The posting
At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals!
As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.
At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.
Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!
Your Role: Senior Process Engineer
At Elanco, the Process Engineer "owns the process" with a dedicated focus on production. At the Banwol site, this role combines process ownership with reliability engineering, automation, and data integrity; it is the application of engineering fundamentals, math, and science to design, implement, and optimize sterile injectable manufacturing processes on an industrial scale. The Process Engineer ensures the process operates in a safe, qualified state at designed rates while driving long-term continuous improvement. Their primary customer is Operations, and their goal is the elimination of deviations through robust engineering solutions.
Your Responsibilities:
1. Process Ownership & Optimization (Primary Loop)
- Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for assigned processes, unit operations, and process-related equipment.
- Ensure the process operates at designed rates; spend time "on the floor" investigating performance gaps and implementing technical requirements to return processes to their designed state.
- Develop and maintain Energy Balances to deeply understand process impacts and variables.
- Identify, estimate, and commission improvements to manufacturing processes, focusing on long-term optimization rather than temporary project fixes.
- Identify manual or variation-prone operations and implement automation improvements — PLC/HMI logic, sensors, inspection — with vendors and system integrators to improve throughput, consistency, and operator safety.
- Track and analyze Key Process Indicators (KPIs) including OEE, process uptime, yields, and plant capacity impact.
2. Technical Problem Solving & Reliability Support
- Lead Root Cause Investigations (RCA) for process failures, focusing on resolving and preventing process/equipment deviations.
- Perform reliability engineering for sterile direct-impact equipment — failure mode analysis, failure history review, and optimization of maintenance intervals — and work with the equipment owners in the Engineering & Maintenance team to identify and remove potential reliability issues.
- Leverage process science and unit operations knowledge to address bottlenecks preventing the process from meeting production demands.
- Provide technical reports and best practices to be replicated and shared across the engineering network.
3. Quality, Safety & Compliance
- Ensure the process remains in a "Control, Capable, and Compliant" state, understanding the safety, environmental, and quality implications of the process. Based on an equipment perspective.
- Recommend and document process changes through the formal change control system, providing cost justifications for proposed improvements.
- Own data integrity for production equipment and computerized systems — access control, audit trail review, electronic records, and backup — and support computerized system validation and change control.
- Ensure reliable data flow from shop-floor equipment to reporting systems, and support future MES implementation and performance dashboards for Operations, Engineering, and site leadership.
- Focus on the elimination of deviations through engineering design rather than administrative paperwork.
4. Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing
- Support, collaborate, and share knowledge with Operations personnel and with the engineers and technicians of the Engineering & Maintenance team to ensure they understand "how to make veterinary medicine" safely and efficiently.
- Work closely with Technical Services (TSMS) and the Quality department to ensure the process (owned by Engineering) aligns with the product requirements (owned by TSMS).
- Participate in the Elanco Engineering development program, learning from Secondary/Tertiary Loop engineers while teaching and supporting operators.
What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):
- BS or higher in Engineering Field (i.e. Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, etc.)
- Must be able to manage projects of varying complexity, including design, construction, and qualification.
- Experience in sterile/aseptic manufacturing processes.
- Must be proficient in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Have excellent written, verbal, and technical communication skills with the ability to independently write reports, business correspondence, Standard Operating Procedures, and presentations to effectively communicate with management and other departments.
- Ability to prioritize multiple activities and multitask to support multiple initiatives
What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications):
- Education or experience in maintenance.
- Education or experience in automation.
- Education or experience in data integrity.
- Experience in Statistics and Statistical Process Control Capability.
- Experience in GMP computerized systems.
- Strong business and technical skills.
- Knowledge of/experience in project management.
- Demonstrated leadership capabilities in a team environment.
- Preferred experience with process support in regulated industry.
Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status
Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.
