Sr. Engineer II, Drug Product Automation

Moderna; Norwood (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Moderna seeks a Sr. Engineer II, Drug Product Automation, reporting to the Director, Global Drug Product Automation, to lead the automation and control system architecture for Drug Product Filling, Packaging, and Visual Inspection, and related digital systems.

You will oversee the automation system lifecycle from design to startup and qualification, establish engineering standards, govern data models and integration patterns, and mentor automation engineers across sites while supporting

Job description

The Role:

Reporting to the Director, Global Drug Product Automation, the Sr. Engineer II, Drug Product will serve as a technical leader responsible for defining, governing, and advancing the automation and control system architecture supporting Drug Product Filling, Packaging, Visual Inspection, and related digital systems.

The Principal Automation Engineer will provide technical leadership throughout the automation system lifecycle, including design, development, integration, startup, qualification, operational support, and continuous improvement. This individual will establish engineering standards and reusable design approaches, enable interoperability between equipment and digital platforms, and provide subject matter expertise for complex technical decisions, capital projects, system upgrades, and regulatory activities.

Here’s What You’ll Do:

• Serve as a senior technical authority for Drug Product automation systems supporting Filling, Packaging, Visual Inspection, and associated manufacturing equipment.


• Define, develop, and evolve automation architecture and engineering standards for Drug Product equipment and digital systems, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, modular, and aligned with current and future manufacturing requirements.


• Establish and govern automation standards for equipment state models, data structures, sequencing strategies, equipment modules, parameter frameworks, alarm management, and system integration patterns.


• Develop reusable and testable automation designs based on industry-recognized principles and standards, including ISA-88 and ISA-95.


• Provide technical governance and leadership for capital projects, equipment implementations, system upgrades, and vendor-developed automation solutions from concept and design through startup and qualification.


• Lead and participate in automation design reviews, including system architecture reviews, software design reviews, Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, HAZOPs, model reviews, and other engineering and safety assessments.


• Develop and maintain automation software, hardware, functional, and system architecture specifications to ensure designs meet manufacturing, quality, engineering, cybersecurity, and lifecycle requirements.


• Act as a system owner for GxP manufacturing systems, including Rockwell and Siemens PLC platforms, SCADA systems including AVEVA Wonderware, historians, equipment control systems, and associated automation engineering infrastructure.


• Define integration strategies that enable reliable communication and interoperability between equipment control systems, SCADA, MES, historians, serialization systems, data platforms, and enterprise applications.


• Establish requirements and standards for contextualized equipment data, OEE structures, alarm and event architectures, equipment data models, and system-to-system integration pathways.


• Partner with Manufacturing, MS&T, Engineering, Quality, IT Infrastructure, Digital, and automation vendors to ensure consistent implementation of automation strategies and standards.


• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to automation engineers across projects and manufacturing sites, driving harmonization of automation philosophies, design practices, and engineering execution.


• Support site automation teams with complex troubleshooting, root cause investigations, system performance issues, and implementation of sustainable corrective and preventive solutions.


• Ensure appropriate change control, configuration management, system lifecycle, and validation practices are incorporated into automation-related changes in accordance with GMP requirements.


• Serve as an automation subject matter expert during regulatory audits and inspections, providing technical support related to control system design, automation architecture, system lifecycle management, and data integrity.


• Identify and lead continuous improvement opportunities to improve equipment reliability, automation system performance, maintainability, data quality, and manufacturing efficiency.


• Stay current with advancements in industrial automation, digital manufacturing, control system architecture, and pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and translate relevant developments into practical engineering standards and solutions.


• Provide technical training, coaching, and knowledge transfer to automation, engineering, manufacturing, and support personnel.


• Manage and influence multiple complex technical initiatives simultaneously, including coordination with internal stakeholders, equipment vendors, system integrators, and external partners. Use AI in an innovative manner to streamline Automation way of working.


• May require off-hours support for critical manufacturing or project activities as appropriate.

Here’s What You’ll Need (Basic Qualifications)

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