Director Of Engineering

Director of Engineering

Hours: 35 Hours per week Monday– Friday. Flexible working schedule.

Ref No: HRJOB10936

Business Unit: Almac Sciences

Location: Craigavon

Open To: Internal and External Applicants may apply

Almac Group

Almac Group is a global leader in providing a range of expert services and support across the drug development lifecycle to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Almac is a trusted expert in R&D, diagnostic services, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply services and technologies through to commercial-scale manufacture and distribution.

Almac has over 7,500 employees at its extensive facilities across 18 locations and plays a vital role in the development of new medicines – contributing to half of all FDA/EMEA approved NMEs in the last 5 years.

The Business Unit

Almac Sciences is a contract development and manufacture organisation (CDMO) and provides a wide range of custom synthesis & manufacturing services, technology, and analysis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), supporting clients from drug discovery through to commercialisation of their new chemical entities. Advancing human health requires exceptional people - your talent, experience and passion will be the perfect match. Together we will make an exceptional difference to the health of countless patients all over the world.

The unit has an excellent audit and regulatory history with regular inspections by clients and all appropriate regulatory bodies (FDA, MHRA). Almac deeply understands the challenges within each stage of the drug development process and has the technical expertise, facilities and commitment to offer complete solutions for API supply to the highest quality. Combining their established track record and strong quality culture, the integrated project teams (comprising chemistry, analytical, physical sciences, pre-formulation, production, quality, HSE and project management) offer an industry leading service in the manufacture of APIs and associated services. The business has grown significantly, with a strong track record and customer base of over 300 clients built over the last 25 years.

The Almac Sciences business unit currently employs over 850 staff and operates from five sites globally:

· Craigavon, Northern Ireland which houses the primary cGMP manufacturing site for small molecules and peptides including analytical services. This site also houses the Almac Sciences Technology Development group comprising Biocatalysis, Flow Chemistry, Radiolabelled IMP manufacture, and Solid-State Chemistry services.

· Edinburgh, Scotland, a site dedicated to non-GMP and high throughput GMP manufacture of peptides (branded as NeoPeptides™).

· The US Headquarters in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where there is a stand-alone Analytical group supporting Almac Clinical Services and other external customers.

· Athlone, Ireland has two facilities, Arran Chemical Company which is an ISO accredited, non-GMP manufacturer of pharmaceutical starting materials and fine chemicals, and Almac Sciences Ireland which is an Analytical Facility offering Microbiology, Bioanalysis and cGMP Small molecules and Biologics support.

Almac Sciences currently operates a number of API manufacturing suites – peptide manufacturing suites, small scale cGMP laboratories, kilo lab and a cGMP API plant with 10 reactors between 100L-1,000L.

In addition, Almac Sciences is currently investing in the region of $125M in growth of its manufacturing, including installation and commission of 4 reactors at 2,500L-4,000L scale with two drying trains, one to a Pressure filter drier, and one to a centrifuge/conical drier arrangement – both feeding into a grade D API discharge isolation suite. The facility is designed with a high degree of automation to allow efficient manufacturing operations for routine commercial manufacture. The aim of this part of the facility is to provide a manufacturing area for routine commercial manufacture of APIs at the low metric tonne scale.

The next phase will include a further 4 reactors and 2 drying trains – the details of which will be defined based on future business needs.

The Role

We’re seeking a Director of Engineering to lead our dynamic engineering teams in Craigavon, driving innovation, compliance, and operational excellence in a highly regulated environment.

This is a pivotal engineering leadership role as we have a new plant coming on-line, creating a significant manufacturing expansion. The Director of Engineering will lead and manage the Almac Sciences Process and Maintenance Engineering Teams to support operations and facility activities across the Sciences business. Key roles include the planning, management, and delivery of all maintenance and engineering initiatives, ensuring processes run safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with business, regulatory, and pharmaceutical standards (cGMP). The Director will uphold the highest levels of quality, safety, and operational excellence, driving continuous improvement and maintaining readiness for regulatory inspections and audits.

What You’ll Do

· Lead, coach, and develop multi-disciplinary engineering & maintenance teams.

· Lead all engineering activities in full compliance with health, safety and environmental regulations (HSENI), including oversight of risk assessments and method statements.

· Define and manage process safety across manufacturing assets, driving hazard identification, mitigation strategies and continuous improvement.

· Lead and manage the end-to-end management of engineering assets & capital projects, processes and expertise to support efficient, compliant manufacturing operations.

· Develop and implement a comprehensive site maintenance strategy that ensures compliance with process-safety requirements, statutory regulations and cGMP standards.

· Manage contractors and building services, including all utilities and plants and BMS.

· Provide management of process engineering support to chemical development and manufacturing of APIs.

· Champion process safety and risk management across all engineering functions and implement and drive change.

Essential Candidate Criteria

· Degree in Engineering (Chemical or Mechanical preferred).

· Proven ability to manage and implement Process Safety systems.

· Proven ability to manage teams within a highly complex, technical and quality regulated environment, delivering practical solutions.

· Experience in pharmaceutical or fine chemical engineering or equivalent.

· Proven leadership in managing engineering teams and large-scale maintenance functions in a chemical environment.

· Strong experience in capital project delivery and contractor management.

· Deep understanding of regulatory compliance and CMMS systems.

Desirable Candidate Criteria

· Chartered Engineer status.

· Experience in API/fine chemical manufacture.

· Knowledge of cGMP, ISO systems, and maintenance reliability techniques.

· Proactive, structured problem evaluation and solving skills ideally developed through exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, TPM or Manufacturing excellence methodologies.

For more information including postholder responsibilities and full candidate criteria, please review the below link

https://almacgroup.pagetiger.com/cdubomg/1

As part of a busy team within a rapidly growing organisation, operating within a challenging industry you will benefit from the numerous personal and professional developmental opportunities available throughout the Almac group.

Closing Date: Sunday 14th September 2025 at 5pm local time

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES PLEASE NOTE: Almac will only accept applications from agencies/business partners that have been invited to work on this role by our Talent Acquisition team. Speculative candidate CVs received or submitted directly to Hiring Managers will be considered unsolicited and no fee will be payable. Thank you for your cooperation.