Senior Automation Consultant

Proconex is seeking an experienced Senior Automation Consultant to support a major life sciences manufacturing capital project during the Basic Design phase.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced automation professional seeking a flexible consulting engagement. The selected consultant will provide technical leadership, design guidance, and automation oversight while working alongside project engineering and operations teams. The role is expected to average approximately 30 hours per week and offers the opportunity to influence project strategy, standards, and technology decisions without requiring a full-time commitment.

Candidates with extensive pharmaceutical, biotech, or GMP manufacturing automation experience are encouraged to apply.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Serve as a senior automation advisor for a large-scale manufacturing expansion project.
• Review automation strategies, control philosophies, and system architecture decisions.
• Provide guidance on DCS, PLC, SCADA, batch automation, and system integration activities.
• Support development and review of automation requirements and design documentation.
• Evaluate automation technologies, digital manufacturing initiatives, and integration approaches.
• Collaborate with project teams, vendors, and system integrators to ensure project success.
• Provide oversight for commissioning, qualification, and validation planning activities.
• Support automation standards, data integrity, cybersecurity, and lifecycle management initiatives.
• Share industry best practices and lessons learned from previous capital project experience.

• 10+ years of automation experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, or other regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience supporting capital projects, facility expansions, or manufacturing modernization efforts.
• Strong working knowledge of DCS, PLC, and SCADA systems.
• Experience with batch automation, system integration, commissioning, and validation activities.
• Familiarity with GMP regulations, GAMP 5, CSV, and data integrity requirements.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with engineering, operations, quality, and validation teams.
• Ability to operate independently as a trusted technical advisor.

Preferred Experience

• Emerson DeltaV experience.
• Biologics manufacturing experience.
• ISA-88 and ISA-95 knowledge.
• Experience with MES, historians, LIMS, or digital manufacturing platforms.
• Consulting or owner-side project support experience., Candidates must be legally eligible to work in the United States without company sponsorship. Also, we are not interested in working on a corp-to-corp basis with other companies at this time.

Pulled from the full job description

• Tuition reimbursement
• Health insurance
• 401(k) matching
• Employee stock ownership plan, * Flexible part-time consulting engagement.
• Opportunity to contribute to a high-profile life sciences capital project.
• Significant influence on project design and automation strategy.
• Collaborative engineering environment.
• Potential for project extension based on business needs.
• Competitive consulting rates.

We are proud to be an employee-owned organization. Through our ESOP, every team member shares in the growth and success of the company, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and long-term rewards.

Proconex offers a standout culture, fantastic work environment, and has very competitive benefits to include premium medical, 401K match, tuition reimbursement, and other unique incentives.

When receiving e-mails from a Proconex or Valspec recruiter, you will only receive e-mails from addresses ending in @proconexdirect.com, @proconex.net or @valspec.net. Any other domains are impersonations and should be ignored.

Proconex is the exclusive Emerson Impact Partner for Emerson Automation Solutions in the Mid-Atlantic region. We provide a full portfolio of Process Automation Control Systems, Valves and Control Devices, and related technologies and services to a range of customers-in the Life Sciences, Chemical, Power, Refining, Oil & Gas, Food & Beverage, Paper, Metals, and other industries, as well as commercial enterprises and campus facilities. With three strategically located offices, Proconex maintains a deep dedication to its 200+ employees, a sharp focus on safety and quality, and the drive to deliver.