About This Role
The Director, Head of Automation Engineering is accountable for the strategy, delivery, and operational excellence of automation and control systems across manufacturing, laboratory, office, and site infrastructure environments. This role leads a highly skilled engineering team, owns the Site Automation small-capital portfolio, and represents automation in large capital projects and technology transfers.
As a core member of the Site Leadership Team (SLT), the role shapes site strategy, escalates enterprise risks, and ensures automation systems are compliant, reliable, and aligned with business objectives. This position is also an extended member of the PO&T Global Engineering & Facilities Leadership Team.
What You’ll do
- Lead and continuously refresh the Site Automation Roadmap, translating strategy into executable plans with measurable outcomes.
- Provide operational leadership and computerized system ownership for automation systems supporting manufacturing, laboratories, and infrastructure, including SCADA/MES, PLCs, and data historians, with accountability for full asset lifecycle management.
- Manage and develop a high-performing Automation Engineering team including hiring, performance management, succession planning, and retention.
- Own the lifecycle delivery of control systems, from design and implementation through commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV).
- Support technology transfers and production readiness by ensuring automation systems meet schedule, quality, and regulatory requirements.
- Actively participate in SLT forums, escalating risks, and bringing options-based recommendations to governance.
- Forecast, manage, and optimize operating budgets and small-capital automation investments; represent automation in larger capital programs.
- Interface with Quality, IT, Security, Regulatory, and Validation organizations to ensure alignment with Quality Management System (QMS) directives and global engineering standards.
- Present automation strategies, system designs, and compliance evidence to internal governance bodies and external regulators.
- Maintain business continuity programs, including Business Impact Assessments, system criticality assessments, and emergency response/recovery exercises.
- Ensure a sustainable 24×7 automation support model with appropriate training, documentation, and audit readiness.
Required Skills
- Minimum 12 years in pharmaceutical, biotech operations, or relevant field, with at least 5 years leading technical engineering teams.
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or relevant field from an accredited college or university.
- Hands-on experience implementing and supporting SCADA, PLCs, and industrial data systems (e.g., historians).
- Strong working knowledge of S88, S95, GAMP, CSV, and related regulatory and engineering standards.
- Proven delivery of control systems through design, installation, commissioning, qualification, and validation.
- Experience presenting automation systems and compliance approaches to health authorities and regulatory inspectors.
- Demonstrated ability to manage operating budgets, forecast spend, and oversee small-capital automation portfolios.
- Experience establishing and executing emergency responses, recovery planning, and system risk assessments.
- Ability to clearly translate complex technical and compliance topics for senior leaders and regulators.
- Ability to work onsite at Biogen's Pharma location in RTP.
Preferred Skills
- Experience supporting multiple technology transfers or site expansions under aggressive manufacturing timelines.
- Working knowledge of AVEVA/Wonderware, Allen Bradley/Rockwell, and Delta V.
- Prior membership on SLT or equivalent senior governance body.
- Experience operating within global engineering, quality, and automation standards frameworks.
- Demonstrated success building diverse, high-engagement teams with strong retention and succession coverage.
- Track record of delivering automation roadmaps with measurable outcomes and enterprise alignment.
- Strong change-management capability in regulated, matrixed organizations.
- Experience implementing or improving 24×7 automation support and on-call models.
Additional Information
Base salary offered is determined through an analytical approach utilizing a combination of factors including, but not limited to, relevant skills & experience, job location, and internal equity.
Regular employees are eligible to receive both short term and long-term incentives, including cash bonus and equity incentive opportunities, designed to reward recent achievements and recognize your future potential based on individual, business unit and company performance.
In addition to compensation, Biogen offers a full and highly competitive range of benefits designed to support our employees’ and their families physical, financial, emotional, and social well-being; including, but not limited to:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, & Life insurances
- Fitness & Wellness programs including a fitness reimbursement
- Short- and Long-Term Disability insurance
- A minimum of 15 days of paid vacation and an additional end-of-year shutdown time off (Dec 26-Dec 31)
- Up to 12 company paid holidays + 3 paid days off for Personal Significance
- 80 hours of sick time per calendar year
- Paid Maternity and Parental Leave benefit
- 401(k) program participation with company matched contributions
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Tuition reimbursement of up to $10,000 per calendar year
- Employee Resource Groups participation
Why Biogen?
We are a global team with a commitment to excellence, and a pioneering spirit. As a mid-sized biotechnology company, we provide the stability and resources of a well-established business while fostering an environment where individual contributions make a significant impact. Our team encompasses some of the most talented and passionate achievers who have unparalleled opportunities for learning, growth, and expanding their skills. Above all, we work together to deliver life-changing medicines, with every role playing a vital part in our mission. Caring Deeply. Achieving Excellence. Changing Lives.
At Biogen, we are committed to building on our culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the communities where we operate and the patients we serve. We know that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives make us a stronger and more innovative company, and we are focused on building teams where every employee feels empowered and inspired. Read on to learn more about our DE&I efforts.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Biogen is an E-Verify Employer in the United States.
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What We Do
Through cutting-edge science and medicine, Biogen discovers, develops and delivers innovative therapies worldwide for people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.
Founded in 1978, Biogen is a pioneer in biotechnology and today the Company has the leading portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis, has introduced the first and only approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, and is at the forefront of neurology research for conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Biogen also manufactures and commercializes biosimilars of advanced biologics.
With approximately 7000 people worldwide, we are truly a global organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is also home to our research operations. Our international headquarters are based in Zug, Switzerland and we have world-class manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Denmark. We offer therapies globally through direct affiliate presence in 30 countries and a network of distribution partners in over 50 additional countries.
For more information, please visit www.biogen.com. Follow us on social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
