About this opportunity
Job Title: Automation Engineer
Location: Waterford, Ireland
Contract Type: 18-Month Fixed-Term Contract
Shift Pattern: Standard Days
About the role
As an Automation Engineer within the Waterford Automation & Manufacturing Systems team, you will play a critical role in supporting and advancing the site's automated manufacturing capabilities across PFS, LYO, Filling, and Packaging operations. You will be responsible for both the operational support of existing automation infrastructure and the delivery of capital improvement projects, ensuring systems are reliable, compliant, and continuously evolving in line with Sanofi's Digital Lighthouse ambitions.
You will work across a broad technology stack including PLCs, SCADA, MES, Historian, and IIoT platforms, operating within a GMP-regulated environment where patient safety and product quality are paramount.
Ready to get started?
Join a global network that powers how Sanofi delivers, seamlessly, purposefully, and at scale. In Manufacturing & Supply, you’ll help reimagine how life-changing treatments reach people everywhere, faster.
About Sanofi:
We’re an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people’s lives and delivering compelling growth. Our deep understanding of the immune system – and innovative pipeline – enables us to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world. Together, we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.
Main responsibilities
Operational Support & System Maintenance
Provide day-to-day automation support for manufacturing equipment and systems across PFS, LYO, Filling, and Packaging operations
Troubleshoot and resolve automation-related issues on Siemens S7/TIA Portal, Wonderware, iFix, and Zenon SCADA platforms to minimise production downtime
Maintain and administer OSIsoft PI Historian and Ignition platforms, ensuring data integrity and availability for operational and quality reporting
Manage and support Windows Server environments (including virtualised/VM infrastructure) underpinning site automation systems
Maintain site OT network infrastructure, ensuring cybersecurity controls and network segmentation are upheld in line with site standards
Capital Projects & Continuous Improvement
Lead and contribute to automation capital projects from concept through to commissioning and handover, including URS development, design review, FAT/SAT, and qualification activities
Identify and implement automation improvements that drive efficiency, reduce waste, and support the site's Digital Lighthouse and Industry 4.0 roadmap
Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Quality, and global Automation teams to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to specification
Support the integration of MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) with automation layers to enhance data flow, traceability, and paperless manufacturing
Computer System Validation (CSV) & GxP Compliance
Author and execute validation documentation (URS, FS, DS, IQ, OQ, PQ, Validation Strategy) in accordance with Sanofi's Computerised Systems Validation GOP and GAMP 5 guidelines
Ensure all automation systems are maintained in a validated state and are inspection-ready for regulatory audits (FDA, EMA, HPRA)
Manage change control, deviation investigations, and CAPAs related to automation systems in compliance with site GMP procedures
Support the site's Business Quality Representative (BQR) process for GxP digital solutions
Data & Digital
Leverage OSIsoft PI and Ignition platforms to develop dashboards, reports, and analytics that support operational decision-making and continuous improvement
Contribute to IIoT and Industry 4.0 initiatives, supporting the site's Digital Lighthouse strategy through data connectivity, real-time monitoring, and smart manufacturing capabilities
Participate in the evaluation and implementation of new digital technologies aligned with Sanofi's global automation standards
About you
Essential Requirements
Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Automation, Mechatronics, or a related discipline
Significant hands-on automation engineering experience in a GMP-regulated pharmaceutical or life sciences manufacturing environment
Demonstrated experience with Siemens S7 / TIA Portal PLC programming and commissioning
Proficiency with one or more SCADA platforms: Wonderware (AVEVA), iFix (GE), or Zenon (Copa-Data)
Experience with OSIsoft PI Historian and/or Ignition (Inductive Automation) platforms
Working knowledge of Windows Server administration and virtualised (VM) environments in an OT context
Understanding of OT/IT network architecture, including industrial networking protocols (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, Modbus TCP)
Solid understanding of Computer System Validation (CSV) principles and GAMP 5 methodology
Familiarity with GMP regulations and pharmaceutical manufacturing standards (FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11)
Desirable Requirements
Experience with MES platforms (e.g., Werum PAS-X, Rockwell PharmaSuite, or equivalent)
Exposure to fill/finish, lyophilisation (LYO), or packaging equipment automation
Experience with IIoT platforms and Industry 4.0 / smart manufacturing initiatives
Knowledge of machine vision systems or robotics integration
Project management experience in a capital projects environment
Why choose us?
Transform lives worldwide by delivering life-changing treatments anywhere, anytime.
Grow, thrive, and make an impact in a workplace that empowers you to bring your best self every day, with pride.
Help deliver 30+ new product launches by 2030, ensuring patients get treatments faster than ever.
Develop new skills, explore cross-functional roles, and work in an environment that values growth and discovery.
#LI-EUR
Pursue progress , discover extraordinary
Better is out there. Better medications, better outcomes, better science. But progress doesn’t happen without people – people from different backgrounds, in different locations, doing different roles, all united by one thing: a desire to make miracles happen. So, let’s be those people.
At Sanofi, we provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, ability or gender identity.
Watch our ALL IN video and check out our Diversity Equity and Inclusion actions at sanofi.com !
The salary range for this position is :€54 800,00 - €73 067 Final compensation will be determined based on demonstrated experience, skills, location, and other relevant factors. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs.
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 2556 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 173 biopharma companies.
Salary context
663 of 2556 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 2556 comparable roles
+ 50 more countries
Seniority mix
1172 of 2556 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
12 of 2556 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"
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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.