Biotech & Pharma OPT Jobs in Illinois
Illinois is one of the Midwest's strongest biotech and pharma markets, anchored by the Chicago metro area and research corridors in Lake County and the North Shore. Major employers including AbbVie, Baxter International, and Takeda have deep hiring pipelines that have historically included F-1 OPT candidates in research, regulatory, and laboratory roles.
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Job Description
About the Role:
Are you passionate about leading projects that make a real impact on how a world-class manufacturing site operates? We're looking for a Senior Facilities Engineer to drive key initiatives that enhance site performance, operational efficiency, and sustainability at our Round Lake location.
In this highly visible role, you'll lead major facility and infrastructure improvement projects, collaborate with a broad range of internal teams and external partners, and serve as a key liaison with our site landlord to ensure exceptional service delivery. You'll play a critical role in planning and coordinating site-wide shutdown activities, managing stakeholder relationships, and helping advance Takeda's environmental sustainability goals.
This is a fantastic opportunity for a project-focused facilities engineering professional who enjoys building partnerships, influencing across teams, and delivering meaningful improvements that support business success.
How you will contribute:
- Lead impactful facility and infrastructure projects that improve site performance, reliability, and operational excellence.
- Coordinate site-wide shutdown activities, bringing together multiple teams to ensure successful planning and execution.
- Build strong partnerships with internal stakeholders, external vendors, and our site landlord to drive seamless operations.
- Develop and monitor performance metrics to ensure service quality and continuous improvement.
- Champion sustainability initiatives that reduce energy consumption and support Takeda's commitment to a more sustainable future.
- Manage project timelines, priorities, budgets, and risks to ensure successful delivery.
- Support compliance with quality, safety, and environmental standards while maintaining a culture of operational excellence.
- Collaborate with Manufacturing, Quality, Maintenance, Validation, and other cross-functional teams to deliver practical and innovative solutions.
- Drive effective change management and stakeholder engagement for facility-related projects and improvements.
- Mentor and support developing engineers and team members by sharing knowledge and best practices.
What you bring to Takeda:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related discipline.
- Experience leading facility, infrastructure, utilities, or operational improvement projects.
- 3+ years of experience working within a large or complex organization.
- Experience in pharmaceutical and/or biotech industry.
- Solid technical knowledge of HVAC systems and clean/plant utility infrastructure.
- Strong project and stakeholder management with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Demonstrated success leading cross-functional projects from planning through execution.
- Proven track record of successfully managing project schedules, budgets, and resources to deliver projects on time and within budget.
- Knowledge of quality, safety, and environmental expectations within a regulated environment.
Important Considerations:
At Takeda, our patients rely on us to deliver quality products. As a result, we must follow strict rules in our manufacturing facilities to ensure we are not endangering the quality of the product. In this role, you may:
- Work in a controlled environment requiring special gowning and wear protective clothing over the head, face, hands, feet and body. This may include additional hearing protection for loud areas.
- Need to remove all make-up, jewelry, contact lenses, nail polish and/or artificial fingernails while in the manufacturing environment.
- Work in a cold, wet environment.
- Work multiple shifts, including weekends, or be asked to work supplemental hours, as necessary.
- Work around chemicals such as alcohol, acids, buffers and Celite that may require respiratory protection.
- In general, the position requires a combination of sedentary work and walking around observing conditions of the facility.
- Must be able to carry up to 20lbs, lift up to 25lbs, push/pull up to 25lbs (with assistance of material handling equipment).
- Must be able to stand and/or walk for an extended period between rooms and across the site.
- May require bending, twisting, reaching overhead, and/or squatting motions to perform certain tasks.
- Repetitive motions with hands, wrists, turning head.
- Indoor working conditions.
- Will work around moving equipment and machinery.
- May be required to work in confined spaces/areas.
- Some Clean Room and/or cool/hot storage conditions.
- May be exposed to and must not be allergic to cephalosporin.
- Must be able to work non-traditional work hours or work extended hours, including weekends and holidays, as needed.
More about us:
At Takeda, we are transforming patient care through the development of novel specialty pharmaceuticals and best in class patient support programs. Takeda is a patient-focused company that will inspire and empower you to grow through life-changing work.
Certified as a Global Top Employer, Takeda offers stimulating careers, encourages innovation, and strives for excellence in everything we do. We foster an inclusive, collaborative workplace, in which our teams are united by an unwavering commitment to deliver Better Health and a Brighter Future to people around the world.
GMSGQ #ZR1 #LI-Onsite
Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary
We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices.
For Location:
USA - IL - Round Lake - Drug Delivery
U.S. Base Salary Range:
$89,900.00 - $141,240.00
The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location.
For information about our benefits, please click here.
EEO Statement
Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.
Locations
USA - IL - Round Lake - Drug Delivery
Worker Type
Employee
Worker Sub-Type
Regular
Time Type
Full time
Job Exempt
Yes
OPT Biotech & Pharma Job Roles in Illinois
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Search Biotech & Pharma Jobs in IllinoisBiotech & Pharma OPT Sponsorship Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
Which biotech and pharma companies sponsor F-1 OPT visas in Illinois?
Several large Illinois-based biotech and pharma employers have OPT hiring histories, including AbbVie in North Chicago, Baxter International in Deerfield, Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Bannockburn, and Horizon Therapeutics in Deerfield. Smaller contract research organizations and biotech startups in the Chicago metro area also participate in OPT sponsorship, though hiring practices vary by role, department, and business need at the time of application.
Which cities in Illinois have the most biotech and pharma F-1 OPT sponsorship jobs?
The North Shore suburbs, particularly North Chicago, Deerfield, Bannockburn, and Lake Forest, host the highest concentration of large pharma employers in Illinois. Chicago itself has a growing biotech cluster, especially around the Illinois Medical District and the Fulton Market neighborhood. Evanston and the University of Illinois at Chicago campus area also generate biotech and life sciences hiring activity tied to academic research programs.
What types of biotech and pharma roles typically qualify for F-1 OPT sponsorship in Illinois?
Roles that qualify for OPT must be directly related to your degree field. In biotech and pharma, this commonly includes research associate, analytical chemist, regulatory affairs associate, clinical data analyst, bioinformatics specialist, quality control scientist, and process development engineer positions. Roles in computational biology and drug discovery that align with life sciences, chemistry, or engineering degrees are also frequently eligible, provided the employer is registered with E-Verify.
How do I find biotech and pharma F-1 OPT sponsorship jobs in Illinois?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international students and filters biotech and pharma jobs in Illinois that are open to F-1 OPT candidates, saving you time screening listings that won't consider your status. Beyond job boards, attending Chicago-area biotech networking events, connecting with University of Illinois or Northwestern alumni in the industry, and targeting companies with an established OPT and H-1B visa sponsorship track record can strengthen your pipeline.
Are there any Illinois-specific or industry-specific considerations for F-1 OPT in biotech and pharma?
Most Illinois biotech and pharma employers require E-Verify enrollment to hire OPT students, so confirming this before applying is important. Roles in STEM-designated fields such as biochemistry, biomedical engineering, or computational biology may qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension, giving you up to three years of work authorization. Illinois has no state-level restrictions on OPT employment, but some federal contractor positions at pharma companies may have additional work authorization requirements.