Head of Automation & Digital Manufacturing

About the role

AstraZeneca is looking for a Head of Automation & Digital Manufacturing to set the automation, OT and digital manufacturing agenda at its biologics site in College Park, Dublin. The role leads a multidisciplinary team and partners with Manufacturing, Quality, Validation, IT and Engineering to keep operations safe, compliant, resilient and future-ready. It works closely with the sister site in Athlone to align technology choices and share expertise.

Key responsibilities

• Own and execute the site's Automation, OT and Digital Manufacturing strategy, including multi-year roadmaps for capability, lifecycle, obsolescence, resilience, compliance, cybersecurity and investment.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership for PLC, HMI, historian, MCS, MES interfaces, industrial networks and OT infrastructure.
• Establish and govern standards for automation architecture, integration, configuration management, documentation and technical decisions.
• Ensure systems are available, secure, validated and inspection-ready, and provide 24-7 front-line support to OT systems.
• Develop flexible OT systems that enable a multi-product facility and fast introduction of new products, and lead issue resolution and CAPA.
• Lead the site OT cybersecurity improvement plan with IT and global teams, covering segmentation, patching, vulnerability management and incident response.
• Prioritise AI, analytics, predictive maintenance, digital twins and manufacturing intelligence, ensuring digital and AI solutions meet validation, data integrity, security, ethical and GxP requirements.
• Lead automation workstreams for capital projects, capacity expansions, equipment upgrades, technology transfers and new product introductions, and approve automation strategies and vendor designs.
• Manage strategic relationships with system integrators, suppliers and OEMs, and lead budgets, workforce plans, business cases and KPIs.
• Lead, mentor and develop managers, engineers and specialists, and build multi-functional and global partnerships.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Automation, Electrical, Electronic, Computer, Software or Control Engineering, Computer Science or a related discipline; an advanced degree is desirable.
• Typically 10 or more years of experience in GMP pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Substantial experience leading large automation, manufacturing systems or OT teams, including outsourced service providers.
• Experience developing automation roadmaps, managing system lifecycles and delivering complex technology or capital programmes.
• Experience handling budgets, suppliers, systems integrators and multi-disciplinary stakeholders in a regulated environment.

Required skills

• Broad knowledge of PLC, MCS, MES, HMI, historian, industrial networks, Windows-based OT infrastructure, vision and motion control.
• Working knowledge of cGMP, GAMP, computer system validation, data integrity, electronic records and signatures, change control and inspection readiness.
• Strong project and programme management, strategic thinking and communication skills.