Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across three continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

The Director Automation Lead Americas will provide strategic and technical leadership aimed at successful delivery of large scale Capital projects in the Americas region. The successful candidate will ensure all projects are adequately staffed and directed to achieve adherence to schedule, budgets, standards and practices, serving as a regional and global source of knowledge and solutions for the automation & MES discipline. The main focus will be to guide automation aspects of engineering anywhere from Ideation to Decommissioning, collaborating with cross functional teams consisting of Internal Lonza customers and External partners to achieve consistent results Regionally and Globally. This role will be based out of one of the following Lonza locations: Walkersville MD, Houston TX, or Portsmouth NH,

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The ideal candidate will be an experienced automation project manager that has worked on mid-sized to large scale Capex projects within the life science space. We are looking for someone with sensitivity for commercial aspects, sound decision-making skills and the ability to liaise within matrix environment, build trust and positively influence outcomes in a fast-paced, regulated project environment. In addition the candidate should have experience with life cycle management of automation & MES solutions.

Key responsibilities:

• Responsible for providing technical leadership and ensuring adequate direct support in the execution and delivery of Automation & MES Capital projects within Lonza
• Guide regional local Automation & MES teams to execute the automation aspects of projects on time, in scope and on budget
• Lead and coordinate within cross functional teams consisting of Internal Lonza customers such as Capital Engineering Project Management, Site Operations, Validation, and Quality Assurance to properly identify design needs of multiple simultaneous projects of varying size
• Lead, manage and support the development of global automation team members
• Develop and maintain together with procurement organization strong relationships (master service agreements) with technology suppliers and third party contractors
• Create, share and enforce global strategy for the standardization of systems for Automation & MES throughout Lonza in collaboration with SGIE (Strategic Growth & Investment Engineering) Platforms
• Drive innovation within automation and MES to achieve improvements to plant operations / throughput / compliance
• Coordinate with other Lonza Centers of Excellence to employ best solutions for all projects

Key requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher degree, required- Engineering , Computer Science or similar program of study
• At least 10 years of experience with design and operation of API/Biopharmaceutical facilities, both manufacturing and support systems (cGMP manufacturing, pilot plant & laboratories)
• Significant experience with and technically strong in process controls systems including PCS (DeltaV), PLC’s, EBR and MES (Syncade) systems
• 6 years of experience in project organization, management and coordination associated with the execution of capital projects in an industrial environment, including coordination of engineering & construction management consultants, equipment vendors and contractors
• Experience with integrations of Automation systems to higher level Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Syncade and SAP respectively
• Able to interact with and influence senior stakeholders both within and outside of Strategic Growth & Investment Engineering (SGIE) team and successfully collaborate in highly matrix environment
• Willing/able to travel domestically 25%

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Lonza is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a qualified individual with disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law