Director, Global Automation Engineering

Company Description

Abb Vie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas - immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about Abb Vie, please visit us at  Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Linked In and Tik Tok.

The Director, Global Automation has global responsibility for ensuring reliable, safe, and efficient operation and maintenance of Abb Vie's automated process control systems within the manufacturing network that includes 25-30 sites. This position is responsible for designing and implementing technical strategic programs and initiatives and global processes to assure consistent service delivery and compliance for the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Contracting (MEC) organization.

The Director, Global Automation is the lead point of contact within manufacturing for automation/OT topics including data integrity, data security, system risk assessment and mitigation, standards/specifications and serves as the leader responsible for advising long-term technology decisions and developing investment strategy related to automated process control for the company.

• Build and lead a virtual engineering Community of Practice (eCOP) team made up of Site Automation leaders and a direct staff of global automation engineers; be the thought-leader with experience managing a comprehensive, industry-leading automation program. Lead the identification and adoption of emerging automation technologies to enhance manufacturing efficiency, reduce costs, and improve quality.
• Establish the position of Director, Global Automation as the internal leader for all technical process control discussions globally; provide the technical skills and expertise to guide the company's automation standards to the next level of reliability, proactive performance and compliant practices.
• Lead a team of engineering experts supporting Site Automation Managers and Operations Managers; ensure technical support is provided as required to maintain the standards and performance expectations at all Abb Vie Operations manufacturing sites globally.
• Oversee the development and implementation of technical training programs for Automation.
• Support global Procurement in the area of global and regional contracts for Automated Process Control Systems including DCS, PLC, SCADA, OSI-PI and other alliance and master service agreements.
• Provide audit support to site Automation teams and ensure globally consistent practices and risk remediation, where applicable.
• Research and implement innovative cost reduction, reliability improvement, and user interface standardization initiatives in driving human error reduction.
• Achieve all KPIs (budget, schedule adherence in achieving project milestones meeting user requirements, etc.) for automation related projects and programs. Establish metrics to monitor the effectiveness of automation systems and processes. Implement corrective actions as needed to meet business objectives.
• Manage all aspects of Abb Vie's Talent Management process; coach and deliver ongoing performance feedback, set goals that drive outcomes and model Abb Vie behaviors and assess performance accordingly. Build a high performing team & culture that demonstrates the Abb Vie Way of Working.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration with other departments, including R&D, Quality, and Supply Chain, to drive integrated automation solutions. Work with virtual / remote teams on a regular basis; able to adapt work schedule to accommodate early and late day conference calls.

• B.S. in Engineering or Automation is required. Master's degree in Engineering, Automation or related field is beneficial.
• Minimum of 15 years of technical experience; demonstrated expertise and practice in Automation Engineering including successfully running large global initiatives or capital projects.
• Prior leadership of technical teams desired - regional or global preferred.
• Proven track record of leading global or regional engineering initiatives in a large, matrixed organization. Experience in leading implementation of regional or global initiatives.
• Understanding of pharmaceutical/biotechnology operational best practices and regulatory expectations
• Subject matter expertise in distributed control systems, SCADA systems, PLC, instrumentation/controls.
• Strong knowledge of automation technologies, systems integration, and manufacturing processes. Thorough understanding of network architecture and security highly desirable.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Must be able to travel an estimated at 20% of the time, including some global travel.

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