Design Services & Technical Oversight Lead - Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

About the role

The Design Services & Technical Oversight Lead serves as the Owner's Representative technical authority responsible for providing independent review and oversight across all engineering and design activities supporting major pharmaceutical capital programs. This role ensures that engineering decisions align with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, operational objectives, constructability expectations, commissioning strategies, and fast-track delivery goals.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead owner-side technical oversight activities across multiple projects, facilities, and program workstreams.
• Serve as the independent technical authority responsible for design quality, technical governance, and engineering assurance across EPC design packages.
• Review engineering deliverables throughout all design phases to ensure compliance with GMP requirements, operational expectations, site standards, and regulatory commitments.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary design reviews involving engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality, validation, commissioning, maintenance, and construction stakeholders.
• Evaluate design maturity, technical completeness, and engineering readiness in support of project gates, funding approvals, procurement activities, and construction execution.
• Provide independent assessments of proposed technical solutions, identifying opportunities to improve operability, maintainability, reliability, safety, and schedule performance.
• Review facility layouts, process flows, utility systems, infrastructure designs, equipment arrangements, and integrated system interfaces.
• Ensure engineering decisions support commissioning, qualification, validation, startup, and long-term operational requirements.
• Lead GMP-focused design reviews to confirm alignment with regulatory expectations, quality objectives, contamination control strategies, and manufacturing requirements.
• Identify technical risks, design gaps, interface issues, and scope conflicts that could impact project cost, schedule, quality, safety, or startup milestones.
• Support technical evaluation of contractor proposals, engineering packages, value engineering recommendations, and scope change requests.
• Cook up technical alignment between client teams, EPC contractors, specialty consultants, vendors, and operations representatives.
• Review engineering execution plans, design schedules, staffing plans, and design management processes.
• Assess and provide recommendations on design standardization, modularization opportunities, system integration approaches, and future expansion considerations.
• Collaborate with project controls, procurement, commissioning, construction, validation, and operations teams to ensure technical decisions support overall program objectives.
• Mentor technical staff and assist in establishing engineering excellence, lessons learned programs, and best practices across the portfolio.
• Escalate significant technical concerns and provide executive-level recommendations to support timely decision-making.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
• 20+ years of experience in engineering, design management, technical program leadership, EPC project delivery, or owner-side engineering oversight.
• Experience supporting major capital projects exceeding $500 million in total installed cost; experience on multi-billion-dollar programs preferred.
• Pharmaceutical industry experience strongly preferred; experience in semiconductor, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, chemical, data center, or other highly regulated industrial facilities will also be considered.
• Experience working with EPC delivery models and large-scale engineering organizations.
• Experience leading technical governance forums, design review meetings, risk assessments, and executive-level decision reviews.
• Experience evaluating design packages for constructability, operability, maintainability, reliability, and startup readiness.
• Experience collaborating with executive leadership, engineering firms, contractors, vendors, regulators, and operational stakeholders.
• Experience with engineering management systems, document control platforms, project management systems, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Demonstrated expertise leading multidisciplinary engineering reviews across process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation & controls, automation, architectural, structural, utility, and infrastructure disciplines.
• Demonstrated ability to identify technical risks and provide practical, owner-focused recommendations.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced environments with multiple stakeholders and evolving program requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to challenge technical assumptions objectively and make independent recommendations without delivery bias.
• Strong understanding of GMP facility design principles, regulatory requirements, quality systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of lifecycle project delivery, including conceptual design, detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, validation, and startup.
• Strong knowledge of process systems, clean utilities, facility infrastructure, manufacturing support systems, and building services commonly utilized within pharmaceutical production environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate competing priorities and technical alternatives.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence outcomes across large, complex organizations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
• 20+ years of experience in engineering, design management, technical program leadership, EPC project delivery, or owner-side engineering oversight.
• Experience supporting major capital projects exceeding $500 million in total installed cost; experience on multi-billion-dollar programs preferred.
• Pharmaceutical industry experience strongly preferred; experience in semiconductor, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, chemical, data center, or other highly regulated industrial facilities will also be considered.
• Experience working with EPC delivery models and large-scale engineering organizations.
• Experience leading technical governance forums, design review meetings, risk assessments, and executive-level decision reviews.
• Experience evaluating design packages for constructability, operability, maintainability, reliability, and startup readiness.
• Experience collaborating with executive leadership, engineering firms, contractors, vendors, regulators, and operational stakeholders.
• Experience with engineering management systems, document control platforms, project management systems, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Demonstrated expertise leading multidisciplinary engineering reviews across process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation & controls, automation, architectural, structural, utility, and infrastructure disciplines.
• Demonstrated ability to identify technical risks and provide practical, owner-focused recommendations.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced environments with multiple stakeholders and evolving program requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to challenge technical assumptions objectively and make independent recommendations without delivery bias.
• Strong understanding of GMP facility design principles, regulatory requirements, quality systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of lifecycle project delivery, including conceptual design, detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, validation, and startup.
• Strong knowledge of process systems, clean utilities, facility infrastructure, manufacturing support systems, and building services commonly utilized within pharmaceutical production environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate competing priorities and technical alternatives.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence outcomes across large, complex organizations.

Skills

• Technical expertise in engineering, design management, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Proven ability to identify and mitigate technical risks.
• Experience with GMP facility design principles and regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of lifecycle project delivery processes.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering reviews.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Experience with engineering management systems and project management tools.

Benefits

• Full-time position with AtkinsRéalis.
• Competitive compensation package with robust benefits.
• Opportunity to lead complex, high-profile programs.
• Collaboration with world-class delivery teams.
• Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, 401(k) with 100% vesting, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, leaves of absence options, flexible work options, recognition and employee satisfaction programs, employee assistance program, and voluntary benefits.

Pay

Expected compensation range is between $170,000 - $200,000+ annually depending on skills, experience, and geographical location.

Schedule

Full-time position.