Automation Technical Project Manager (491)

Full time

Holly Springs, NC, USA

Réalta Technologies is seeking an Automation Technical Project Manager to support a major pharmaceutical facility expansion in North Carolina. The project is effectively the delivery of a new facility within an existing site, incorporating dedicated Emerson DeltaV Distributed Control System (DCS) and Building Automation System (BAS) infrastructure.

This role will be responsible for coordinating and driving the delivery of the automation scope, ensuring technical activities, engineering deliverables, testing, commissioning and qualification progress in line with the project schedule and GMP requirements.

The ideal candidate will combine a strong hands-on automation engineering background with proven experience managing delivery on large-scale pharmaceutical or biotechnology projects. They will be comfortable reviewing technical scope, challenging estimates, identifying gaps and dependencies, and coordinating engineers, vendors and project stakeholders to keep activities progressing and resolve issues effectively.

Job Responsibilities

• Project Delivery: Drive the delivery of the automation scope, ensuring engineering activities, deliverables and milestones progress in line with the overall project schedule.
• Technical Oversight: Provide technical input across DeltaV DCS and BAS, including system architecture, integration requirements and interfaces with equipment and other site systems.
• Scope Management: Review technical scope, specifications and deliverables to identify gaps, ambiguities, dependencies and potential risks to successful delivery.
• Schedule and Task Tracking: Maintain detailed task lists, action logs and progress trackers, monitoring outstanding activities, milestones and critical dependencies.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate automation engineers, system vendors, contractors and project stakeholders to align priorities, resolve issues and maintain delivery momentum.
• Design and Testing Oversight: Support and coordinate automation design reviews, FAT/SAT, commissioning, testing and qualification activities within a GMP-regulated environment.
• Risk and Issue Management: Identify technical and project delivery blockers, challenge estimates and proposed timelines, escalate risks and drive actions through to resolution.
• GMP Compliance and Documentation: Ensure automation deliverables and project activities align with applicable GMP requirements, validation expectations and site quality standards.

Job Requirements

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Automation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Instrumentation and Control, or a related technical discipline.
• Significant experience delivering automation scopes on large-scale pharmaceutical or biotechnology capital projects, including new facilities or major facility expansions.
• Strong technical knowledge of Emerson DeltaV DCS and Building Automation Systems (BAS), including system integration and interfaces with process equipment and site systems.
• Proven experience across automation project lifecycles, including design, engineering, testing, commissioning and qualification in a GMP environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage technical delivery, coordinate multidisciplinary teams and drive multiple engineering workstreams against an agreed schedule.
• Experience reviewing engineering scope, technical specifications, estimates and deliverables, with the ability to identify gaps, dependencies and risks.
• Strong organisational and communication skills, with experience maintaining schedules, action trackers, task lists and project progress reports.
• A proactive, technically credible approach to problem-solving, with the confidence to challenge assumptions, engage vendors and stakeholders, and drive outstanding actions to completion.