Sr. Specialist, Engineering

Job Description

Our Animal Health Manufacturing teams are the people that make our products. We work in the manufacturing plants with a “Safety First, Quality Always” mindset striving for continuous improvement. We work in the local/regional plants connected to our global manufacturing network to ensure the highest quality of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products.

The focus of a Senior Specialist within the Site Support (SS) team in the Bio Technology Solutions (BTS) department is on vaccine and biopharmaceutical process improvement, troubleshooting, technical investigations, and execution support for Animal Health manufacturing. The role supports complex commercial vaccine processes involving viral/vector-based and cell culture-based antigen manufacturing, downstream processing, sterile biopharmaceutical product fill-finish, supply continuity, and new process/product introductions, while also contributing technical support across other vaccine and biological manufacturing processes as business needs require. Within a multidisciplinary environment, you will collaborate with BTS-SS, BTS-PD, ATS, Operations, Engineering, Quality Control/Assurance, Supply Chain or Planning, Regulatory Affairs, Safety, and R&D to provide end-to-end technical support for commercial Animal Health manufacturing.

Job Description:

• Lead and support optimization, troubleshooting, investigations, validation, and process improvement for Animal Health vaccine and biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes, including complex viral/vector-based, cell culture, downstream processing, blending, and sterile fill-finish operations.
• Provide technical support for complex commercial vaccine manufacturing by helping resolve production issues, reduce process variability, sustain supply continuity, and improve right-first-time execution, while supporting other Animal Health manufacturing areas as needed.
• Support technology transfer, new process/product introductions, comparability activities, and manufacturing improvements across site, global, and cross-functional teams.
• Resolve manufacturing challenges with urgency using scientific data and practical recommendations grounded in safety, quality, compliance, cost-efficiency, and consistent execution.
• Evaluate technical issues from multiple perspectives, including process, equipment, automation, people, materials, safety, and compliance, to identify and address root causes.
• Apply working knowledge of USDA regulatory guidelines, current GMP expectations, aseptic processing principles, standardized work, engineering controls, and process analytical technology.
• Develop project charters, plans, timelines, deliverables, risk mitigation plans, tracking tools, and stakeholder communications aligned with manufacturing and business needs.
• Coordinate team activities, lead or participate in core team meetings, communicate status and risks, and escalate issues or opportunities as needed.
• Author and execute experimental protocols, reports, and technical/manufacturing documents supporting laboratory or production evaluations, investigations, process design, engineering studies, change control, comparability, and validation.
• Demonstrate leadership, collaboration, business acumen, and effective communication while contributing to global projects, continuous improvement, EHS support, and training or guidance for employees and interns.

Education Minimum Requirement:

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering, Biochemistry, Protein Chemistry, or related field with at least 5 years of experience in vaccine and/or biopharmaceutical Development, Process/Product Development, and/or Biological manufacturing or closely related field. (Or Master of Science degree and at least 3 years of experience.)

Required Experience and Skills:

• Direct experience supporting complex commercial vaccine processes involving viral/vector-based production, cell culture, downstream processing, and sterile fill-finish operations, with additional exposure to other Animal Health vaccine or biological manufacturing platforms.
• Excellent written and oral communication, documentation, and project management skills.
• Strong collaboration skills with experience working across commercial manufacturing teams and multidisciplinary stakeholders, including Operations, Engineering, Quality, Regulatory, Safety, Supply Chain, R&D, and global or site-based partners.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with a hands-on approach that incorporates safety, quality, compliance, process, equipment, automation, materials, and people considerations.
• Experience supporting complex commercial vaccine manufacturing or technical operations involving viral/vector-based or cell culture-based antigen production, downstream processing, sterile biopharmaceutical operations, and broader familiarity with other vaccine or biological manufacturing processes.
• Experience with process characterization, scale-up/scale-down, process robustness, technical troubleshooting, investigations, protocol execution, and validation support.
• Working knowledge of USDA regulatory guidelines, current GMP requirements, aseptic processing principles, and manufacturing/testing expectations for vaccine or biopharmaceutical products.
• Experience authoring and executing technical protocols and documents, including reports, investigation summaries, change control documentation, comparability assessments, and validation-related documentation.
• High degree of ownership, scientific rigor, urgency, and continuous improvement mindset in support of commercial manufacturing and supply continuity.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Understanding of statistics and application to process monitoring, control, investigations, and manufacturing data analysis.
• Experience applying standardized work, engineering controls, process analytical technology, or protocol-driven studies to improve process robustness and manufacturing performance.
• Experience introducing, testing, or supporting new technologies, process changes, or improvement initiatives in manufacturing or technical support environments.
• Experience supporting global, multi-site, technology transfer, comparability, or launch-readiness projects.

Schedule Requirements

• Able to work first shift, Monday through Friday as base schedule.
• Off-shift coverage may be required based on manufacturing and transfer activities.

Required Skills:

Experimentation, Experiment Planning, Laboratory Experiments, Laboratory Testing, Life Sciences R&D, Manufacturing Production, Manufacturing Scale-Up, Process Improvements, Process Scale Up, Technology Transfer

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

Yes

Job Posting End Date:

08/8/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R409631