Johnson & Johnson Posted September 10, 2026

Sr. Principal Engineer, Equipment Preparation Lead

Wilson, United States Full time
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Johnson & Johnson 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

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

Apply today for this exciting opportunity to be part of our growing team!

As part of the Global Process Engineering team, the Sr. Principal Engineer, Equipment Preparation Lead, is the technical, subject matter (SME) expert in the equipment preparation area (parts prep, autoclaves, parts washers, COP/SOP, filter integrity testing). They will be accountable for overall E2E process engineering leadership in the design and execution of the equipment preparation area for a new cGMP drug product manufacturing plant. They will be responsible for leveraging their scientific, technical, and business expertise to develop the system equipment, solve sophisticated technical issues, optimize the process, lead commissioning and qualification activities and line start-up and ensure full compliance to regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities:

Development and delivery of the equipment preparation area system specifications, and drawings (user requirements, data sheets, technical specifications, P&IDs, PFDs)

Assess vendor competency and capabilities, review and discuss bid documents, and be held accountable for project development and execution, including performance of the process systems

Lead the detailed design and development of the equipment preparation area collaborating with a diverse multi-functional team including strategic equipment vendors

Lead equipment FAT, SAT, C&Q, and start-up

Technical issue resolution on the system during C&Q testing and the readiness of the system to start C&Q activities

Helping to identify and expedite key activities across multiple business functions (Manufacturing, Facilities, MSAT, Quality, Procurement, E&PS (Engineering & Property Services), and EHS

Ensure alignment across evolving business needs and require strong partner management and leadership skills to collaborate across these multiple business partners.

Maintain a solid understanding of industry trends and benchmarking against internal/external practices

Apply data-driven insights and market intelligence to advise future decision making, stay informed on industry and regulatory trends, and adapt strategies accordingly to achieve excellent portfolio performance.

Ensure compliance with policies, procedures, government regulations, and customer specifications

Qualifications

Education:

Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in engineering required; MS or MBA preferred.

Experience and Skills:

Required:

A minimum of 10 years experience in process engineering or capital project execution of equipment preparation equipment – autoclaves, parts washers, filter integrity testing, COP (clean-out-of-place), SOP (steam-out-of-place), equipment disassembly and assembly.

Track record of developing and maintaining strong partnerships with key stakeholders

Ability to lead and motivate multicultural teams and remote customers

Extensive interaction with external partners (A&E, construction firms, equipment vendors) to develop, organize, and execute project plans as filling system SME

Excellent problem-solving skills when handling potential conflicts

Understanding sophisticated technical/regulatory issues impacting facility/equipment design

Solid understanding of the following:

cGMP’s for aseptic manufacturing of multiple regulatory bodies (EU, FDA), including fluency in the understanding of new EU Annex 1 guidelines and its impact on facility/equipment design

EHS requirements, with particular focus on EHS by design and construction safety

Start-up processes and Commissioning & Qualification of equipment preparation equipment (autoclaves, parts washers, filter integrity test stations, COP/SOP stations)

Principles for engineering design for drug products in the Biotherapeutic industry

Construction & Procurement process

Project Controls processes

Project scheduling

Strong technical process engineering knowledge and experience and has a great passion for solving highly complex technical problems

Strong problem solving, communication, and decision-making skills to drive impact in a fast-paced evolving business landscape

Ability to drive process engineering innovation for equipment and facilities ensuring technical knowledge is maintained and expanded throughout the team

Preferred:

Consistent track record on leading capital projects for aseptic processing equipment including autoclaves, parts washers, filter integrity units, and COP/SOP systems

Capital project leadership of aseptic manufacturing equipment, green or brown field GMP manufacturing facility start-up, in the range of $100 - $500 MM

Strong process engineering expertise in conceptual design through C&Q (commissioning & qualification) to ensure efficient operational readiness within a biotherapeutic drug product environment in filling systems

Experience in green or brown field GMP manufacturing facility start-up

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

Seniority
Principal
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Wilson, 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 640 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 86 biopharma companies.

640Comparable roles tracked
584Currently active
86Companies hiring similar roles
30Countries represented

Salary context

237 of 640 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 Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Technician Calibration - Maintenance · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $58,500 – $288,000 (median $149,725)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 640 comparable roles

United States423
India45
Ireland31
Netherlands16
Germany14
United Kingdom11

+ 24 more countries

Seniority mix

640 of 640 peers have a known seniority level

Senior402
Principal133
Director105

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 640 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Respiratory1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Oncology1

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.

60%similar
Merck West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Sanofi US Services Inc. Waltham, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Renss, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America Principal
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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Manufacturing & CMC job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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%
Associate Principal Scientist/Engineer, Medical Device and Combination Products, Analytical
Merck · West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Project Engineer
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Renss, United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Automation Engineering, Sr. Principal Engineer – Pharmaceutical Manufacturing - Lilly Medicine Foundry
Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Engineer I, Process Development
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Principal
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.