Merck KGaA Posted October 1, 2026

Sr. Automation Engineer

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Full time
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Merck KGaA 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

Work Your Magic with us!  Start your next chapter and join MilliporeSigma.

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.

This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization. External applicants must be eligible to work in the US.

Your Role:

The Senior Automation Engineer role will serve as the administrator of our facilities automation systems, and all production computerized systems to ensure reliable and compliant operation. The position will apply equipment and process understanding of pharmaceutical manufacturing including operational efficiencies, process design, specifications, vendor management, qualification, safety and asset lifecycle management. You will be responsible for being the lead on automation projects, providing guidance to the automation team. This position does not supervise any staff, control any budget dollars or have any approval authority.

Major Position Activities & Responsibilities:

Will be the Automation Team Lead providing guidance and assistance on automation projects.

Will be the technical expert and administrator on computerized systems such as Allen Bradley, Honeywell and Wonderware. Responsibilities will include user access management across all systems supporting facilities, manufacturing and packaging.

Designs and performs routine maintenance tasks on computerized systems to ensure reliable operation and proper maintenance of backups.

Manages site SOPs and practices related to computerized systems to ensure CFR Part 11 compliance with emphasis on data integrity.

Provides daily support and oversight of site automation and leads periodic reviews of system performance to identify problem areas and drive continuous improvement.

Provides end user training for the operator controls of these systems.

Supports service work and system upgrades, including system administration tasks, coordination of vendor activities and qualification work.

Provides ongoing support to maintenance staff to solve complex problems, understand and coach failure modes, and prepare technical solutions on computerized systems.

Provides ongoing support to maintenance staff to solve complex problems, understand and coach failure modes, and prepare technical solutions on computerized systems.

Will serve as project lead and/or technical subject matter expert on site automation and computerized system projects.

 

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s in Engineering (Computer or Electrical preferred), or equivalence of certifications and experience.

10 or more years of experience in a manufacturing environment and

5 or more years in a pharmaceutical / drug manufacturing environment

Preferred Qualifications:

Knowledge of CFR Part 11 (EudraLex Volume 4 Annex 11 and ISPE GAMP Guidelines)

Building Automation Systems programming, troubleshooting and administration

Knowledge of Computerized Systems qualification and validation

Knowledge of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems (SCADA)

Must have good written and verbal skills

Requires manual dexterity, physical agility and the ability to lift 60 lbs.

Pay Range for this position: $110,300 - $165,500

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click here .

What we offer: We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace. Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!

Apply now and become a part of a team that is dedicated to Sparking Discovery and Elevating Humanity!

Job details

Seniority
Senior
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
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 485 comparable Senior Manufacturing & CMC roles across 78 biopharma companies.

485Comparable roles tracked
453Currently active
78Companies hiring similar roles
32Countries represented

Salary context

189 of 485 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.

This roleSubject $110,300/yr – $165,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate Director, Digital Scientific Workflows · Merck $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Senior Principal Scientist, Upstream Process Development Group Lead · Merck $190,800/yr – $300,300/yr
Peer group range $0 – $245,550 (median $147,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 485 comparable roles

United States310
India38
Netherlands19
Ireland17
United Kingdom11
Singapore9

+ 26 more countries

Seniority mix

485 of 485 peers have a known seniority level

Senior322
Principal88
Associate Director75

Therapeutic area mix

2 of 485 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Oncology1

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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.

60%similar
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60%similar
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Same function Same seniority Same country

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.

60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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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.