Associate Director of Engineering Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Associate Director of Engineering roles sit squarely in H-1B visa specialty occupation territory, and many employers at this level sponsor green cards through EB-2 or EB-3 PERM. The seniority of the title means LCA filings are common, but you'll need to verify that your degree field aligns with the role's technical requirements before applying.
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Get Access To All JobsAt Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) molecules located in Lebanon, Indiana, USA. This facility is Lilly’s largest investment in manufacturing capacity and is intended to provide APIs for current and future products. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the team for the startup of a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to build the organization, the facility, and the culture to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations.
Overview:
The Associate Director – Process Control & Automation Engineering is responsible for the supervision of the process control engineers and technicians that support the daily operations of the facility. The Associate Director is also responsible for the productivity and development of the employees with the purpose of ensuring that reliable and compliant control applications and systems are used in the manufacturing of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) / drug substance. Additionally, the Associate Director partners to influence and implement within the process control organization and across functional disciplines to support the process control technical agenda, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives.
The successful candidate will drive the evolution of automation infrastructure toward Industry 4.0 standards, champion GMP compliance and data integrity, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver engineering excellence across DCS, PLC, SCADA, batch automation, and HVAC/utilities platforms.
In the project delivery phase and startup phase the leadership roles will be fluid and dynamic as we endeavor to support the project delivery, build a new organization, develop and implement the necessary systems and business processes required to support GMP operations, and build the site culture. This will require significant collaboration, creativity and resilience as the site grows to a full scale GMP manufacturing through start up. During delivery, this role will collaborate with A&E firms, system integrators, and corporate and site engineering peers. Post-project delivery, this role will support GMP manufacturing operations in the central engineering function supporting one or more process teams.
Key Objectives/Responsibilities:
Pre-Startup and Startup Phase:
- Attract, hire, and onboard top talent to the Process Control & Automation Engineering team, establishing the right attitude, curiosity, and learning agility to deliver on the site mission.
- Build the organization with the necessary capability, capacity, and culture to operate this facility to the highest standards of safety, quality, and operational excellence.
- Develop and implement the business systems and processes needed to run the site, leveraging existing Lilly knowledge where necessary, but also incorporating external experience.
- Establish lean practices and a continuous improvement mindset throughout operations and the direct supporting organizations.
- Support the project team to deliver the facility by providing feedback and support on design decisions, commissioning & qualification strategies, and automation-related deliverables.
- Collaborate with the project team to ensure the right decisions are made to meet project deliverables and longer-term strategic goals for the site.
- Organize and implement strategy for creating standard automation and process control operating procedures (SOPs) for startup and post-startup phases.
- Plan and manage business operational expenses, capital, and headcount targets.
Post-Startup:
- Supervise and coach process control team, including completing performance reviews and development plans.
- Staffing, including recruiting, resource planning, and succession planning.
- Process control work coordination.
- Review and monitor financial performance; commit to meeting targets.
- Develop and implement the Process Control Engineering Business Plan.
- Demonstrate a commitment to environmental, health, and safety (including PSM).
- Identify, track, and report key indicators of functional performance.
- Ensure team is operating in a state of compliance.
- In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
- Assure focus by engineers and completion of critical assignments with appropriate monitoring and reporting.
- Review and approve automation-related deviations and change controls.
- Review and approve automation and process control standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Ensure technical review and approval for documents, including investigations, change controls, regulatory submissions, validations, procedures, and control strategies.
- Interact with regulators, customers, or other outside stakeholders on business issues or in support of internal and external agency audits.
- Network globally to share best practices, rationale, and control strategies to ensure harmonization and alignment between sites.
- Develop future management and technical expert leadership for the site.
Operational Excellence
- Demonstrate a commitment to environmental, health, and safety (including PSM).
- Identify, track, and report key indicators of functional performance.
- Ensure team is operating in a state of compliance.
Organizational Capability
- In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
- Assure focus by engineers and completion of critical assignments with appropriate monitoring and reporting.
- Be a fully active member of the flow leadership in running the plant, including participation on management sub-teams.
Basic Qualifications:
- Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemical or Electrical preferred, Instrumentation & Control, or a closely related technical discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in Process Control & Automation Engineering related field, preferably in a regulated GMP pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
- 3+ years of related leadership experience in Process Control and Automation Engineering.
Additional Skills/Preferences:
- Experience in API manufacturing.
- Experience with automation platforms including Emerson DeltaV, Rockwell Automation, and AVEVA PI Historian.
- Experience with enterprise automation standardization and digital manufacturing initiatives.
- Working experience with Industrial Utilities Automation Systems including:
- Steam Generation and Distribution
- Nitrogen Generation and Distribution
- Compressed Air (Instrument and Process)
- Chill Water Generation and Distribution
- Potable Water Distribution and Process Water Generation and Distribution
- Working experience with Automated Tank Farm Operations.
- Ability to instill teamwork within the department and demonstrate key interpersonal skills.
- Ability to ensure appropriate technical depth and rigor with departmental technical deliverables.
- Successful application of organizational models through recruiting and retention of employees.
- Ability to make decisions independently and to network with others as appropriate.
- Ability to function in a team environment as a leader and as a member of management teams.
- State licensure as a Professional Engineer is not required but is preferred.
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $123,000 - $180,400.
Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.
At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) molecules located in Lebanon, Indiana, USA. This facility is Lilly’s largest investment in manufacturing capacity and is intended to provide APIs for current and future products. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the team for the startup of a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to build the organization, the facility, and the culture to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations.
Overview:
The Associate Director – Process Control & Automation Engineering is responsible for the supervision of the process control engineers and technicians that support the daily operations of the facility. The Associate Director is also responsible for the productivity and development of the employees with the purpose of ensuring that reliable and compliant control applications and systems are used in the manufacturing of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) / drug substance. Additionally, the Associate Director partners to influence and implement within the process control organization and across functional disciplines to support the process control technical agenda, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives.
The successful candidate will drive the evolution of automation infrastructure toward Industry 4.0 standards, champion GMP compliance and data integrity, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver engineering excellence across DCS, PLC, SCADA, batch automation, and HVAC/utilities platforms.
In the project delivery phase and startup phase the leadership roles will be fluid and dynamic as we endeavor to support the project delivery, build a new organization, develop and implement the necessary systems and business processes required to support GMP operations, and build the site culture. This will require significant collaboration, creativity and resilience as the site grows to a full scale GMP manufacturing through start up. During delivery, this role will collaborate with A&E firms, system integrators, and corporate and site engineering peers. Post-project delivery, this role will support GMP manufacturing operations in the central engineering function supporting one or more process teams.
Key Objectives/Responsibilities:
Pre-Startup and Startup Phase:
- Attract, hire, and onboard top talent to the Process Control & Automation Engineering team, establishing the right attitude, curiosity, and learning agility to deliver on the site mission.
- Build the organization with the necessary capability, capacity, and culture to operate this facility to the highest standards of safety, quality, and operational excellence.
- Develop and implement the business systems and processes needed to run the site, leveraging existing Lilly knowledge where necessary, but also incorporating external experience.
- Establish lean practices and a continuous improvement mindset throughout operations and the direct supporting organizations.
- Support the project team to deliver the facility by providing feedback and support on design decisions, commissioning & qualification strategies, and automation-related deliverables.
- Collaborate with the project team to ensure the right decisions are made to meet project deliverables and longer-term strategic goals for the site.
- Organize and implement strategy for creating standard automation and process control operating procedures (SOPs) for startup and post-startup phases.
- Plan and manage business operational expenses, capital, and headcount targets.
Post-Startup:
- Supervise and coach process control team, including completing performance reviews and development plans.
- Staffing, including recruiting, resource planning, and succession planning.
- Process control work coordination.
- Review and monitor financial performance; commit to meeting targets.
- Develop and implement the Process Control Engineering Business Plan.
- Demonstrate a commitment to environmental, health, and safety (including PSM).
- Identify, track, and report key indicators of functional performance.
- Ensure team is operating in a state of compliance.
- In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
- Assure focus by engineers and completion of critical assignments with appropriate monitoring and reporting.
- Review and approve automation-related deviations and change controls.
- Review and approve automation and process control standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Ensure technical review and approval for documents, including investigations, change controls, regulatory submissions, validations, procedures, and control strategies.
- Interact with regulators, customers, or other outside stakeholders on business issues or in support of internal and external agency audits.
- Network globally to share best practices, rationale, and control strategies to ensure harmonization and alignment between sites.
- Develop future management and technical expert leadership for the site.
Operational Excellence
- Demonstrate a commitment to environmental, health, and safety (including PSM).
- Identify, track, and report key indicators of functional performance.
- Ensure team is operating in a state of compliance.
Organizational Capability
- In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
- Assure focus by engineers and completion of critical assignments with appropriate monitoring and reporting.
- Be a fully active member of the flow leadership in running the plant, including participation on management sub-teams.
Basic Qualifications:
- Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemical or Electrical preferred, Instrumentation & Control, or a closely related technical discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in Process Control & Automation Engineering related field, preferably in a regulated GMP pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
- 3+ years of related leadership experience in Process Control and Automation Engineering.
Additional Skills/Preferences:
- Experience in API manufacturing.
- Experience with automation platforms including Emerson DeltaV, Rockwell Automation, and AVEVA PI Historian.
- Experience with enterprise automation standardization and digital manufacturing initiatives.
- Working experience with Industrial Utilities Automation Systems including:
- Steam Generation and Distribution
- Nitrogen Generation and Distribution
- Compressed Air (Instrument and Process)
- Chill Water Generation and Distribution
- Potable Water Distribution and Process Water Generation and Distribution
- Working experience with Automated Tank Farm Operations.
- Ability to instill teamwork within the department and demonstrate key interpersonal skills.
- Ability to ensure appropriate technical depth and rigor with departmental technical deliverables.
- Successful application of organizational models through recruiting and retention of employees.
- Ability to make decisions independently and to network with others as appropriate.
- Ability to function in a team environment as a leader and as a member of management teams.
- State licensure as a Professional Engineer is not required but is preferred.
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $123,000 - $180,400.
Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.
See all 36+ Associate Director of Engineering Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Associate Director of Engineering roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Associate Director of Engineering Jobs
Align your degree field precisely
At the Associate Director level, employers filing an LCA must specify a qualifying specialty occupation. Pull the O*NET profile for software engineering directors to confirm your degree field maps directly to the role's stated requirements before you apply.
Distinguish your management and technical scope
H-1B specialty occupation status depends on the role requiring a bachelor's degree in a specific field. Document both your engineering depth and your leadership scope so the employer's LCA accurately reflects the technical, not just managerial, nature of the position.
Target companies with active LCA filing history
Use Migrate Mate to search Associate Director of Engineering roles at employers with verified LCA sponsorship history, filtered by city and industry, so you're only spending time on companies that have already committed to sponsoring this role type.
Ask about PERM timing before accepting an offer
Many employers start PERM labor certification one to two years into employment. During negotiations, ask directly whether the company has a defined green card sponsorship policy for director-level engineers and what the typical timeline has been.
Confirm your H-1B status is transferable at signing
If you're already in H-1B status, you can start with a new employer once they file a new I-129 petition with USCIS. You don't need to wait for approval before your first day, but confirm the new employer's HR team understands this portability rule.
Verify prevailing wage tier before the LCA is filed
Associate Director titles often land at DOL wage Level III or IV. Run the OFLC Wage Search for your specific metro area and job duties before the offer stage so you can flag any discrepancy in the employer's intended LCA wage before filing begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an Associate Director of Engineering role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Yes, in most cases. USCIS requires the role to normally demand a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific specialty, and Associate Director of Engineering positions typically require a degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a directly related field. The risk arises when the job description is written broadly enough to accept any bachelor's degree, which can undermine the specialty occupation argument. Your employer's LCA and I-129 petition must tie the role's core duties to a defined technical discipline.
Will seniority at the Associate Director level create problems with my H-1B petition?
USCIS scrutinizes senior titles more closely because management-heavy roles can appear to lack a specific degree requirement. The key is that your petition documents engineering responsibilities, not just people leadership. If more than half your duties are supervisory with no hands-on technical work, an RFE is more likely. Having your employer articulate the technical depth of the role in the support letter significantly reduces that risk.
Can my employer sponsor a green card at the Associate Director level, and which category applies?
Most employers sponsor Associate Directors through EB-2 or EB-3 PERM labor certification, depending on the minimum education requirements stated in the job description. EB-2 applies when the role genuinely requires an advanced degree. If the posting states a bachelor's degree plus five or more years of experience, EB-3 skilled worker is the more common path. Priority date backlogs apply to nationals of India and China regardless of category, so timing PERM filing early in your employment matters.
Where can I find Associate Director of Engineering jobs where employers are already open to sponsorship?
Migrate Mate lists Associate Director of Engineering roles at employers with verified LCA sponsorship history, so you can search by location and confirm sponsorship intent before applying. This saves time you'd otherwise spend applying to roles where the employer hasn't filed for work visas before.
What happens to my H-1B status if I'm promoted from Senior Engineer to Associate Director at the same company?
A material change in job duties, title, or location requires your employer to file an amended I-129 petition with USCIS before or when the change takes effect. A promotion to Associate Director that significantly shifts your responsibilities from individual contributor to engineering director typically qualifies as a material change. Your status remains valid during the amendment process, but your employer's HR or immigration counsel should initiate the amended petition promptly to stay compliant.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Associate Director of Engineering jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.