Sr. Principal Process Engineer –Packaging
About this opportunity
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com .
As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.
Job Function:
Supply Chain Engineering
Job Sub Function:
Process Engineering
Job Category:
Scientific/Technology
All Job Posting Locations:
Wilson, North Carolina, United States of America
Job Description:
About Innovative Medicine
Our expertise in Innovative Medicine is informed and inspired by patients, whose insights fuel our science-based advancements. Visionaries like you work on teams that save lives by developing the medicines of tomorrow.
Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.
Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine
Learn more and apply to this exciting new role!
As part of the Global Process Engineering team, the Sr. Principal Process Engineer – Packaging serves as the recognized technical authority and domain expert for packaging equipment. This role is accountable for end-to-end (E2E) process engineering ownership of packaging equipment, from conceptual design, commissioning and qualification, through initial equipment start-up for commercial manufacturing.
Key Responsibilities:
Leads development and delivery of packaging specifications and drawings (user requirements, data sheets, technical specifications, P&IDs, PFDs) supporting large-molecule, aseptic biotherapeutic drug product operations
Provide process system ownership and technical leadership for packaging equipment used in biotherapeutic drug product manufacturing
Assess vendor competency and capabilities, review and influence bid documents, and maintain accountability for project development and execution, including system performance
Lead detailed design and development of packaging equipment for biotherapeutic drug products, collaborating with multi-functional partners and strategic equipment vendors
Serve as the Packaging Equipment SME for large-molecule, aseptic drug product projects, collaborating with A&E firms, construction partners, and equipment suppliers
Lead and support equipment FAT, SAT, commissioning, qualification, and commercial production line start-up activities
Resolve complex technical issues during C&Q and ensure system readiness for qualification and commercial operation
Partner closely with Manufacturing, Facilities, MSAT, Quality, Procurement, E&PS, and EHS to align priorities and accelerate execution
Ensure alignment across evolving business needs, applying strong collaborator and partner leadership skills
Maintain current knowledge of industry trends, aseptic processing techniques, and biotherapeutic regulatory expectations
Apply data-driven insights and market intelligence to guide technical and strategic decisions
Ensure full compliance with company policies, cGMPs, regulatory requirements, and customer specifications
Qualifications
Education:
A minimum Bachelor's Degree in engineering required (Mechanical Engineering preferred)
MS or MBA preferred
Experience and Skills:
Required:
A minimum of 10 years packaging equipment process engineering and/or capital project execution experience within a large-molecule, biotherapeutic and synthetics environment
Strong background in large-molecule, biotherapeutic drug product device packaging equipment principles
Experience leading packaging equipment process engineering activities across the full product lifecycle, preferably within capital project execution
Shown ability to build and maintain strong partnerships with multi-functional customers
Ability to lead and influence multicultural teams and remote collaborators
Extensive interaction with external partners (A&E firms, construction teams, and equipment vendors) as Packaging Equipment SME
Demonstrated strength in resolving complex technical and regulatory challenges impacting the equipment and facility design of packaging equipment for large-molecule, biotherapeutic products
Significant experience with implementing serialization and aggregation for the packaging of large-molecule, biotherapeutic products
Solid understanding of the following:
cGMP requirements for biotherapeutic, large-molecule packaging equipment
Serialization and aggregation processes for finished biotherapeutic drug products
EHS requirements, with emphasis on EHS-by-design and construction safety
Start-up processes and Commissioning & Qualification (C&Q) of aseptic equipment
Engineering design principles for biotherapeutic drug product manufacturing
Construction, procurement, project controls, and project scheduling
Strong technical depth, problem-solving capability, interpersonal skills, and decision-making ability in a fast-paced environment
Passion for driving innovation in aseptic equipment and facility design
Preferred:
Demonstrated leadership of capital projects for aseptic large-molecule, biotherapeutic packaging equipment in the $50-$100 MM range
Deep process engineering expertise from conceptual design through C&Q to operational readiness in large-molecule biotherapeutic drug product environments
Experience supporting greenfield or brownfield GMP aseptic manufacturing facility start-ups for packaging equipment
Experience with combination products and associated regulatory expectations
Experience with automated case packers and automated palletizers
Other:
This position will be located in Wilson, North Carolina, and will require full time on-site support. However, the design of the facility will occur at an Engineering firm with frequent travel (> 75%) required until the project shifts to the plant site of Wilson, NC.
For more information on how we support the whole health of our employees throughout their wellness, career and life journey, please visit www.careers.jnj.com .]
Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants’ needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, external applicants please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers , internal employees contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.
Required Skills:
Preferred Skills:
Agile Decision Making, Coaching, Consulting, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA), Crisis Management, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Disruptive Innovations, Emerging Technologies, Industrial Hygiene, Lean Supply Chain Management, Process Control, Process Engineering, Product Costing, Program Management, Project Schedule, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Application, Tactical Planning, Technical Credibility, Technical Research
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 460 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 61 biopharma companies.
Salary context
203 of 460 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 460 comparable roles
+ 20 more countries
Seniority mix
460 of 460 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
2 of 460 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.
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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.