Associate Director, Business Integrator

Job Description

The Associate Director, Business Integrator plays a critical role at the intersection of engineering, manufacturing, and business strategy, serving as a key liaison between Global Engineering Solutions (GES), business units, and core stakeholders. This individual is responsible for translating business needs into well-defined, strategic engineering solutions that align with enterprise priorities, maximize value, and support the long-term performance of the manufacturing network.

In this capacity, the Associate Director leads early-stage project development and supports capital investment decisions by shaping business cases, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and evaluating technical and business considerations. The role requires strong leadership and influence, enabling teams to navigate ambiguity, drive alignment, and deliver clear, fit-for-purpose solutions that position projects for successful execution while advancing the company’s mission.

Responsibilities

• Interact and partner with employees in stakeholder areas such as Commercialization, Technical Operations, Supply Chain, Operations, External Manufacturing, Business Affairs, Product Franchises, Procurement, Safety, Digital Manufacturing Division, and other groups within our company.
• Interact with clients to define business opportunities and needs, translate them into requirements and boundary condition options with other stakeholders, evaluate risk, priorities, and tradeoffs, and propose fit-for-purpose business options with proper justification that maximize return on assets and create the highest value.
• Work cooperatively with the Technology Center Lead and Regional Delivery Leads to guide activities prior to business case review, fully exploring site selection options, engineering technical options, our company's manufacturing process opportunities, and capital phasing options.
• Be accountable for projects through business case review stage gate with fit-for-purpose business solutions via the Capital Management Process. Organize and lead the cross-functional project team including internal and external resources during the FEL-0 and FEL-1 phase. Post-business case review stage gate, ensure project boundaries are clearly established and communicated to the project team via a project kickoff.
• Build trusting relationships with key business stakeholders, and be responsible for helping business areas build business cases and develop projects with the goal of gaining alignment and approval through the capital management process.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering or Applicable Science; preferably in chemical or Bioengineering, with a minimum of seven (7) years of the required experience. OR MS with  five (5) years, OR PhD with two (2) years.
• Experience with capital projects required: engineering design or capital project execution for manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated leadership skills that are necessary to build and maintain high-performing teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred

• Knowledge of the capability and capacity of our company's manufacturing network and knowledge in areas of pharmaceutical product development, manufacturing technologies, plant operations, and maintenance.
• Previous working/collaboration experience with client organizations such as Supply Chain, Program Management, Commercialization, Technology, Technical Operations, Quality, Environmental Health & Safety, and Digital Manufacturing.
• Project management excellence demonstrated over multiple assignments.
• Key knowledge in our Manufacturing Division's strategy and its application for decision making/trade-off analyses.
• An understanding of the business, lean design and delivery, implementation of standard work, and the ability to develop/support teams on medium to large capital projects during the business case development stage and work in an ambiguous environment to provide clarity of direction.

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Applied Engineering, Automation Systems, Business Case Development, Business Opportunities, Capital Project Management, Change Management, Client Management, Clinical Manufacturing, Cross-Functional Leadership, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Digital Manufacturing, Drug Product Manufacturing, Engineering Design, Engineering Design Plans, Interpersonal Relationships, Lean Design, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Product Development, Manufacturing Scale-Up, Project Execution Plan, Project Manufacturing, Project Risks {+ 6 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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

06/11/2026

*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.