Lean and Automation Engineer

Compunnel

$80K — $95K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
  • 2-3 years in pharmaceutical industry, specifically in Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) operations.
  • Proven record of managing waste-reduction or automation projects.
  • Proficient in Lean Manufacturing, DMAIC, Value Stream Mapping, and related methodologies.
  • Skilled in developing business cases and analytical tools.
  • Strong project management capabilities in GMP and regulatory environments.

Responsibilities

  • Conduct process and time studies to identify improvement opportunities.
  • Develop opportunity assessments covering all project aspects.
  • Present findings to Site Leadership Team for project prioritization.
  • Own the entire project lifecycle from analysis to sustainment.
  • Create and implement digital tools for enhanced analytics and workflow.
  • Enhance manufacturing efficiency and capacity metrics.
  • Ensure compliance with GMP and other regulatory requirements.

Benefits

  • Collaborative working environment focused on continuous improvement.
  • Opportunity to lead impactful projects in a regulated setting.
  • Access to advanced analytics and digital tools.
  • Professional development opportunities in Lean and automation methodologies.
  • Chance to drive meaningful change and improvements in manufacturing processes.
Full Job Description
Job Summary

The Lean and Automation Engineer is a hands-on Continuous Improvement professional responsible for identifying, assessing, building, and implementing solutions that reduce waste and improve manufacturing performance. This role is not a facilitator but an executor who personally drives projects from analysis through solution build, training, implementation, and sustainment. Success is measured by high-quality opportunities identified, approved projects implemented, Finance-validated benefits delivered, and compliant results sustained in a regulated Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) environment.

Key Responsibilities

  1. Conduct process studies, time studies, waste assessments, and bottleneck analysis to identify improvement and automation opportunities.
  2. Develop evidence-based opportunity assessments covering baseline, expected benefit, cost, risk, timing, and sustainment approach.
  3. Present opportunities to Site Leadership Team (SLT) for prioritization and sponsorship.
  4. Own approved projects from analysis through solution build, training, implementation, benefit realization, and sustainment.
  5. Develop and deploy practical digital and analytics tools (Power BI dashboards, Power Automate workflows, electronic data collection).
  6. Improve OEE, cleaning/changeover time, labor productivity, throughput, and capacity across manufacturing, labs, offices, and warehouses.
  7. Partner with Finance to classify and validate benefits consistently and prevent duplicate reporting.
  8. Establish process ownership, standard work, training, controls, documentation, and performance tracking before project closure.
  9. Ensure compliance with GMP, data integrity, safety, quality, change-control, and validation requirements in an FDA-regulated environ ment.


Required Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
  • 2-3 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, including at least 2 years supporting Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) or tableting/compression operations.
  • Demonstrated completion of waste-reduction or automation projects as the primary executor.
  • Core skills in Lean Manufacturing, DMAIC, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, OEE improvement, statistical analysis, Root Cause Analysis, and hands-on process analysis.
  • Ability to identify opportunities, develop business cases, quantify benefits, and build workflows, dashboards, or data tools.
  • Strong project ownership and cross-functional execution within GMP, safety, and quality r equirements.


Preferred Qualifications

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (strong Green Belts with proven delivery considered).
  • Experience with Power BI, Power Automate, advanced Excel, SQL, SAP, MES/EBR, and manufacturing analytics platforms.
  • Experience applying modern analytics and AI-enabled tools to improve reliability and performance.
  • Self-starter with strong analytical, troubleshooting, systems-thinking, communication, and documentation skills.
  • Ability to challenge historical practices and carry approved ideas through build, training, implementation, and sustainment.


Certifications (if any)

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (preferred).
  • Green Belt with proven project delivery considered.

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