Senior Director - Engineering

Job ID: R-110780Company: LillyLocation: Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaJob Type: Full TimeCategory: EngineeringPosted Date: 2026-08-28At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us. The Sr. Director – Engineering provides strategic and operational leadership for the Engineering function at the Lilly Lehigh Valley site. The role is responsible for facilities, utilities, maintenance, process engineering, automation, and capital project delivery, and serves as a key member of the Lehigh Valley Site Lead Team.This leader builds and sustains a high-performing Engineering organization that delivers safe, reliable, compliant, and efficient operations in support of site and business objectives. The role sets the Engineering agenda, strengthens organizational capability through talent leadership, and partners across the site and broader Lilly network to advance operational excellence, technical capability, and future growth.The successful candidate will bring technical depth, leadership presence, and strong cross-functional influence, with the ability to lead through complexity, develop talent, and deliver results in a dynamic manufacturing environment.Key Objectives/Deliverables:Serve as an active member of the Lehigh Valley Site Lead Team, contributing to site strategy and performance across safety, quality, and operational excellence.Build, lead, and sustain a high-performing Engineering organization through clear expectations, talent development, succession planning, inclusive leadership, and accountability for results.Develop leaders and teams by strengthening technical capability, leadership bench strength, and organizational readiness for future growth.Provide Health, Safety and Environmental and Quality leadership for the Engineering function.Set Engineering priorities and objectives aligned to business and strategic plan goals, with focus on safety, quality, equipment and process effectiveness, efficiency, and reliability.Partner closely with Technical Services, Quality, and Operations to deliver operational results and resolve complex site challenges.Lead significant capital and technology projects that strengthen site capability and performance.Oversee delivery of equipment, lines, and supporting systems through user requirements, design, build, commissioning, qualification, validation, and operational handoff.Establish and continuously improve local Engineering processes, procedures, and performance management systems.Ensure the function is aligned to meet production throughput goals, including support for daily manufacturing operations, deviation and change management, variability reduction, and equipment and system reliability.Develop and maintain performance metrics that measure results against business objectives and support timely course correction.Advance key site initiatives, including continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and failure modes and effects analysis.Represent site Engineering across Lilly with other sites, global functional groups, and external stakeholders as needed.Interact directly with Regulatory Agencies during site inspections.Understand and influence the manufacturing control strategy for formulation, filling, assembly, and packaging.Requirements (Education, Experience, Training):Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.Significant engineering experience in a manufacturing environment.Demonstrated leadership experience building high-performing teams and developing talent in complex manufacturing or engineering organizations.Proven ability to lead effectively across cross-functional groups and influence outcomes through strong partnership, communication, and execution.Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.Strong technical aptitude with the ability to coach, develop, and mentor others.Demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.Preferred attributes but not required:Solid understanding of regulatory agency requirements relevant to pharmaceutical manufacturing.Experience operating effectively in fast-paced, evolving, or start-up environments, including periods of significant growth, change, or scale-up.Previous facility, area, or site start-up experience.Experience with highly automated equipment and manufacturing systems.Experience with combination products, device assembly, pharmaceutical packaging, and drug product formulation and filling in an aseptic environment.Experience with equipment qualification and process validation.Experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems and electronic batch release.Experience with Automated Storage and Retrieval System warehouses or AGVs.Experience with deviation and change management systems, including Trackwise.Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form () for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (View email address on click.appcast.io), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is$163,500 - $239,800Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.#WeAreLillySkillsprocess engineeringcapital project deliveryhealth, safety and environmental leadershipmanufacturing operationsprocess validationroot cause analysisfailure modes and effects analysisdeviation and change managementregulatory compliancecross-functional leadershiptalent developmentsuccession planningperformance managementcontinuous improvementmanufacturing execution systemsaseptic manufacturingpharmaceutical packagingdrug product formulationformulation fillingautomated storage and retrieval systemsagv operationstrackwiseelectronic batch release