OSD Manufacturing Expertise Automation Engineer
Key Skills
Job Description
Job Summary
Horizon Controls Group is seeking an experienced Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) Manufacturing Expertise Automation Engineer to support the design, integration, optimisation, and lifecycle management of automation systems within a highly advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
This role requires a strong combination of automation engineering capability and deep manufacturing process expertise within Oral Solid Dosage operations. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership across OSD process automation, supporting both capital projects and operational manufacturing systems while ensuring compliance with GMP, data integrity, and Lilly engineering standards.
The position will focus heavily on automation. Solutions supporting tablet manufacturing, coating technologies, spray drying operations, and integration of critical utility systems including CIP, purified water systems, and process tanks.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide automation engineering expertise for Oral Solid Dosage manufacturing processes across production and project environments.
- Lead the design, development, configuration, and optimisation of automation systems supporting OSD manufacturing equipment and utilities.
- Support automation strategies for tablet presses, coating systems, spray drying technologies, and associated material handling processes.
- Develop and maintain PLC, HMI, batch, and process control logic to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient manufacturing operations.
- Collaborate closely with manufacturing, process engineering, CQV, quality, maintenance, and digital teams to support production readiness and process optimisation.
- Support integration of manufacturing equipment with utilities and site-wide automation infrastructure, including CIP systems, purified water systems, tanks, and process utilities.
- Participate in automation architecture reviews, process hazard assessments, FAT/SAT execution, commissioning, qualification, and startup activities.
- Troubleshoot complex automation and process control issues within live manufacturing operations.
- Support data integration, historian systems, MES interfaces, and manufacturing reporting solutions where applicable.
- Develop and review technical documentation including functional specifications, control narratives, IO lists, test protocols, and change controls.
- Ensure all automation activities comply with GMP, GAMP5, ISA-88, ISA-95, cybersecurity, and data integrity requirements.
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives focused on process efficiency, reliability, and operational excellence.
Required Technical Expertise
OSD Manufacturing Process Knowledge
The successful candidate must demonstrate strong hands-on understanding and automation support experience within the following process areas:
- Tablet Presses and Coating Systems
Experience supporting automated tablet compression equipment, coating systems, recipe management, batch sequencing, and process optimisation within OSD manufacturing environments. - Spray Drying Processes
Strong process and automation understanding of spray drying operations, including process control strategies, temperature and airflow control, material handling, and process monitoring. This is considered a key requirement for the role. - Utilities Integration
Experience integrating manufacturing systems with process utilities including CIP systems, purified water systems, process tanks, skids, and associated utility automation infrastructure.
Requirements
Required Experience & Qualifications
- Degree in Automation, Electrical, Chemical, Process, Pharmaceutical, or related Engineering discipline.
- Significant automation engineering experience within pharmaceutical or regulated manufacturing environments.
- Strong expertise supporting OSD manufacturing processes and associated process equipment.
- Hands-on experience with PLC, SCADA, HMI, batch control systems, and industrial automation platforms.
- Proven capability in automation system design, troubleshooting, commissioning, and operational support.
- Strong understanding of GMP, GAMP5, ISA-88, ISA-95, and pharmaceutical validation requirements.
- Experience supporting commissioning, FAT/SAT, IQ/OQ, and startup activities.
- Ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary projects and operational teams.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Experience
- Experience supporting large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing projects.
- Exposure to MES systems, historian platforms, or digital manufacturing initiatives.
- Experience within continuous manufacturing or advanced process control environments.
- Familiarity with data analytics, process optimisation, or Industry 4.0 technologies.
- Previous experience in greenfield pharmaceutical facility projects.
Key Competencies
- Deep OSD manufacturing process expertise
- Strong automation and controls engineering capability
- Technical leadership and stakeholder collaboration
- High attention to quality and compliance
- Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills
- Continuous improvement and innovation mindset
Core Responsibilities
Lead the design, integration, and optimization of automation systems for Oral Solid Dosage manufacturing processes and utilities. Provide technical leadership for equipment such as tablet presses and spray dryers while ensuring compliance with GMP and data integrity standards.
Requirements
Requires an engineering degree and significant automation experience within pharmaceutical or regulated manufacturing environments. Must possess deep technical expertise in OSD processes, PLC/SCADA systems, and pharmaceutical validation standards.
About Horizon Controls Group
Industry: Industrial Automation
Company size: 51-200 employees
Horizon Controls Group: A global leader in automation consulting, enabling both clients and employees to live on the forefront of evolving technology. Horizon Controls Group is a modern, global technology company, specializing in automation consulting, engineering, and training. Founded on the belief that our people are the difference, we have grown entirely from customer references and successive projects. Our people and their established reputation are our most valued assets. This belief has created a great place to work, enabling us to attract the very best and to give our customers confidence in our superior solutions. Our business is comprised of excellence at every level. We employ a pro-active and comprehensive approach to projects -- asking the right questions, analyzing client needs, and engineering a skilled solution. We are committed to understanding the entire spectrum of your automation challenges and to developing uniquely tailored innovative solutions. Our decision to be vendor-independent enables us to offer tailored solutions and represent your needs free of any conflict of interest. We are aligned exclusively with our customers' goals and system requirements, enabling us to provide maximum value. Ultimately, the ability to harvest maximum value from new systems is dependent on the quality and training of your people. Just as we expect and ensure absolute expertise in our people, we work with you to ensure your team is trained to the specific needs of your organization and remain at the forefront of industry trends. We are a global company operating in the United States from our headquarters in Conshohocken, PA and offices in Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and California and from Cork in Ireland. This is Horizon Controls Group’s official company LinkedIn page.