Associate Principal Scientist, Epidemiology - Military Veterans

Job Description

Our Manufacturing Operations 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 plant connected to our global manufacturing network to ensure the highest quality of raw materials, intermediates and finished products.

This is a night shift position, 8-hour Shifts Sunday - Thursday (3:30PM - 12AM or 12AM - 8:30AM determined on successful candidates' preference).

Position Description:

The role of Operations Manager at our Company's Durham facility is a manufacturing leadership role. The individual in this role must provide direction, coaching, and technical expertise to operations personnel responsible for the manufacturing processes. This individual must actively manage their assigned team to reliably support customer demand (including hiring as needed, employee development, routine 1:1 meetings and coaching, recognition, and performance management). Additionally, they must become proficient in the use of manufacturing systems and knowledgeable of site procedures in order to resolve process/equipment issues, minimize downtime, and ensure product quality.

This role will support manufacturing activities at the Durham Site. Successful candidate(s) will be assigned to support either pre-thaw (e.g. preparation of sterile components, tanks, and stabilizer) or post-thaw (e.g. bulk thawing, pooling, filling, lyophilization, capping and inspection) activities.

Key Responsibilities:

Employee Development / People Management:

• Develop, motivate, and manage a team to ensure reliable manufacturing process execution
• Assign yearly performance objectives for the team in alignment with department and site goals
• Provide regular feedback and coaching to employees on work performance
• Provide leadership to the team as needed based on the team's capabilities and maturity

Process Execution / Continuous Improvement:

• Provide a leadership presence on the manufacturing floor
• Champion standard work to drive consistent use of best practices across teams
• Regularly help the team troubleshoot issues to minimize downtime and maintain product quality
• Identify opportunities to improve the process (e.g. cycle times, ease of execution, reliability)
• Support work as needed to implement improvements (e.g. scheduling, staffing, protocol execution)
• Coach team members in executing smaller improvement projects in their operational area
• Represent Operations on project teams as needed

Communication

• Lead and support daily (Tier) meetings to facilitate flow of information up/down through the organization
• Hold regular team meetings to cascade information and collect team feedback
• Provide clear consistent communication from shift to shift
• Escalate issues as needed to ensure the right support/awareness is given to issues as they arise
• Serve as an Subject Matter Expert (SME) during tours to provide area/process overview information to visitors/auditors upon request

Quality & Safety Compliance

• Foster strong safety culture on the team through actions, coaching, and prioritization
• Coach individuals when reporting safety issues and completing corrective/preventative actions
• Drive culture of compliance through actions, consistent quality-driven decision making, and coaching of the team (e.g. documentation, housekeeping, area 5S, etc.)
• Participate in safety/regulatory audits (i.e. tours, topic discussion)

Financial

• Coach the team to ensure SAP transaction completion is timely and accurate
• Manage team staffing and overtime to support customer demand while meeting budget targets
• Recognize opportunities for cost savings and communicates them for potential project chartering

Education Requirements:

• High School Diploma AND at least Six (6) years in a manufacturing, technical, support, or Military role. OR
• Bachelor's degree in a technical field AND at least four (4) years in a manufacturing, technical, support, or Military role.
• Bachelor's degree and two (2) years of experience in a direct GMP, biotechnology, and manufacturing setting.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Ability to develop and lead others
• Ability to be flexible and understand the risk
• Continuous improvement
• Conflict resolution
• Leadership style - adaptive; high-performance coaching; a servant leader

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Two years in relevant Drug Product manufacturing or processing
• Demonstrated knowledge of Lean/Six Sigma
• Demonstrated experience of interacting with the site, divisional or regulatory audits

Schedule Requirements:

• This is a night shift position, 8-hour Shifts Sunday - Thursday (3:30PM - 12AM or 12AM - 8:30AM determined on successful candidates' preference).

#MSJR

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.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination

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

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as "remote".

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:
Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:
No

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable

Shift:
3rd - Night

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
N/A

Job Posting End Date:
03/14/2025
*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.