Staff Manufacturing Engineer – Contact Lens Manufacturing

About the role

The Staff Manufacturing Engineer is a senior individual-contributor role providing technical leadership for manufacturing engineering within J&J Vision Care in Limerick. It is a high-volume, fully automated and highly regulated contact lens manufacturing environment. The engineer leads complex technical initiatives that improve equipment performance, process capability, yield and output, while keeping operations safe, compliant and cost-effective. The role reports to the Manufacturing Engineering Manager and has no direct line management responsibility.

Key responsibilities

• Act as the senior technical authority for manufacturing equipment and processes, covering troubleshooting, root cause analysis and long-term solutions.
• Lead the design, installation, qualification, optimisation and standardisation of lens production processes, equipment, tooling and controls.
• Drive year-on-year improvements in equipment OEE, process capability, yield and output using Lean / Six Sigma.
• Develop technical roadmaps for assigned platforms, including obsolescence and aged-asset mitigation and technology upgrades.
• Lead large cross-functional projects from concept to commissioning, validation and ramp-up, including NPI, line conversions and capacity expansion.
• Ensure engineering activities comply with GMP, EHS and Quality requirements, including change control, equipment qualification and process validation.
• Support closure of Quality System actions such as CAPAs, non-conformances and audit actions, and embed safety and environmental requirements in equipment.
• Mentor and coach engineers, and partner with Operations, Quality, R&D, Supply Chain and Global Engineering.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree (B.Eng. or B.Sc.) in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Production, Industrial, Automation or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent education and experience.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering experience in a high-volume, automated manufacturing environment, with a record of leading technical projects.
• Demonstrated experience in equipment or process design, installation, qualification and validation in a regulated industry such as medical devices or pharmaceuticals.
• Desirable: Master's degree, contact lens manufacturing or injection moulding experience, Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, FDA-regulated and ISO 13485 experience, and project management certification.

Required skills

• Knowledge of automated manufacturing equipment, pneumatics, vacuum, motion control and PLC-based controls.
• Process control, statistical methods (DOE, SPC, capability analysis) and root cause analysis.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and equipment qualification and validation principles.
• CAD and Excel; data analytics and digital manufacturing tools are an advantage.

What we offer

• Base pay range of EUR 64,300 to EUR 102,925.
• Annual bonus, vacation days, parental leave of at least 12 weeks, bereavement and caregiver leave, well-being reimbursement and insurance plans.