Senior Bioprocess Equipment Engineer – AI-Enabled Troubleshooting​/Solutions JP

• Thousand Oaks, CA
• Biotech/Pharmaceutical

Job Title: Senior Bioprocess Equipment Engineer – AI-Enabled Troubleshooting/Solutions - (JP16015)

Location: Thousand Oaks, CA. 91320

Employment Type: Contract

Business Unit: Pilot Plant Engineering

Duration: 1+ year(s) (with likely extensions and/or conversion to permanent)

Posting Date: 10/20/26

Pay Rate: $43 - $48/hour W2

Notes: Work arrangement: 100% onsite; local candidates preferred

Hours:

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with potential overtime and participation in an on-call rotation

3 Key Consulting is hiring a Senior Bioprocess Equipment Engineer – Pilot Plant Reliability & Troubleshooting for a consulting engagement with our direct client, a leading global biopharmaceutical company.

This role serves as an Equipment Senior Engineer supporting manufacturing in our client’s Thousand Oaks Pilot Plant, a non-GMP environment. The engineer is responsible for the reliability, performance, and lifecycle management of assigned process equipment, such as bioreactors, chromatography skids, and single-use and stainless-steel systems.

The position provides day-to-day, onsite technical support to Operations, with an emphasis on troubleshooting, maintenance coordination, and data-driven decision-making. The engineer partners closely with Operations and support functions to guide technical decisions during equipment issues, process changes, and system improvements. The role does not involve directly operating equipment.

The engineer also supports preventive maintenance strategy, asset management (for example, in Maximo), and the introduction of new equipment, ensuring systems are effectively integrated and maintained to meet evolving process needs. The role includes identifying opportunities to use digital tools and AI to improve troubleshooting, reliability, and workflow efficiency.

Success in this role requires independence, technical depth, a strong reliability mindset, and effective cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced development environment.

Supplement additional workload on team.

• Equipment troubleshooting and root cause analysis:
  Independently diagnoses equipment issues, explains the root cause, and describes how the resolution was verified.
• System ownership and reliability:
  Takes accountability for assigned equipment and drives maintenance and reliability improvements using data.
• Cross-functional communication:
  Works effectively with Operations, Maintenance, and support teams; communicates clearly during equipment issues and improvement work.

• Provide engineering support for pilot plant bioprocess equipment, including bioreactors, chromatography skids, TFF/UF/DF systems, cleaning systems, and single-use and stainless-steel equipment.
• Troubleshoot equipment issues, lead or support root cause analysis, and implement solutions that improve performance and reliability.
• Identify and mitigate equipment risks, including failure modes and obsolescence, and drive proactive improvements.
• Apply engineering fundamentals in areas such as thermodynamics, fluid systems, piping, electrical systems, and process controls to assess and resolve issues.
• Use equipment history and available system or process data—including trend analysis and statistical methods such as SPC—to guide maintenance planning and engineering decisions.
• Support equipment design, commissioning, startup, and integration for new or modified systems.
• Translate process and operational needs into engineering solutions and clear documentation.
• Coordinate with Operations, Maintenance, Instrumentation, Facilities, and Process Development teams to…