{"id":1473972,"url":"https://alion.io/job/merck-co-associate-director-engineering-2","title":"Associate Director, Engineering","company":{"id":3768,"name":"Merck & Co.","domain":"msd.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/msd","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":100,"open_postings":139,"ghost_share":0.014,"stale_share":0.086,"repost_share":0.094,"time_to_fill_p50_days":11,"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["South San Francisco, United States","Stockton, United States","Palo Alto, United States","United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":{"min":142400,"max":224100,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":224100},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-29T18:00:16Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-29","last_verified_at":"2026-10-01T07:57:18Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":2,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":2},"description":"Job Description\nGeneral Summary:\nDue to continued growth and investment, our company is hiring an Associate Director, Engineering within Biologics External Manufacturing Technology.\nThe Associate Director will be the key technical leader interface between our company and External Partners for the Biologics External Manufacturing (ExM) organization.\nThis individual will create, lead and execute technical transfers to and commercial supply from External Partner(s). The candidate will be based in the US on the west coast and report to the Director, Biologics External Manufacturing Technology.\nThe ideal candidate will be someone who can navigate a complex network of drug substance nodes across biologics modalities and tech support models. The candidate needs to collaborate across multiple technical functions to ensure the success technical transfer and commercial manufacture with the External Partner(s). This individual will be capable of leading several high-impact, complex, cross-functional divisional teams and will provide significant leadership to the department. This role is critical to the organization’s ability to support new and in-line commercial product technology transfers to External Partnerships, and support of our in-line products, with sharp oversight and technical risk management, focus on the rapidly expanding biologics third party network.\nPosition Profile:\nThe Associate Director, Engineering within Biologics External Manufacturing Technology is accountable for achieving excellence in Compliance, Supply, Continuous Improvement & Cost Reduction in partnership with our internal technical partners and External Partner (EP) leadership, supporting the Vaccines and Biologics businesses. This individual works in collaboration with the Focus Factory Operations lead, modality specific Technology Leads, Large Molecule External Quality Assurance, and Procurement. The Associate Director must have biologics manufacturing experience, with broad process sciences and analytics, strong leadership skills, business acumen, and interpersonal skills.\nJob Details:\nThe primary focus of the Associate Director is to provide technical and project leadership to Biologics External Manufacturing business for:\nProvides a single point of technical contact to assigned External Partners, impacted Company Manufacturing Division sites, and Commercialization.\n\nProvides technical oversight, management, and planning support for complex partnership models. Functions independently and provides coordination, communication, and oversight of assigned External Partner technical issues\n\nAccountable to External Manufacturing for overall tech transfer delivery (on-time, within budget), working closely with the Operations Unit leadership to assure resourcing for each activity.\n\nProvides technical guidance to the External Partner, assess viability of technology in proposed process configurations, verify adherence to required standards, and ensure deliverables are technically sound.\n\nCollaborates with Procurement, External Manufacturing Operations, External Quality, Regulatory and others to evaluate External Partner(s) for inclusion in the Company Network. Executes technical due diligence assessments at External Partner(s).\n\nEnsures tech transfers are positioned for successful business outcomes. Executes technical transfers and receiving site readiness activities.\n\nLeads team for identification and assessment of partner risks and develops mitigations plans.\n\nDevelops and executes validation strategies for new and existing products.\n\nProvides manufacturing process support to External Partner(s) to resolve production issues and to provide guidance on process and capacity optimization.\n\nEnsures targeted communications and alignment across technical functions. Guides and coaches' others in change leadership.\n\nSupport/Coordinate/Manage complex investigations, with appropriate interface with other impacted manufacturing sites\n\nDetermines resource plans across all relevant technical functions.\n\nProvides a technical review of External Partner process change requests, deviations, and Master Batch Record changes. Minimizes duplication of efforts between External Partner and Company systems.\n\nDrive and support Continuous process verification and process performance monitoring program for all products under his/her responsibility\n\nIn concert with Commercialization, Quality, and Regulatory, ensures that External Partner(s) are inspection ready for all new product introductions and transfers.\n\nUnderstands the true regulatory requirements and partners with Operations, Quality, and the External Partner to develop more efficient ways to meet these requirements.\n\nCollaborates with External Partners to achieve business goals and to establish a common culture that benefits both Our Company and EP.\n\nEducation Requirements:\nA Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or applicable Science is required. An advanced degree in Engineering, Science, or Business is preferred.\n\nMinimum of 8 (eight) years post-bachelor’s degree experience in Drug Substance and/or Drug Product vaccines and/or biologics manufacturing, engineering, and/or technical support of operations is required\n\nSkill Requirements:\nExpertise and demonstrated accomplishments leading technical transfers is required\n\nExperience in leading cross-functional teams in support of manufacturing operations at internal sites or External Partner(s) is preferred\n\nExpertise and demonstrated accomplishments with Lean Manufacturing applications to ensure year on year productivity improvements is preferred\n\nAdvanced problem-solving skills and experience leading teams to resolve complex business or technical issues is required\n\nExcellent leadership, collaboration, change management, interpersonal, analytical skills, collaboration, and engagement as a team player with dependable interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written) is required.\n\nAbility to motivate a team around a common vision and deliver expected results is preferred.\n\nCreative, innovative, thinks outside of the box, self-motivated, applies problem-solving skills, and solid base in engineering fundamentals and process troubleshooting is preferred\n\nExperience in complex international environment with matrix organization structures is preferred\n\nExperience in Large Molecule unit operation design, startup, and/or operation is preferred.\n\nTravel Requirements: >30% for partner assignments outside of primary location (primarily traveling within designated EU region). Travel and flexibility in partner assignment location is required; assignments may require short term travel assignments.\nLocation: Location US is flexible. Position may be based in Northern California or our company's Sites in the US\nReporting Structure: This role will report to the Director, Biologics External Manufacturing Technology\nRequired Skills:\nAdaptability, Automation Systems, Capital Project Management, Change Management, Clinical Manufacturing, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Drug Product Manufacturing, Interpersonal Relationships, Lean Manufacturing, Manufacturing Scale-Up, Regulatory Compliance, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Strategic Thinking, Technical TransferPreferred Skills:\nCurrent Employees apply HERE\nCurrent Contingent Workers apply HERE\nUS and Puerto Rico Residents Only:\nOur company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.\nAs an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Asa federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:\nEEOC Know Your Rights\nEEOC GINA Supplement\nWe are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.\nLearn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts\nThe salary range for this role is\n$142,400.00 - $224,100.00This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this 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.\nThe successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.\nWe offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include 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.\nYou can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.\nSan Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance\nLos 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\nSearch Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully\nMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.\nEmployee Status:\nRegularRelocation:\nDomesticVISA Sponsorship:\nNoTravel Requirements:\n50%Flexible Work Arrangements:\nRemoteShift:\nNot IndicatedValid Driving License:\nNoHazardous Material(s):\nn/aJob Posting End Date:\n10/13/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.","description_format":"text","description_chars":11394,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Flexible schedule"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Financial Services","Health Care","Veterinary Medicine","Biologics & Biosimilars"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-29T18:00:16Z"}],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":1,"expected_fill_days":11,"reasons":["conf:8","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":224100,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/merck-co-associate-director-engineering-2","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/merck-co-associate-director-engineering-2.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-02T01:11:38Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":1291,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":3709,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-03T00:00:00Z"}}}