Engineer - IT Manufacturing Execution

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: As an Engineer at Elanco, you will be a key technical contributor to the digital heart of our production facilities. You will specialize in implementing and supporting our Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). This hands-on role is the critical bridge between our physical manufacturing processes and the digital systems that control and document them, ensuring our operations are efficient, compliant, and reliable. This includes four strategic priorities:

• Pipeline Acceleration: Optimize the search and approval of high impact medicines with a focus on speed, cost and precision.
• Manufacturing Excellence: Improve the efficiency, quality and consistency of core manufacturing processes, specifically execution and equipment effectiveness.
• Sales Effectiveness: Simplify the process to find, trust and consume relevant customer insights that drive sales growth and improved engagement.
• Productivity: Expand operating margin through efficiency by systematically reducing our operating expenses across the company, improving profitability.

Your Responsibilities:

• System Design and Configuration: Contribute to the design and be responsible for the configuration and implementation of MES solutions. This includes building and modifying electronic batch records (EBRs), system workflows, and configuring equipment integration based on defined requirements.
• Process Optimization: Collaborate with operations and quality teams to analyze manufacturing and laboratory workflows. You will use MES capabilities to help implement process improvements, reduce production cycle times, and enhance data integrity at the shop-floor level.
• System Management and Support: Provide frontline technical support for MES platforms. You will act as a key technical resource to troubleshoot and resolve system issues, ensuring high availability for our manufacturing and lab teams.
• Integration: Assist with the integration between MES and other critical systems, such as our ERP (SAP), and shop-floor equipment (PLCs/SCADA), ensuring a reliable flow of data.
• Validation and Compliance: Execute validation protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) for MES enhancements and new implementations. You will be responsible for generating validation documentation and ensuring systems are maintained in a validated state, compliant with GxP and data integrity requirements.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with Manufacturing Operations, Quality Assurance, and Process Science teams to gather system requirements and provide updates on technical activities.
• User Training and Enablement: Develop training materials and conduct training sessions to ensure that manufacturing and lab personnel are proficient in using the MES/LES systems effectively in their day-to-day roles.

What You Need to Succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Educational Background: A Bachelor's degree in Engineering (e.g., Industrial, Chemical, Manufacturing, Computer Science) or a related technical field or equivalent experience.
• Required Experience: 3+ years hands-on experience with the configuration, and support of an MES platform (e.g., Tulip, Werum PAS-X, Emerson Syncade, POMSnet).
• Manufacturing Environment Experience: Experience working directly in a manufacturing environment, preferably within the pharmaceutical, biologics, animal health, or another GxP-regulated industry.
• Regulatory Knowledge: A working knowledge of GxP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and familiarity with computer system validation (CSV) principles.
• Process Control Understanding: Familiarity with industrial automation concepts, including PLCs, SCADA, and how they integrate with higher-level manufacturing systems.
• Database and SQL Skills: Experience with SQL for data queries to support troubleshooting, data extraction, and report generation.

What Will Give You the Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):

• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to systematically diagnose and resolve technical issues.
• Process Analysis: A solid understanding of business process analysis and workflow design. Ability to read and interpret process maps and requirements documents.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Good communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to work effectively in a team environment with operators, scientists, and management.
• Cloud Platform Proficiency: Familiarity with Public Cloud platforms, specifically Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), is a plus.
• DevSecOps: Familiarity with the concepts of DevSecOps, including Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) and source control (Git), is desirable.
• Communication Skills: Good verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively within a technical team.

Additional Information:

• Travel: 0-10%
• Location: Hook, UK - Hybrid Work Environment or Speke, UK – Hybrid Work Environment

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Elanco we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment. If you think you might be a good fit for a role but don't necessarily meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this role or other roles!

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.