{"id":3189603,"url":"https://alion.io/job/moderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation","title":"Automation Engineer – Packaging & Process Automation","company":{"id":5847,"name":"Moderna","domain":"modernatx.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/modernatx","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":90,"open_postings":12,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.417,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":55,"computed_at":"2026-10-28T05:59:10Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Harwell, United Kingdom","United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":58000,"max_usd":97000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":47},"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"CAPA","optional":false},{"name":"GMP","optional":false},{"name":"21 CFR Part 11","optional":true},{"name":"FMEA","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-24T01:21:28Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-24","last_verified_at":"2026-10-28T23:57:30Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"The Role\nJoining Moderna means advancing mRNA science to transform medicine. Work with exceptional global teams on a broad pipeline and build a career that makes a real difference for patients.\nModerna is establishing a leading research, development, and manufacturing facility at Harwell to support onshore mRNA vaccine production for respiratory diseases in the UK.\nThis long term investment will create skilled jobs and strengthen collaboration with academic, NHS, and government partners. We welcome experts ready to help expand access to life saving vaccines.\nAt Moderna's Harwell manufacturing facility, you will play a pivotal hands-on engineering role in introducing, commissioning, and optimising sophisticated automation systems supporting drug product packaging and drug substance manufacturing. You will help establish new automated labelling and secondary packaging capabilities while ensuring the reliability, compliance, and continuous improvement of existing Emerson DeltaV and Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLC-based process control systems. Working independently as a technical specialist and collaborating across manufacturing, engineering, quality, validation, and digital teams, you will help translate advanced automation technology into safe, efficient, validated manufacturing operations, with opportunities to explore emerging digital and Generative AI-enabled solutions.\nHere’s What You’ll Do\nDrive packaging automation and manufacturing performance: Provide hands-on, day-to-day automation engineering support across drug product packaging and existing Drug Substance (DS) manufacturing operations. Troubleshoot and optimise PLCs, Emerson DeltaV distributed control systems, HMIs, instrumentation, industrial networks, machine controls, servo and motion systems, vision technologies, and equipment interfaces to maintain reliable manufacturing operations.\nBecome a technical expert in automated packaging technologies: Support the introduction, operation, and continuous improvement of automated labelling and secondary packaging equipment, including labelers, cartoners, case packers, serialization and aggregation systems, vision inspection equipment, printers, scanners, conveyors, robotics, and material-handling systems. Develop a detailed understanding of equipment functionality, control architectures, and interfaces with wider manufacturing systems.\nSupport packaging line configuration and operational readiness: Partner with manufacturing teams to manage equipment setup, format changes, line clearance, recipe management, and changeovers across different products and packaging configurations. Identify opportunities to simplify operations, reduce changeover times, and improve packaging-line consistency, flexibility, and throughput.\nDeliver automation projects from design through manufacturing start-up: Support new and modified automation systems throughout their complete engineering lifecycle, including design, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning, qualification, validation, start-up, and handover to routine manufacturing. Contribute to new-equipment introduction, technology transfer, scale-up, and commercial manufacturing readiness.\nStrengthen process automation and control systems: Provide technical support for existing drug substance manufacturing automation, with particular emphasis on Emerson DeltaV and Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLC-based systems. Diagnose complex control-system issues spanning instrumentation, electrical systems, industrial communications, automation logic, and mechanical equipment interfaces.\nDevelop robust automation engineering documentation: Create, review, and maintain automation lifecycle documentation, including User Requirement Specification (URS) inputs, functional and design specifications, control strategies, configuration records, engineering drawings, risk assessments, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), troubleshooting guides, and engineering standards. Ensure documentation supports effective system operation, maintainability, and regulatory compliance.\nCollaborate with equipment manufacturers and system integrators: Work directly with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), automation suppliers, and system integrators to support equipment design, technical troubleshooting, upgrades, modifications, and performance improvements. Help ensure vendor-delivered solutions meet Moderna's operational, technical, safety, and quality expectations.\nLead technical investigations and sustainable problem resolution: Independently investigate automation failures, recurring equipment downtime, quality events, and manufacturing process deviations. Apply structured root cause analysis to complex multidisciplinary problems, developing and implementing effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) that address underlying causes and prevent recurrence.\nUse manufacturing data to improve equipment performance: Analyse equipment and process data to identify recurring failures, performance trends, and opportunities to improve equipment reliability, throughput, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), changeover performance, and operational robustness. Leverage manufacturing historians, MES, CMMS, and available analytics capabilities to support evidence-based engineering decisions.\nMaintain validated and compliant automation systems: Support GxP activities, including formal change controls, deviations, CAPAs, risk assessments, qualification, and validation. Partner closely with Quality and Validation to ensure packaging and process automation systems remain in a controlled and validated state throughout their operational lifecycle, with appropriate consideration of electronic records, data integrity, and computerized system requirements.\nOptimise equipment and systems integration: Troubleshoot interactions between packaging equipment, automation platforms, industrial networks, and plant-level digital systems. Contribute to robust communication and data exchange across operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments, supporting equipment connectivity, serialization, and manufacturing-system integration.\nDrive reliability and lifecycle improvements: Contribute to equipment lifecycle management, preventive maintenance strategies, spare-parts planning, and technology obsolescence management. Apply reliability engineering principles to improve equipment availability, reduce unplanned downtime, and strengthen long-term manufacturing performance.\nExplore digital innovation and emerging technologies: Identify opportunities to leverage digital manufacturing tools, advanced analytics, and approved Generative AI-enabled solutions to support troubleshooting, technical knowledge management, engineering documentation, and equipment performance optimisation while maintaining appropriate GxP and data integrity controls.\nCollaborate across a multidisciplinary manufacturing environment: Work closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Maintenance, Quality, Validation, Supply Chain, Automation, Digital, and external technical partners to deliver integrated packaging and process automation solutions that meet operational requirements, business objectives, and patient needs. Communicate complex technical findings clearly to manufacturing colleagues, technical stakeholders, leadership, and equipment vendors.\nProvide flexible manufacturing support: Take ownership of technical issues through resolution in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, balancing competing priorities and working independently. Provide occasional off-hours, weekend, and holiday support as manufacturing operations require.\nThe key Moderna Mindsets you’ll need to succeed in the role:\n“We behave like owners. The solutions we’re building go beyond any job description.”\n\"We digitize everywhere possible using the power of code to maximize our impact on patients.”\nHere’s What You’ll Need (Minimum Qualifications)\nBachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Packaging Engineering, or a related technical discipline.\n3+ years of automation engineering experience supporting manufacturing equipment, preferably within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, or another highly regulated industry.\nDemonstrated experience troubleshooting and supporting automated manufacturing or packaging equipment.\nExperience working within a GMP/GxP-regulated manufacturing environment.\nAbility to troubleshoot complex equipment problems involving multiple disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, controls, and automation systems.\nExperience supporting equipment changes through formal engineering and quality-system processes.\nClear communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical information in an understandable manner to manufacturing personnel, technical teams, leadership, vendors, and Quality stakeholders.\nAbility to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and independently drive technical issues to resolution.\nFlexibility to occasionally provide off-hours, holiday, and weekend support as manufacturing needs require.\nHere’s What You’ll Bring to the Table (Preferred Qualifications)\nStrong knowledge of pharmaceutical drug product packaging operations and packaging-line equipment.\nExperience with packaging OEMs and technologies such as Marchesini, Optima, Syntegon/Bosch, Körber, Antares Vision, Cognex, Keyence, Zebra, Videojet, Domino, Rockwell Automation, or similar systems.\nProficiency with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLCs, HMIs, servo systems, industrial networks, and machine controls.\nExperience with machine vision and automated inspection systems.\nKnowledge of serialization and aggregation requirements and associated Level 1-4 packaging architecture.\nFamiliarity with 21 CFR Part 11, electronic records/electronic signatures, data integrity, and computerized system lifecycle principles\nUnderstanding of packaging-related quality considerations such as label control, reconciliation, vision inspection, barcode grading, tamper evidence, container/closure integrity interfaces, and product traceability.\nExperience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, structured problem solving, FMEA, RCA, and reliability engineering methodologies.\nExperience using manufacturing data, historians, MES, CMMS, or analytics tools to improve equipment performance.\nUnderstanding of IT/OT networking and the ability to troubleshoot communication issues between equipment and plant systems.\nKnowledge of equipment lifecycle management, preventive maintenance, spare-parts strategies, and obsolescence management.\nExperience supporting new-equipment introduction, technology transfer, scale-up, and commercial manufacturing readiness.\nAbility to quickly learn new equipment, technologies, and manufacturing processes.\nA desire to make an impact as part of a high-growth, transformational company that is Bold, Relentless, Curious, and Collaborative, consistent with the language in the existing role.\nAs part of Moderna’s commitment to workplace safety, this role may require an enhanced pre-employment check.\nOur Working Model\nAs we build our company, we have always believed that an in-person culture is critical to our success. This role is 100% onsite, reflecting the importance of being physically present to support the work, collaborate closely with colleagues, and contribute to our site-based operations.\nWorking onsite enables real-time collaboration, strong team connections, direct mentorship, and the hands-on partnership needed to deliver our mission. Join us in shaping a world where every interaction is an opportunity to learn, contribute, and make a meaningful impact.\nModerna is a smoke-free, alcohol-free, and drug-free work environment.\nPay & Benefits\nAt Moderna, we believe that when you feel your best, you can do your best work.That’s why our benefits and well-being resources are designed to support y...","description_format":"text","description_chars":14996,"description_truncated":true,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Prescription Drugs","Vaccines","Infectious Disease Therapeutics"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-24T01:21:28Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":4,"expected_fill_days":55,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-28T05:59:10Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/moderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/moderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-29T04:03:33Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":6225,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-30T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":5847},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=5847"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fmoderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fmoderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fmoderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/moderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fmoderna-automation-engineer-packaging-process-automation"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3189603}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"modernatx.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3189603},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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