.
• Demonstrated experience supporting audits/inspections and authoring/reviewing SOPs, validation protocols/reports.

What you can expect

• Direct impact enabling sterile product development from lab to clinic through robust, compliant automation
• Ownership across automation lifecycle, troubleshooting, and capital initiatives
• Collaboration with world‑class operations, quality, engineering, IT, and security teams

Who we are

For more than a century, we have been bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.

What we look for

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today.

Internal Applications

In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions. If you have been offered a separation benefits package but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss it in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Inclusion

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only: Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. For more information about personal rights under Equal Employment Opportunity, visit: EEOC Know Your Rights EEOC GINA Supplement Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. Residents of Colorado: Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts.

Salary Range

The primary location for this posting is: USA - New Jersey - Rahway. Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below. The salary range for the primary location of this role is: $87,300.00 - $137,400.00. This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long‑term incentive, if applicable.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days

More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

Additional Locations Salary Information

Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Employment Details

Employee Status: Regular Relocation: Domestic VISA Sponsorship: No Travel Requirements: 10% Flexible Work Arrangements: Not Applicable Shift: 2nd - Evening Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): n/a