Senior Engineering & Maintenance Manager - Ibex Readiness

Senior Engineering & Maintenance Manager - Ibex Readiness | Biopharma

 

Job Description

A global life sciences organisation is seeking a highly experienced Senior Engineering & Maintenance Manager to support the construction, commissioning, qualification, and future operation of Ibex biopharma facilities in Visp. This leadership position requires strong expertise in engineering, maintenance, utilities, qualification, and biopharma manufacturing, combined with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and act as the future Head of Plant Engineering during the initial engineering phases.

In this role, you will act as the interface between the investment-engineering organisation, Global Engineering, contractors, and Operations. You will be responsible for delivering engineering and maintenance input for the future facilities, including equipment standardisation, pipe classes, qualification approaches, utilities, and maintenance strategies. You will also support operational organisation and headcount ramp-up planning, contribute to GMP and Safety risk assessments, and drive innovation, operational improvements, and continuous improvement across the facilities.

 

Essential Requirements

· BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Automation

· Proven experience in engineering and maintenance within a biopharma manufacturing environment

· Experience leading complex engineering and maintenance initiatives through construction, commissioning, and qualification

· Strong expertise in plant engineering, maintenance, and utilities

· Experience supporting capital investment projects, including feasibility studies, conceptual design, and basic design phases

· Experience acting as an interface between engineering organisations, contractors, and operations

· Experience delivering engineering input for utilities and the implementation of engineering and qualification tools

· Strong understanding of maintenance strategy, standards, and concepts, with a focus on cost-efficient preventive and predictive maintenance

· Ability to provide technical expertise across engineering, maintenance, business, and financial processes

· Strong leadership and accountability, with the ability to drive high performance and align priorities with business objectives

· Experience leading and collaborating with cross-functional teams

· Ability to make structured, proactive, and solution-oriented decisions and manage ambiguity effectively

· Strong stakeholder management skills across all organisational levels

· Ability to support GMP and Safety risk assessments

· Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders

· Proficiency in both English and German

 

Preferred Requirements

· Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification

· Experience with equipment standardisation, pipe classes, and qualification approaches

· Experience establishing maintenance strategies for new biopharma facilities

· Experience supporting operations organisation and headcount ramp-up planning

· Experience driving innovation, operational improvements, and continuous improvement within facility design

· Ability to share operational and process expertise with design teams

· Experience working as part of a plant engineering leadership team

· Strong ability to introduce engineering expertise into GMP and Safety risk analyses

· Ability to promote cooperative teamwork, openness to change, and continuous improvement

 

Practicalities

Start Date: ASAP

Location: Visp, Switzerland – onsite 5 days per week

Team: Cross-functional engineering, maintenance, operations, and project teams

Leadership: Acts as an Engineering & Maintenance Expert lead and future Head of Plant Engineering during initial engineering phases

Scope: Ibex biopharma facilities, covering engineering, qualification, maintenance, utilities, construction, and commissioning

 

Interested? Send your CV to Miguel Gomes at m.gomes@panda-int.com or call +41 (0)44 5514 407 to discuss the opportunity