Process Engineer III
About this opportunity
Step into a pivotal engineering role where your expertise directly shapes the future of advanced manufacturing. As a Process Engineer III, you will provide engineering, validation, and maintenance support for process manufacturing equipment, facilities, and utilities at the site. In this hands-on position, you will ensure systems operate in a compliant, reliable, and efficient manner throughout their lifecycle, helping to drive operational excellence and deliver high-quality therapies to patients.
Location: This position will be located in Durham, NC and will be an onsite role.Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if this location is accessible for you.Key Responsibilities:Ensure new equipment is appropriately designed, qualified, and maintained across the equipment lifecycleOwn and manage equipment changes to maintain a validated and compliant stateInvestigate equipment and process deviations; implement corrective actions to prevent recurrenceServe as subject matter expert during audits and respond to regulatory observationsDevelop and implement compliant and effective equipment reliability and maintenance strategiesLead or support capital projects, providing subject matter expertise and technical guidanceCollaborate with operations to support new product introductions and facility fit evaluationsEstablish equipment specifications including user requirements, functional, and design specificationsEvaluate and implement new technologies and equipment platforms for manufacturing operationsMentor process engineers and lead small teams to optimize engineering systems and processesEssential Requirements:Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering or related technical fieldMinimum 5 years pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical GMP manufacturing experience, or equivalent experienceStrong knowledge of FDA regulations and GMP systemsDemonstrated experience supporting engineering activities in a regulated pharmaceutical or biotechnology environmentProven ability to lead cross-functional teams in a fast-paced and dynamic settingStrong project management skills with experience in both strategic and long-term planningExcellent written and verbal communication skills with strong technical writing capabilitiesAbility to analyze complex issues and implement effective, compliant engineering solutionsNovartis Compensation and Benefit Summary:The salary for this position is expected to range between $98,700 and $183,300 annuallyThe final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards.US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.#LI-Onsite
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 1527 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 125 biopharma companies.
Salary context
455 of 1527 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 1527 comparable roles
+ 38 more countries
Seniority mix
705 of 1527 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
7 of 1527 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.