Associate Director, Continuous Improvement (Onsite)

Job Description

Position Summary

• Our Pharmaceutical Operations and Clinical Supply (POCS) team leads our drug product development for our pipeline. Innovating new medicine to save and improve lives around the world.

• The Associate Director, Continuous Improvement Engineer, serves as the MPS Lead – FLEx Sterile and is the senior Production System (MPS) leader responsible for setting direction, governing deployment, and ensuring sustained business impact of MPS across our Clinical Pipeline FLEx Non‑Sterile, FLEx Sterile, and Sterile Liquid Processing (SLP) operations. This role operates as a strategic thought partner, accountable for embedding MPS as the standard operating model and developing durable leadership capability across the organization.

• At the P4 level, this role leads through others, shapes deployment strategy, prioritizes the CI portfolio, and ensures consistency and scalability of MPS while delivering measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people engagement.
  

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise MPS Strategy & Governance

• Facilitate development and execution of MPS deployment strategy for POCS, aligned with business priorities and operating models across FLEx and SLP.

• Establish and govern MPS standards, deployment sequencing, and sustainment expectations across FLEx Sterile.

• Ensure MPS is fully integrated into governance, operating rhythms, and leadership routines.

Portfolio & Business Impact Ownership

• Own and prioritize the continuous improvement portfolio across FLEx Sterile.

• Ensure CI efforts deliver measurable, sustained business outcomes, not just tool adoption.

• Monitor progress, escalate risks, and course‑correct as needed.

Leader‑of‑Leaders Capability Development

• Coach and develop senior leaders, MPS Leads, and teams to operate and sustain the management system independently.

• Build organizational capability by developing others.

• Serve as a mentor and escalation point for complex system, performance, and cultural challenges.

Change Leadership & Cultural Transformation

• Lead enterprise‑level change management for MPS adoption across diverse operating environments.

• Address systemic and behavioral barriers to execution.

• Reinforce MPS mindsets, behaviors, and accountability at all leadership levels.

MPS Thought Leadership & Integration

• Act as the primary MPS thought leader for the department, connecting site‑level execution with enterprise MPS standards.

• Partner with functional, technical, and operational leaders to integrate MPS into strategy, capital planning, and future‑state designs.

• Represent the group in MPS forums, governance bodies, and cross‑site alignment discussions as required.
  

​Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, Operations, or related field (required).

• Advanced degree preferred.

• Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt preferred.
  

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing, operations, operational excellence, or MPS/Lean leadership roles.

• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise‑scale MPS or Lean deployments across multiple areas or organizations.

• Proven success influencing senior leaders and driving sustained change without direct authority.
  

Skills & Capabilities

• Deep expertise in Lean Management Systems, structured problem solving, and people development.

• Strong business acumen with demonstrated ability to translate strategy into execution.

• Advanced coaching, facilitation, and change leadership skills.

• Ability to operate effectively from the gemba to the executive level.

• Strong governance, prioritization, and decision‑making capability.

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing experience preferred
  

Leadership Expectations

• Role model for Safety First, Quality Always.

• Demonstrates enterprise mindset, systems thinking, and long‑term orientation.

• Builds trust, accountability, and ownership.

• Focused on sustainability, capability building, and leadership development—not dependency.

#eligibleforERP

#PSCS

FLEx2026

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Business Acumen, Business Case Development, Capital Planning, Change Management, Data Analysis Tools, Financial Management, Leadership Training and Development, Lean Management, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Mentorship, Operational Excellence, Operations Management, People Development, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Process Improvements, Product Development, Project Management, Results-Oriented, Six Sigma, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking {+ 2 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

06/6/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.