Associate Director, Maintenance

What will you do:

We are seeking an Associate Director, Maintenance to lead maintenance and reliability readiness activities for a U.S. growth investment project supporting small molecule drug substance manufacturing. This role will ensure the facility, equipment, utilities, process equipment, and maintenance systems are designed and implemented with long-term reliability, maintainability, mechanical integrity, and GMP compliance in mind. Working closely with Engineering, Operations, Automation, MSAT, and Quality, you will help establish the maintenance organization, systems, and processes required for successful site start-up and ongoing operations.

Provide maintenance and reliability leadership throughout facility design, construction, commissioning, qualification, and start-up activities

Develop maintenance strategies, including preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance programs to support long-term asset performance

Partner with Engineering and project teams to ensure maintainability, serviceability, accessibility, and lifecycle considerations are incorporated into facility and equipment design

Establish asset lifecycle management strategies, including spare parts plans, calibration programs, and equipment reliability initiatives

Support the selection, implementation, and optimization of CMMS and other maintenance technologies to enable effective planning and execution

Participate in commissioning, qualification, FAT/SAT, and operational readiness activities to ensure maintenance requirements are incorporated and validated

Define the future maintenance organization, including staffing plans, training requirements, operating procedures, and site support models

Identify and mitigate equipment reliability, maintenance, and operational readiness risks while providing updates and recommendations to project leadership

What we are looking for:

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Facilities Management, Reliability Engineering, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred

10+ years of experience in maintenance, reliability, engineering, or technical operations within pharmaceutical or API manufacturing environments. Experience with HPAPI, complex chemical synthesis, or chemical process manufacturing is preferred.

Experience supporting major capital projects, facility start-ups, manufacturing expansions, greenfield or brownfield investments, or large-scale operational readiness initiatives

Strong knowledge of maintenance best practices, reliability engineering, asset lifecycle management, and equipment performance improvement

Experience with CMMS platforms, predictive maintenance technologies, reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), and maintenance planning systems

Understanding of GMP requirements related to equipment maintenance, calibration, qualification, documentation, and inspection readiness and mechanical integrity principles

Demonstrated experience supporting small molecule drug substance, API, or HPAPI manufacturing operations preferred

Experience supporting containment-intensive manufacturing environments (e.g., HPAPI containment, isolators, contained material handling) preferred

Experience within a multi-product API manufacturing or CDMO environment is preferred

Strong leadership, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and stakeholders

Ability and willingness to transition to an East Coast or Midwest U.S. site location as project needs evolve

Travel: Willingness and ability to travel to EMEA and NA at approximately 25-30% of the time to meet business objectives

About Lonza

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of.

Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now.