Manufacturing & Tech Ops - Senior Director

This is a full-time salaried position with Project Farma, a PerkinElmer company. The successful candidate will reside in one of Project Farma's primary markets and be willing to travel domestically to meet client project requests.

Project Farma’s purpose is to improve patient lives by accelerating the delivery of life-changing therapies. We accomplish this through the successful execution of high-quality life sciences projects across the full project lifecycle. Project Farma (PF) team members collaborate with cross-functional teams to build trusted client relationships, deliver an exceptional customer experience, and contribute to business growth by identifying opportunities and applying data-driven insights to support project planning, cost, schedule, and performance management.

This role contributes to organizational success by supporting financial performance, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement, while also investing in people through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and professional development.

All team members are expected to embody Project Farma’s values by being curious, personable, and unselfish, while maintaining a strong commitment to a Patient Focused and People First mindset.

The Manufacturing & Tech Ops – Director/Senior Director, Utilities is responsible for leading teams and overseeing the execution of work aligned to project, client, and business objectives. This role balances people leadership with operational accountability, including coaching, performance management, resource planning, and ensuring high-quality delivery within defined scope, timelines, and budget. At more senior levels, this role provides experienced leadership and operational oversight across multiple projects or functional areas, with accountability for team performance, talent development, and consistent execution of business priorities, while partnering with senior leaders to drive continuous improvement, scalability, and organizational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

The Manufacturing & Tech Ops – Director/Senior Director, Utilities is responsible for the overall ownership, performance, and compliance of clean and black utility systems supporting regulated manufacturing operations. This role provides technical leadership, system oversight, and strategic direction across utilities including HVAC, WFI, clean steam, CIP systems, autoclaves, parts washers, and high-purity gases. The Utilities Manager partners closely with Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, Quality, and Validation teams to ensure systems operate reliably, efficiently, and in full compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). This role operates with a high degree of autonomy and serves as a primary technical authority for utility systems and related capital projects.

• Serve as the system owner for assigned clean and black utility systems, including generation, distribution, instrumentation, and automation.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight for HVAC, clean utilities (WFI, clean steam), black utilities (chilled water, plant steam), CIP systems, autoclaves, parts washers, and high-purity gas systems.
• Lead conceptual, preliminary, and detailed engineering for new utility systems and modifications to existing equipment.
• Generate, review, and approve P&IDs, wiring diagrams, control panel layouts, and technical specifications.
• Oversee system startup, commissioning, qualification, troubleshooting, and optimization activities.
• Ensure utilities operate within defined regulatory, safety, and process limits.
• Partner with Validation and Quality teams to support investigations, deviations, and regulatory inspections.
• Manage vendor relationships during equipment fabrication, installation, repair, and service activities.
• Support capital project planning, including scope development, cost estimates, equipment procurement, and project approvals.
• Establish and manage preventive and routine maintenance strategies in collaboration with Maintenance.
• Lead and support change control activities, including automation and system changes.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and stay current with emerging technologies and cGMP expectations.

Experience Required

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Life Science, Engineering, or related discipline (OR a combination of equivalent work experience in capital project engineering, pharma cGMP facility start-up, CapEx/OpEx project management and/or comparable military experience.
• Years of Experience: 16-20 years of experience in utilities engineering, facilities engineering, or system ownership within a regulated manufacturing environment (biopharmaceutical, life sciences, or similar).
• Demonstrated experience supporting clean utility systems, HVAC, and regulated facility operations.
• Experience with commissioning, qualification, and cGMP compliance.
• Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision while exercising sound technical judgment.
• Experience leading projects, vendors, or technical workstreams.
• Travel: Willingness to travel as required for client project assignments.

Other Preferred

• Prior experience serving as a system owner for clean utility systems.
• Familiarity with ASTM E2500 and/or ISPE Baseline Guides.
• Experience with automation systems such as Allen-Bradley PLCs and DCS platforms (e.g., DeltaV).
• Experience in the design, installation, and qualification of cGMP HVAC systems supporting classified spaces including cascading pressure; filtered, single pass and monitored.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence across functions.
• High degree of technical competence, problem-solving ability, and decision-making confidence.
• Ability to represent the organization as a primary technical contact on utility-related matters.