Sr. Manager, Fill & Finish, Pckg. & Inspection Production Engineering

CSL; Kankakee (IL); On-site; USD 136,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

CSL is seeking a Sr. Manager, Fill & Finish Production Engineering to provide strategic leadership for process engineering, equipment performance, and lifecycle management across isolators, vial filling, stoppering, and capping systems in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

You will lead and develop Senior Production Engineers and Production Engineers, drive asset reliability, risk-based decision-making, and continuous improvement through GMP-compliant practices and ISO-aligned asset management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Electrical engineering required.
• 7+ years in pharmaceutical fill & finish with isolator-based aseptic processing.
• 3–5+ years leading engineers or technical teams.
• Experience leading projects from start to finish, within time and budget.
• Strong GMP, validation, and regulatory knowledge.
• Experience with reliability engineering, maintenance strategies, and CMMS systems.
• Familiarity with automation and digital systems.
• Six Sigma/Lean knowledge is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee equipment reliability, availability, and performance across production areas.
• Provide expert guidance for complex equipment issues and drive root cause analyses and CAPA.
• Lead troubleshooting of deviations and sterility issues related to isolators and vial lines.
• Establish and monitor reliability KPIs (MTBF, MTTR, OEE) to drive improvement.
• Govern maintenance strategies (preventive, predictive, condition-based) and CMMS data usage.
• Govern change control and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Own asset lifecycle governance aligned with ISO 55000 and asset information management.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Data-driven decision making

Change leadership

Cross-cultural collaboration

Asset management

Education

Bachelor's in engineering (Chemical/Mechanical/Electrical)

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SAP

CMMS

Job description

The Sr. Manager, Fill & Finish, Pckg. & Inspection Production Engineering provides strategic leadership and governance for production engineering activities within pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. This role ensures safe, compliant, and efficient production by owning process engineering, equipment performance, and lifecycle management across isolators, vial filling, stoppering, and capping systems. The role leads and develops a team of Senior Production Engineers and Production Engineers, driving asset performance, risk-based decision-making, and continuous improvement.

• Role that this position reports to: Head of Reliability and Equipment Engineering
• Role/s that report to this position: Sr. Production Engineers & Production Engineers

Main Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

1 Equipment Reliability & Operational Support

• Responsible for overseeing the reliability, availability, and performance of equipment in various production areas. This role involves implementing proactive measures to identify and mitigate risks that could impact GMP, safety standards, and the continuity of supply.
• Provide expert technical guidance for complex equipment issues, ensuring that the troubleshooting processes are systematic and methodical. Facilitate comprehensive root cause analysis to identify underlying problems and oversee the implementation of effective CAPA to resolve these issues and improve overall equipment reliability. Equipment includes, but is not limited to, vial washers, dehydrogenation tunnels, isolators, cappers, clean-in-place systems, clean-out-of-place systems, pasteurizers, and more.
• Lead technical troubleshooting of complex deviations, sterility assurance issues, and equipment/process failures related to isolators and vial lines.
• Establish and monitor reliability KPIs (e.g., MTBF, MTTR, maintenance effectiveness, OEE contributors) to drive continuous improvement.

2 Maintenance & Asset Health Monitoring

• Supervise the creation and enhancement of maintenance strategies that focus on preventive, predictive, and condition-based approaches. These strategies should be carefully aligned with the criticality of assets and the associated risks, ensuring that maintenance efforts are effectively prioritized and resources are utilized efficiently to prolong asset lifespan and reliability.
• Ensure effective use of CMMS data (SAP) to monitor asset health, maintenance trends, and lifecycle cost performance.
• Champion predictive maintenance technologies and digital asset monitoring initiatives.

3 Change Management & Continuous Improvement

• Govern equipment-related changes through formal change control processes, ensuring GMP compliance, risk assessment, and controlled implementation.
• Lead and prioritize continuous improvement initiatives focused on asset reliability, compliance, cost optimization, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure engineering standards, best practices, and procedures are established, maintained, and consistently applied.

4 Asset Information & Lifecycle Management (ISO 55000 Alignment)

• Own and implement the site Asset Management Strategy in alignment with ISO 55000/55001, ensuring consistency with corporate asset management objectives.
• Ensure asset lifecycle governance across design, operation, maintenance, modification, and retirement of manufacturing equipment.
• Oversee asset information management systems, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and accuracy across engineering documentation, CMMS (SAP), and asset registers.
• Ensure asset criticality assessments, risk priority scoring, and asset performance targets are defined, maintained, and actively used to support decision-making.

5 Projects & Shutdown Support

• Accountable for the engineering portfolio of CapEx and OpEx equipment projects, including prioritization, resource allocation, and execution oversight.
• Lead long-term asset lifecycle planning, including refurbishment, upgrade, and replacement strategies based on asset condition and business risk.
• Provide leadership and governance for planned shutdowns, ensuring effective scope definition, execution, and post-shutdown performance review.

6 Compliance, Quality & Safety

• Lead, coach, and develop Senior Production Engineers and Production Engineers, building technical capability in asset management, reliability engineering, and GMP compliance.
• Set performance objectives aligned with asset management and operational goals and conduct regular performance and development reviews.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.

7 People Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead, coach, and develop Senior Production Engineers and Production Engineers, building technical capability in asset management, reliability engineering, and GMP compliance.
• Set performance objectives aligned with asset management and operational goals and conduct regular performance and development reviews.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.

8 Completes Any Other Duties/responsibilities Assigned By Senior Management

Position Qualifications and Experience Requirements:

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in engineering (Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical) is required.
• Master’s preferred

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in pharmaceutical fill & finish manufacturing, with deep expertise in isolator-based aseptic processing and vial filling
• 3–5+ years leading engineers or technical teams
• Experience in leading day-to-day decisions and personnel management.
• Ability to successfully lead projects from start to finish, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and meet high standards of quality.
• Strong understanding of GMP, validation, and regulatory expectations
• Experience with reliability engineering, maintenance strategies, and CMMS systems
• Knowledge of biotech manufacturing processes (upstream/downstream/fill-finish as applicable)
• Familiarity with automation and digital systems
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate complex engineering challenges into actionable programs
• Knowledge of Six Sigma/Lean principles is a plus.

Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication abilities.
• Innovation Leadership
• Technical Expertise in Asset Management
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Change Leadership & Transformation
• Cross-Cultural Collaboration
• Commitment to CSL values, ethical behavior, inclusive teamwork, and modeling a positive, respectful culture.

The expected base salary range for this position at hiring is $136,000- $171,000. Please note this salary range reflects the minimum and maximum base pay that CSL expects to pay for this position at the listed location as of the time of this posting. Individual base salary for a successful candidate is determined by qualifications, skill level, experience, competencies and other relevant factors. In addition to base salary, total compensation for this role may also include incentive compensation and equity.