Merck Posted September 14, 2026

Facility/Utilities Engineer

Wilson, North Carolina, United States of America FULL_TIME
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Merck is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Job Description

We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company, and we're at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. Join our team and contribute to the performance and results of our utility department, focusing on mechanical system improvements and optimizations.

The Facility/Utilities Engineer is a member of the Plant Engineering team providing technical support to the Wilson Site.  The site includes an Energy Center, Vaccine Manufacturing Facility, Quality Labs, and a Packaging facility. This support position will focus on mechanical system improvements and optimizations. The incumbent will also be responsible for leading plant engineering improvement projects and implementation of productivity enhancement initiatives

Responsibilities

Manage individual contributors (professional employees) and/or contractors

Contribute to the performance and results of the utility department

Adapt departmental plans and priorities to address resource and operational challenges

Make decisions guided by policies, procedures, and business plan; receive guidance from manager

Provide technical guidance to employees, colleagues, or contractors

Anticipate and interpret client and/or customer needs to identify solutions

Work as a liaison between Plant Engineering and other Site Business Partners

Manage capital projects involving plant engineering equipment replacement/upgrades

Apply management skills to align work activities with department objectives

Lead in the identification and implementation of process improvement projects, productivity initiatives, and corrective actions while focusing on equipment uptime, minimizing cost, and maintaining process consistency

Investigate deviations (both minor and major), with responsibility to interface with Operations, Automation, and Quality approvers

Perform a thorough review of engineering records and related GMP documentation, identifying and resolving discrepancies in a timely manner, and implementing corrective actions to improve the execution/review process

Develop training material and provide necessary training for system maintenance as a subject matter expert (SME)

Work alongside operations and lean six sigma team members to develop reliable utility processes that meet cGMP requirements

Be knowledgeable of all utility systems (e.g., USP water, HVAC, electrical distribution, etc.) regarding functionality of equipment and relied on as SME during regulatory discussions

Identify and resolve technical and operational problems; collaborate with peers to resolve problems that cross into inter-related units

Assist in the identification, development, and implementation of new systems which enhance the operation of Plant Engineering processes

Assist with troubleshooting Plant Engineering utility equipment on an as-needed basis, including but not limited to chillers, boilers, AHUs, PLCs, humidifiers/dehumidifiers, water systems, Square D controllers/monitors, clean steam generators, and electrical distribution systems

Conduct engineering tasks as needed to maintain plant utility equipment

Explain difficult concepts and persuade others to adopt point of view; communicate information, ask questions, and check for understanding

Be accountable for the performance of plant engineering systems

Make decisions guided by policies, guidelines, and procedures that impact the department’s ability to meet performance objectives; consult on an as-needed basis with next-level manager on more complex decisions and/or issues that impact other units with inter-related processes

Adapt and implement departmental plans and priorities based on division scorecards to address local business, service, and operational challenges

Consult on an as-needed basis with next-level manager for newly identified priorities

Forecast resource needs; manage allocated expense budgets and allocated resources to implement projects

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor of Science (BS) in engineering or technology (Other fields in scientific disciplines can be considered provided the candidate has strong, relevant, and direct work experience)

Five or more (5+) years of facility/utility experience

Familiarity with cGMPs and regulatory requirements

Problem solving and troubleshooting skills

Technical writing and deviation investigation skills

Utility, HVAC, and Refrigerant system process improvement and optimization experience

Preferred

cGMP experience in a pharmaceutical environment

Formal problem-solving techniques, such as root cause analysis (RCA), failure mode effects analysis (FMEA), and/or Lean Six Sigma tools

Knowledge of Mechanical, Plumbing, ASME, and NFPA code requirements

Five or more (5+) years of industrial mechanical experience (HVAC, Boilers, Chillers, Cooling Towers, Refrigeration, Air Compressors, Air Dryers, and Hot Water Skids)

Automation (BAS) experience

Deviation management, troubleshooting, and resolving manufacturing anomalies

Minimum three years of supervisory or project management experience

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Budget Estimating, Capital Project Management, Change Management, Competency Management, Corrective Action Management, Data Analysis, Deviation Management, Equipment Qualification, Facility Engineering, Facility Management, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Influencing Skills, Liaison Work, Maintenance Supervision, Occupational Safety and Health, Plant Engineering, Plant Management Software, Problem Identification, Process Improvements, Project Resource Management, Regulatory Audits, Regulatory Management, Resource Allocation {+ 9 more}

Preferred Skills:

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.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills 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

The salary range for this role is

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

09/24/2026 *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.

Requisition ID:R415022

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Wilson, North Carolina, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

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.

2556Comparable roles tracked
2343Currently active
173Companies hiring similar roles
56Countries represented

Salary context

662 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.

This roleSubject $117,000/yr – $184,200/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate Director, Digital Scientific Workflows · Merck $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · VP, CMC Development Technical Strategy · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $122,400)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 2556 comparable roles

United States1232
India167
Germany134
France95
Ireland91
Netherlands77

+ 50 more countries

Seniority mix

1172 of 2556 peers have a known seniority level

Senior323
Manager265
Associate154
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc147
Principal88
Director79
Associate Director75
Senior Director34
Executive/VP7

Therapeutic area mix

12 of 2556 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease7
Rare Disease2
Oncology2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
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Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
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40%similar
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Principal
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Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

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.

40%
Development Scientist III, Analytical Development and Clinical Quality Control
AstraZeneca · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Analytical Chemistry - Peptides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor, Data Scientist - CMC Data Products
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Scientist - Molecular Biology, Cell Culture Upstream Process Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 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.