Reliability and Automation Lead

We Are The People Who Give Possibilities Purpose BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world. Advancing the world of health™ is our Purpose, and it’s no small feat. It takes the imagination and passion of all of us—from design and engineering to the manufacturing and marketing of our billions of Med Tech products per year—to look at the impossible and find transformative solutions that turn dreams into possibilities.

The Reliability and Automation Lead is accountable for achieving high asset reliability, availability, safety, and lifecycle performance at optimal cost across the site. This role provides strategic and operational leadership for controls and automation systems, reliability engineering, machine design support, and maintenance strategy, including oversight of the tool room and critical spares.

The position leads a multidisciplinary team of Controls & Automation Engineers, Reliability Engineers, Vision & Controls Technicians, Machine Designers, and Hourly Technical Associates. By partnering closely with Operations, Product Lines, Preventive Maintenance (PM), Engineering, Quality, EHS, IT/OT, and Finance, the leader ensures reliability‑centered maintenance strategies are deployed, repetitive breakdowns are eliminated, and continuous improvement initiatives deliver measurable gains in OEE, MTTR, MTBF, cost, and safety performance.

• Safety, Behavior & Compliance
• Champion a Zero Harm safety culture, ensuring compliance with all site, corporate, and regulatory EHS requirements.
• Enforce LOTO, electrical safety, machine guarding, ergonomic risk mitigation, and risk‑assessment processes.
• Conduct safety walks, audits, coaching, and hazard reviews with timely corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with quality systems, engineering standards, cybersecurity requirements, and documentation controls.
• Asset Reliability & Maintenance Strategy
• Lead development and execution of a site‑wide Reliability‑Centered Maintenance (RCM) strategy aligned with equipment classification and maintenance budget.
• Own reliability KPIs including MTTR, MTBF, OEE, failure trends, maintenance cost, and asset lifecycle health.
• Identify weak components and chronic losses; lead structured root‑cause analysis and permanent corrective actions.
• Coordinate deployment of Condition‑Based Maintenance (CBM) tools and predictive technologies.
• Drive spare parts optimization, risk‑based spares strategies, and cost reduction initiatives.
• Controls & Automation Strategy & Governance
• Own the Automation Master Plan, including modernization, obsolescence management, and standardization.
• Establish and enforce standards for PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, safety systems, motion/drives, robotics, vision systems, instrumentation, and industrial networks.
• Govern version control, backups, disaster recovery, access management, and OT cybersecurity posture.
• Ensure availability, reliability, and maintainability of both legacy and new automation assets.
• Troubleshooting & Operational Support
• Provide escalation support for high‑complexity automation and equipment failures.
• Partner with PM, Product Line, and Operations teams during startups, changeovers, shutdowns, and recovery events.
• Coach teams in structured troubleshooting and reliability tools to build long‑term capability.
• Projects, Capital Integration & Digitalization
• Lead and govern small‑to‑medium automation, reliability, and electrical projects, ensuring safety, scope, quality, schedule, and cost adherence.
• Oversee I/O lists, cause‑and‑effect matrices, panel designs, FAT/SAT, validation plans, and commissioning activities.
• Ensure Management of Change (MOC), training, documentation updates, and handover requirements are completed.
• Support digitalization initiatives including MES, historian integration, connectivity, and data‑driven decision making.
• Team Leadership & Capability Development
• Build and sustain a high‑performing technical organization across reliability, controls, automation, and machine design.
• Provide servant leadership, coaching, and mentorship to exempt and hourly associates.
• Develop technical training paths, standard work, OPLs, and succession plans.
• Man…