Senior Director, Engineering & Maintenance

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals!

As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.

At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.

Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your Role: Senior Director, Engineering & Maintenance

The Site Sr. Director of Maintenance and Engineering provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all engineering, maintenance, and utility functions at the Elwood manufacturing site. As a member of the Site Leadership Team, this individual ensures that all physical assets and technical processes meet the highest safety and quality standards to support Elanco’s mission. The role is responsible for managing significant capital investments while fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement through Reliability Excellence (REx).

Your Responsibilities:

• Strategic Asset Management: Develop and execute a multi-year engineering strategy aligned with Elanco 2030, utilizing Reliability Excellence (REx) to maximize asset uptime and support future site growth.
• Capital Portfolio Leadership: Direct the site’s CAPEX investments and Master Plan, partnering with Global Engineering to deliver complex projects on time, within budget, and in full compliance.
• Operational Excellence & Sustainability: Oversee reliable maintenance and utility operations using SAP-driven predictive programs while advancing energy efficiency in line with Elanco’s ESG goals.
• Safety & Regulatory Compliance: Champion a "Safety First" culture, ensuring all technical processes and equipment meet rigorous GxP, HSE, and global regulatory requirements (FDA, USDA, etc.).
• People & Financial Leadership: Lead and mentor a high-performing technical team while managing OPEX and CAPEX budgets to ensure fiscal responsibility and a values-driven work environment.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering-related discipline.
• Required Experience: 10+ years of experience in maintenance and/or engineering in a regulated industry, including 5+ years of leadership experience.
• Proven track record of managing large-scale capital projects (>$10M).
• Deep expertise in Reliability Excellence (REx) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications): 

• Advanced degree such as MBA or MS in Engineering Management
• Experience in monoclonal antibody, vaccine and/or recombinant protein manufacturing.
• Experience in biological manufacturing including cell culture, purification (separation technologies, chromatography, tangential flow filtration), viral inactivation and cleaning / sterilization processes in a biological environment.
• Experience with SAP PM/MM modules.
• Experience in commissioning, qualification and validation activities associated with aseptic processes, technology transfers and new product commercialization.
• Experience in capital project design, development, and execution.
• Understanding of USDA, FDA, and EU GMP regulatory standards for veterinary biologics.

Additional Information:

• Travel: <5%

• Location: Elwood, KS (on-site)

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status

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