R&D
Where your curiosity drives the
miracles of
science

Job Title: Principal Automation Engineer

About the Job

Are you ready to shape the future of medicine? The race is on to speed up drug discovery and development to find answers for patients and their families. Your skills could be critical in helping our teams accelerate progress. 

The Principal Automation Engineer is responsible for ensuring the reliable operation and implementation of all process automation equipment and providing technical leadership for the Automation team. This team supports site-level Capex and Opex projects and provides day to day Automation and I&C support to the R&D sites located in Waltham, MA. This includes- development of concept, design, fabrication, commissioning and qualification of process and other systems.

The Automation group resides within the Engineering, Automation, and Technology Support group. The Principal Automation Engineer will report to the head of Engineering, Automation and Technology Support. 

This position requires the incumbent to be competent to provide technical leadership covering a wide variety of process equipment systems used in clinical Manufacturing processes, Purification and Fill Finish operations.  This position is also responsible for the understanding of data architectures utilized in the collection, analysis and visualization of time series data to support laboratory processes.

The team will work with the site scientific teams in the development and/or technology transfer of new solutions and modifications to our existing manufacturing process systems.

We are an innovative global healthcare company with one purpose: to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We’re also a company where you can flourish and grow your career, with countless opportunities to explore, make connections with people, and stretch the limits of what you thought was possible. Ready to get started?​

Main Responsibilities

This role works independently, with minimal supervision/direction and is responsible for:

• Providing technical Automation and I&C engineering solutions and oversite.

• Ensuring customers & stakeholder groups receive timely engineering solutions and services.

• Ensuring equipment automation designs and solutions are in compliance with regulatory guidance.

• Ensuring solutions satisfy the needs of internal customers in accordance with company guidelines, HSE requirements and procedures while meeting budget and schedule commitments.

• Providing guidance for Capital budget planning

• Ensuring the efficiency of, and compliance to, HSE and Corporate standards

• Maintaining OT equipment, including servers and software, and ensuring patching is current and in compliance

About You

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and 12 or more years of relevant progressive engineering work experience within the Biotechnology or Pharmaceutical industry.

• Previous experience which demonstrates the ability to effectively communicate and influence through a variety of modes and methods

• Possesses the ability to proactively analyze problems, identify key issues, and develop strategic, integrative, and tactical solutions.

• Demonstrated bias for empowering individuals and commitment to customers

• Cooperate transversally: collaboration and influence skills up-down-across functions, organizations, and cultures/geographies

• Previous experience leading teams and managing automation projects

• Embrace change and innovation and initiate new & improved ways of working

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Previous experience in a cGMP manufacturing environment.

• Extensive working knowledge of pharmaceutical/biotech processes.

• Extensive working knowledge of pharmaceutical/biotech process equipment

• Knowledge of data historians and data collection interfaces – including OPC-UA, MQTT, etc

• Knowledge of SCADA Lan architecture and network security

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• General knowledge of other related disciplines such as Mechanical, Process, I&C, Electrical, Computer Systems and Networking Infrastructure.

• Comfort in ambiguous environments and in taking prudent risks and acting quickly and decisively

• Autonomy and ability to balance long-term strategic priorities with short-term business needs

• Creativity and expedient problem-solving

• Flexibility to adapt to constantly changing business environment

• Working knowledge of maintenance practices including calibration and reliability engineering

• Ability to network equipment and create digital interfaces to collect time series data

• Knowledge of PAT equipment and software including SynTQ

• Knowledge of firewall configurations

• Understanding of data integrity principles and processes

• Experience with IoT solution and edge devices

• Experience with virtual infrastructures and management of IT/OT networks

• Experience with Emerson DeltaV, Rockwell Control Logix, Aveva OSI PI

• Experience with virtual infrastructure

Special Working Conditions

• On-call support for emergencies as needed.Requires working in an industrial manufacturing environment including gowning.

Why Choose Us?

• Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.

• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.

• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.

• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave.

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law

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All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs, and additional benefits information can be found here.

Pursue Progress. Discover Extraordinary.

Join Sanofi and step into a new era of science - where your growth can be just as transformative as the work we do. We invest in you to reach further, think faster, and do what’s never-been-done-before. You’ll help push boundaries, challenge convention, and build smarter solutions that reach the communities we serve. Ready to chase the miracles of science and improve people’s lives? Let’s Pursue Progress and Discover Extraordinary – together.

At Sanofi, we provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Watch 'One day at Sanofi' and check out our Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives at sanofi.com