Job Description

Life Sciences DeltaV Practice Leader

Role Overview

This role is responsible for building and scaling an organic Life Sciences DeltaV automation practice. The position is designed for a senior leader who can establish a new capability from the ground up, starting with initial talent acquisition and growing into a high‑performing team and standalone "mini business."

The successful candidate will lead technical delivery, shape best practices, support client growth, and take ownership of developing a sustainable DeltaV life sciences offering within a broader engineering and technology organization.

This is a highly entrepreneurial role that combines deep technical expertise, people leadership, and commercial accountability.

Key Responsibilities

Practice & Team Development

• Build and scale an organic Life Sciences DeltaV capability, starting with initial hires and expanding into a dedicated delivery team.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop DeltaV and automation engineers, setting standards for quality, delivery, and utilization.
• Establish scalable delivery models, including reusable libraries, templates, and methodologies to accelerate team productivity.
• Serve as the senior technical authority for DeltaV‑based life sciences automation work.

Technical & Delivery Leadership

• Lead complex life sciences automation projects, including greenfield, brownfield, and major DeltaV upgrade initiatives.
• Provide subject‑matter expertise in DeltaV batch automation and S88 concepts (recipes, phases, unit operations, equipment modules).
• Oversee the full automation lifecycle: URS, FDS/DS, configuration, FAT, SAT, commissioning, and support through IQ/OQ/PQ.
• Interface with adjacent systems such as MES, historians, data platforms, skids, and clean‑utility controls.

Client Engagement & Growth

• Act as a trusted advisor to client stakeholders across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and global SME teams.
• Support pre‑sales efforts, including technical solutioning, LOE development, scope definition, and client presentations.
• Help grow client relationships from initial engagements into multi‑site or long‑term programs.

Commercial & Entrepreneurial Ownership

• Take accountability for delivery performance, margins, utilization, and overall practice health.
• Contribute to scoping, SOW development, pricing awareness, risk management, and change‑order control.
• Operate with an ownership mindset, comfortable building from a low base and scaling responsibly over time.

Required Experience & Background

Core Experience

• 10-15+ years of experience in life sciences manufacturing environments, including biologics, sterile/aseptic, vaccines, or high‑potency facilities, with a strong GMP track record.
• 8-10+ years of hands‑on Emerson DeltaV experience in pharma or biotech, with progression from engineer to technical lead or manager.
• Recent experience delivering complex DeltaV projects (greenfield, brownfield, or major upgrades).

Leadership & Prior Roles

• Previous roles may include DeltaV Lead, Automation Manager, Senior Manager, or Associate Director within a pharma site, CDMO, or life‑sciences‑focused system integrator.
• Demonstrated experience managing technical teams and external vendors, including performance management and development.
• Proven ability to hire and build high‑quality automation teams and define what "good" looks like for billable DeltaV engineers.

Technical Expertise

• Deep understanding of batch automation and S88 architecture applied to biologics and aseptic manufacturing.
• Experience across the full validation lifecycle, including IQ, OQ, and PQ support.
• Familiarity with the broader automation ecosystem supporting regulated manufacturing environments.

Desired Attributes

• Maintains a strong professional network of DeltaV engineers, batch specialists, and control system SMEs that can be leveraged to build a team within 6-12 months.
• Comfortable creating standards, templates, and delivery frameworks that enable junior engineers to become productive quickly.
• Strong communicator who can work effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Naturally entrepreneurial, motivated by building teams, capabilities, and long‑term value.

Location

• US‑based, preferably located in or near a major life sciences hub such as Boston/Cambridge, NYC/Northern NJ, Philadelphia, RTP, the Bay Area, Chicago, or the MD/DC corridor.

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