Associate Director, Automation Engineering

Job Description

Associate Director, Automation Engineering in Albuquerque, NM

Build your future at Curia, where our work has the power to save lives


Curia is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide life-saving treatments to patients. At Curia, we are on a mission to advance our customers' therapies from curiosity to cure and ultimately to improve patients' lives.

We proudly offer

• Generous benefit options (eligible first day of employment)
• Paid training, vacation and holidays (vacation accrual begins on first day of employment)
• Career advancement opportunities
• Education reimbursement
• 401K program with matching contributions
• Learning platform
• And more!

The Associate Director of Automation Engineering is responsible for managing a team of automation engineers and supporting contractors to ensure operations performance for various manufacturing, quality, and research automated systems. Team responsibilities include automation system administration, computerized system maintenance, and capital project support. This position also requires developing and implementing additional/expanded automation capabilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide visible and active leadership for front-line automation engineers, representing the team in tiered value stream meetings, spending time on the shop floor, developing and nurturing relationships with peers, setting direction for the team and operational stakeholders, and ensuring customer satisfaction
• Lead the improvement of site automation systems through continuous improvement initiatives and capital projects
• Identify improvement opportunities and communicate the business case to site leadership.
• Manage the planning and execution of improvements by applying project management practices assuring alignment with the approved scope, considering at a minimum: resource allocation, budget planning and monitoring, scheduling and adherence tracking, cost/benefit, and communication/escalation.
• Review, propose and optimize standard procedures, and continuously improve the overall documentation set within the automation department.
• Serve as a conduit for new technology and the latest in industry trends by working with strategic partners and staying current on new developments in the field of automation.
• Build and maintain good working relationships with external partners and manage contracted work for scope and budget
• Understand and support all GMPs, safety, and environmental regulations
• Complete Safety and Quality records on time and in full and manage a team in a state of audit-readiness
• Ensure systems are well positioned from aspects of data integrity, backup and archival, and cybersecurity, among others
• Propose the department's strategy, objectives, prioritization of tasks, and short and long terms roadmaps
• Effectively translate strategy and site objectives, allowing that strategy to inform the allocation of resources, prioritization of team tasks, and messaging
• Responsible for the delivery of strategy and site objectives as they pertain to site automation
• Foster Curia's values on team members, and identify areas of opportunity concerning the competency and capability composition of the team
• Read/interpret SOPs to ensure compliance
• Maintain up to date trainings
• Other duties as assigned

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Computer Engineering or related field of study
• Minimum of eight (8) years' automation engineering experience
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in a bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Minimum of two (2) years' experience in a professional management role
• PLC experience (i.e., Rockwell, Allen Bradley, Siemens, and Simatic), preferred

Supervisory Responsibilities:


This role is responsible for leading and supporting a team, overseeing day-to-day operations, managing departmental goals, and ensuring adherence to organizational policies and procedures. This role also involves fostering a positive work environment, providing guidance and support to your team members, and evaluating performance to drive continuous improvement and achieve both departmental and organizational objectives.

Language Skills:


The ideal candidate should have the ability to read and interpret various documents. These documents include safety instructions, standard operating procedures, technical procedures, and governmental regulations. Additionally, the candidate should possess strong written and verbal communication skills. They should also possess effective presentation skills, enabling them to successfully present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Mathematical Skills:


Proficient in executing arithmetic operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division across various units of measurement, employing whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percentages. Candidates must possess a strong grasp of algebraic and geometric principles.

Reasoning Ability:


Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Computer Skills:


The ideal candidate will possess a strong technical foundation and proven capability in effectively utilizing diverse software tools to streamline the organization's daily functions. Essential skills encompass adeptness in manufacturing and internet software, alongside proficiency in Microsoft Office tools including PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Leads with integrity and respect
• Provides guidance, coaching, and mentorship to team members
• Demonstrates business acumen
• Fosters a collaborative and positive work environment
• Champions change
• Coaches and Develops
• Promotes a safe and healthy work environment by actively identifying and addressing potential hazards, following established safety protocols, participating in safety training programs, and fostering a culture of awareness and responsibility among team members.
• Demonstrates strong attention to detail
• Detailed Knowledge of cGMP and regulatory requirements relating to process automation
• Detailed knowledge of the 21 CFR Part 11 and Annex 11 requirements for automated systems.
• Able to read and understand the point-to-point control schematics and sequence of operations
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex control system issues in an emergency and corrective maintenance capacity within a production environment and upgrading existing equipment

Other Qualifications:

• Must pass a background check
• Must pass a drug screen
• May be required to pass Occupational Health Screening
• Must be able to obtain and maintain gowning certification
• Must be able to obtain and maintain media qualification
• May be required to wear a respirator

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The essential physical demands will vary for each Curia position.


All positions may require regular or occasional lifting, pushing and pulling up to 10 pounds, frequently; up to 25 pounds occasionally; and up to 50 pounds infrequently. Additionally, all positions entail regular sitting, standing and reaching, with some roles requiring prolonged periods of time for each activity. Visual acuity, both close and distant, along with depth perception is necessary in each role, with or without corrective lenses. Please note that employees are prohibited from wearing contact lenses in work areas with exposure to cleaning agents. Hand and finger dexterity are integral to all positions, with specific activities varying from typing to manipulating maintenance tools or operating keypads, switches, and buttons. Occasional stooping, kneeling, twisting, crouching, crawling and balancing are also part of each position's physical requirements. Certain roles may involve climbing and working at elevated heights as well.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics, described below, are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The working environments will vary for each Curia position. The employee may be required to work in an office, manufacturing, or warehouse environment.


The office environment is designed for comfort and productivity, with room temperature settings maintained for optimal working conditions. It is common to hear conversational noise in the background.


The pharmaceutical manufacturing environment is sterile. Therefore, aseptic gowning is required. Personal protective equipment (nitrile gloves, clean room socks, face-shields, safety glasses, aprons, steel-toed shoes and powered air purifying respirators) is necessary, depending upon the task at hand. The employee may be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, confined areas, and refrigerator or freezer temperatures when working in a sterile environment.


The warehouse environment is typically set at a controlled temperature but the employee may be exposed to refrigerator or freezer temperatures when retrieving materials.


Some positions may occasionally be exposed to moving mechanical parts, elevated heights, airborne particles, electrical activities and vibration. In addition, some positions may work with or be exposed to, compressed gases and must wear ear protection.


All environments may be subject to working with or being exposed to cleaning agents.


Education, experience, location and tenure may be considered along with internal equity when job offers are extended.

We do not accept unsolicited assistance from any headhunters or recruitment firms for any of our job openings. All resumes or profiles submitted by search firms to any employee at Curia, in any form without a valid, signed search agreement by an authorized signatory in place for the specific position, approved by Talent Acquisition, will be deemed the sole property of Curia. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Curia because of the unsolicited referral.

All interested applicants must apply online. Please be aware of scammers. Curia will only send offer letters and requests for sensitive personal information from a curiaglobal.com email address. Curia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Curia is an E-Verify employer.