Senior Automation Engineer, OT Infrastructure & Integration

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, execution, and lifecycle management of manufacturing OT infrastructure and integration solutions across the site.
• Lead, coach, and develop OT infrastructure and integration team members, contractors, suppliers, OEM technical teams, and system integrators; provide technical direction, resource planning, delivery governance, and performance alignment.
• Define and execute the site OT infrastructure and integration strategy, including industrial network architecture, server and virtualization platforms, historian infrastructure, system interfaces, cybersecurity controls, lifecycle standards, and support models.
• Provide end-to-end leadership for OT infrastructure project delivery, including concept development, detailed design, procurement support, build/configuration, FAT/integration testing, commissioning, qualification, start-up, handover, troubleshooting, and steady-state support.
• Serve as the technical authority for manufacturing OT infrastructure, ensuring solutions are secure, reliable, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with global automation, cybersecurity, Digital/IT, and site standards.
• Lead all aspects of design and lifecycle management for virtualized server environments, virtual machines, VLANs, network segmentation, domain services, authentication, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and related OT infrastructure components.
• Lead integration of OT infrastructure with automation and manufacturing systems, including DCS/PAS, PLC systems, SCADA/HMI, MES, BAS, historians, data platforms, and other Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 systems.
• Establish and maintain standards, templates, design specifications, network diagrams, interface definitions, support documentation, and lifecycle practices for OT infrastructure and integrated manufacturing systems.
• Review and approve supplier, OEM, and system-integrator designs, configurations, test documentation, and turnover packages to ensure alignment with technical, compliance, cybersecurity, and lifecycle requirements.
• Partner with Automation, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, CSV, MES, BAS/Utilities, Lab Systems, Digital/IT, Cybersecurity, and project leadership to align requirements, resolve risks, and deliver integrated site solutions.
• Ensure OT infrastructure deliverables comply with cGMP requirements, computerized system validation expectations, data-integrity principles, cybersecurity controls, and applicable site and global standards.
• Support inspections, risk assessments, investigations, deviations, corrective and preventive actions, change controls, and remediation activities related to OT infrastructure and integrated manufacturing systems.
• Manage scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, dependencies, and risks for OT infrastructure work packages; escalate issues and key decisions to project and business leadership as appropriate.
• Define, monitor, and report metrics for OT infrastructure delivery, system performance, cybersecurity readiness, reliability, compliance, and lifecycle health.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement opportunities that enhance OT infrastructure reliability, manufacturing-system integration, cybersecurity posture, data availability, operational support, and lifecycle efficiency.

Qualifications

Education: A minimum Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Science, or a related technical field; required

Experience and Skills

Required:

• Minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in manufacturing OT infrastructure, industrial automation infrastructure, or closely related regulated manufacturing systems, with direct responsibility for OT architecture, implementation, integration, troubleshooting, and lifecycle support.
• Demonstrated experience leading OT infrastructure or manufacturing integration initiatives in a pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, or other GMP-regulated manufacturing environment.
• Experience providing technical leadership for engineers, contractors, suppliers, OEM technical teams, vendors, or system integrators, including accountability for technical direction, resource planning, issue resolution, and delivery of OT infrastructure scope.
• Strong technical knowledge of manufacturing OT architecture, including industrial networking, network segmentation, virtualized server environments, VLANs, communication paths, cybersecurity controls, and infrastructure lifecycle management.
• Experience designing, administering, or supporting historian infrastructure, including OSI PI or comparable platforms, and integrating historians with manufacturing systems such as DCS/PAS, MES, BAS, PLC systems, and data platforms.
• Hands-on experience with OT network design, switch configuration, and management of communication paths in a manufacturing environment; Cisco experience is preferred.
• Strong understanding of ISA-95 Level 1, Level 2, and applicable Level 3 manufacturing systems, including how automation, OT infrastructure, MES, historians, and related site systems interact within a regulated manufacturing architecture.
• Strong communication, stakeholder-management, organizational, and project-execution skills, with the ability to define requirements, coordinate cross-functional delivery, manage dependencies, and track OT infrastructure work packages.
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally to equipment suppliers, system integrators, and Johnson & Johnson affiliate sites for technical training, knowledge transfer, FAT/integration testing, and OT infrastructure readiness activities. Occasional short-term stays may be required during project execution and start-up.
• Experience limited to enterprise IT, process engineering, manufacturing operations, equipment engineering, or validation without substantive manufacturing OT infrastructure ownership will not meet this requirement.

Preferred:

• Experience designing OT network architecture and industrial network solutions for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, or other GMP-regulated manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with Emerson DeltaV or comparable DCS/PAS platforms, Werum PAS-X or comparable MES platforms, PLC systems, BAS platforms, historians, and related integrations across the manufacturing technology landscape.
• Experience supporting greenfield or brownfield manufacturing facility start-up, including automation, utilities, facilities, integration, commissioning, and operational-readiness activities.
• Knowledge of domain controllers, Active Directory, authentication services, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and related infrastructure used in regulated OT environments.
• Experience applying global engineering standards, cybersecurity standards, and site or enterprise governance requirements in collaboration with multi-site or affiliate technical teams.
• Experience supporting highly automated Drug Product, sterile manufacturing, or other complex GMP manufacturing operations.

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 (> 25%) required until the project shifts to the plant site of Wilson, NC