Associate Director Maintenance

Associate Director of Maintenance

At Abb Vie, we are committed to discovering and delivering innovative medicines and solutions that address serious health challenges and improve lives around the world. Our Westport manufacturing site is a global centre of excellence, combining advanced manufacturing technologies with a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

We are seeking an experienced Associate Director of Maintenance to provide strategic and operational leadership for our maintenance and engineering function. This role is responsible for ensuring the reliability, availability, and compliance of manufacturing and utility equipment while leading a high-performing engineering team.

The successful candidate will drive maintenance excellence, support operational performance, champion continuous improvement initiatives, and ensure compliance with quality, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the site maintenance function to maximise equipment reliability, performance, and uptime.
• Establish departmental goals, priorities, and performance metrics aligned with site and business objectives.
• Manage preventive and corrective maintenance activities across manufacturing and utility systems.
• Drive maintenance excellence and reliability engineering programmes to improve equipment performance and reduce downtime.
• Lead the planning and execution of engineering and maintenance projects, including equipment upgrades and process improvements.
• Develop, monitor, and manage engineering budgets and capital expenditure projects.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory, quality, environmental, health, and safety requirements.
• Support internal, corporate, and external regulatory audits and inspections.
• Collaborate closely with Production, Quality, Engineering, and other site functions to optimise manufacturing performance.
• Oversee calibration activities and ensure compliance with maintenance and asset management programmes.
• Manage contractor relationships, negotiate service agreements, and supervise external service providers.
• Lead investigations, root cause analyses, CAPA implementation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise on engineering and maintenance-related matters.
• Drive a culture of safety, operational excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of approximately 10-15 maintenance and engineering professionals.
• Set performance objectives and support employee development through regular feedback, coaching, and succession planning.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance team environment.
• Contribute to broader talent management initiatives and organisational development activities.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 6 years' combined experience within engineering, manufacturing, or maintenance environments.
• Previous leadership experience managing engineering, maintenance, or technical teams.
• Strong knowledge of maintenance systems, reliability engineering, and asset management principles.
• Experience with in a regulated manufacturing environment such as biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, medical device, or similar industries.
• Proven experience managing budgets, projects, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong understanding of GMP, regulatory compliance, and quality systems.

Preferred

• Professional engineering accreditation or membership of a recognised engineering body.
• Experience implementing Maintenance Excellence Programmes, reliability-centred maintenance, or continuous improvement initiatives.
• Experience supporting regulatory inspections and corporate audits.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management capabilities.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to balance operational priorities and long-term objectives.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across all levels of the organisation.
• Results-oriented with a focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• High level of integrity, accountability, and commitment to quality.
• Strong decision-making capability in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Additional Information

Why Abb Vie?

At Abb Vie Westport, you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while working in a collaborative and innovative…