Automation Engineer
Pfizer is hiring an Automation Engineer. It pays $69k-$114k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Level.
AI in this role
Use Your Power for Purpose
Whether you are involved in the design and development of manufacturing processes for products or supporting maintenance and reliability, engineering is crucial to ensuring customers and patients receive the medicines they need, precisely when they need them. By collaborating with our forward-thinking engineering team, you'll play a key role in accelerating the delivery of medicines to the world. Your innovative ideas and proactive actions will help us imagine new possibilities and bring them to life, ensuring that vital medications reach those in need more swiftly and efficiently. Your contributions will be instrumental in enhancing manufacturing information systems, boosting success rates, and ensuring zero downtime. By integrating manufacturing processes, operational knowledge, equipment control, and data into cohesive systems, you will enforce seamless operations across various departments. Your dedication will be pivotal in meeting project objectives and goals, fostering a collaborative team environment, and driving your colleagues towards success.
The Automation Engineer is a member of the Site Digital & Automation Team and is responsible for supporting automation operations, maintenance, and lifecycle activities for site automation and digital systems supporting manufacturing operations. This role provides hands-on technical support to ensure production continuity, system reliability, validated state, and regulatory compliance, working closely with Operations, Engineering, and Core Digital & Automation partners.
What You Will Achieve
In this role, you will:
- Support day-to-day operation and technical performance of production-critical automation and digital systems to maintain system reliability and production continuity.
- Troubleshoot automation system issues and support investigations, deviations, unplanned events, escalation, recovery, and root-cause data gathering.
- Maintain automation systems in a validated and compliant state by following established change management, validation, engineering, and documentation practices.
- Develop and maintain lifecycle documentation, including standard operating procedures, system specifications, change records, incident documentation, and resolution steps.
- Operate and support control systems and automation infrastructure, including DCS, PLC, SCADA, HMI, and PC-based production systems.
- Support the installation, testing, commissioning, and implementation of automation system and software changes using approved processes and coding standards.
- Participate in business continuity planning, system recovery testing, regulatory inspections, and audits to support operational resilience and compliance.
- Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, and Digital and Automation partners on cross-functional problem-solving, standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance system reliability and performance.
- Execute Good Manufacturing Practices and verification protocols.
- Provide continuous 24x7x365 support for automation systems.
- Monitor and identify issues to develop preventative solutions.
- Support the development of Preventive Maintenance Procedures for process control systems.
- Adhere to safe work practices consistently.
- Contribute to project milestones, organize work to meet deadlines, and communicate progress and issues to peers.
- Learn and apply basic team effectiveness skills within the immediate Work Team.
- Make decisions to resolve basic problems with limited options and decision-making authority, under supervisor's direction.
- Work in a structured environment using established procedures, seeking guidance from colleagues, with regular reviews for technical judgment, completeness, and accuracy, relying on the supervisor's judgment.
Here Is What You Need (Minimum Requirements)
- Applicant must have a bachelor's degree with 0+ years of experience; OR an associate's degree with 4 years of experience; OR a high school diploma (or equivalent) and 6 years of relevant experience
- Hands-on experience with engineering design and validation
- Demonstrated organizational skills to meet project task deadlines effectively
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience with automated systems and equipment
- Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices
- Ability to provide 24x7x365 support for automation systems
Bonus Points If You Have (Preferred Requirements)
- Experience supporting automation control systems in pharmaceutical industry engineering
- Knowledge of automation systems such as PLC, SCADA, and HMI.
- Familiarity with Preventive Maintenance Procedures for process control systems
- Ability to monitor issues and develop preventative solutions
- Experience with manufacturing information systems
- Excellent judgment and decision-making skills
- Experience using common AI tools, including generative technologies such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, to support problem solving and enhance productivity. Demonstrated curiosity for exploring how these tools can improve outcomes and understanding of responsible AI practices, including risk management and ethical use
Work Location Assignment: On Premise
The annual base salary for this position ranges from $68,600.00 to $114,300.00. In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 7.5% of the base salary. We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.
Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.
Candidates must be authorized to be employed in the U.S. by any employer.
U.S. work visa sponsorship (such as TN, O-1, H-1B, etc.) is not available for this role now or in the future.
Sunshine Act
Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations. These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider’s name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure. Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act. Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your Talent Acquisition representative.
EEO & Employment Eligibility
Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status. Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Pfizer is an E-Verify employer. This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.
Pfizer endeavors to make www.pfizer.com/careers accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process and/or interviewing, please email disabilityrecruitment@pfizer.com. This is to be used solely for accommodation requests with respect to the accessibility of our website, online application process and/or interviewing. Requests for any other reason will not be returned.
To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI-use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.
Engineering
How we rate this
Automation Engineer at Pfizer rates 37 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Open the description and count.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- How do you think about the risk of an AI system in this kind of role failing silently?
- Walk me through how you've used ChatGPT in your day-to-day work.
- What are the limits of Copilot that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: AI Safety, ChatGPT, and Copilot. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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