Job Title: Process Engineer
Location: Macclesfield, UK
Introduction to role:
Are you ready to turn complex chemical processes into robust, compliant manufacturing that delivers medicines to patients faster? Do you want to see your ideas translate into tangible performance gains on real assets in a world-class facility?
Based in Macclesfield, you will join a team that transforms development into reliable, efficient manufacture. You will work across Drug Substance Manufacture (DSM) to increase capacity and robustness, introduce new technologies, and solve production challenges in the right way. Your data-driven improvements and disciplined change control will help us scale safely, sustainably and at pace—so patients receive life-changing medicines when they need them.
You will thrive in a dynamic environment, partnering across Production, QA, Engineering, Procurement and suppliers. From authoring PEAR reports to leading root-cause investigations, you will make measurable impact from day one and build toward wider influence on how we design, validate and run our assets.
Accountabilities:
- Process Improvement Delivery: Collate and analyze production data to build improvement business cases, then implement compliant changes that increase capacity, robustness, reliability and overall asset performance.
- Scale-up and Technology Introduction: Work with Drug Substance Manufacture and Global Engineering to deliver projects and introduce new technology from pilot plant to manufacture, reducing variability and elevating throughput.
- Process Accommodation: Lead pre-accommodation checks and author PEAR reports to enable safe, right-first-time introduction of new drug processes into the plant.
- Change Control Ownership: Act as Change Control Owner, maintaining validation status and documentation, and ensuring alignment with GMP, GxP, SHE and commissioning/validation requirements throughout the change lifecycle.
- Risk Management: Keep FMEA live and deliver control plans that mitigate failure modes; contribute to process risk assessments to enable safe transfer into the pilot plant.
- Troubleshooting and Root Cause: Respond to urgent operational issues as a priority; lead structured problem solving using 8D and root-cause analysis to identify point of cause and implement corrective and preventive actions.
- Compliance and Inspection Support: Deliver processes and projects that meet internal and external regulatory standards; provide technical support during inspections and facilitate asset transfers in and out of the area.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with Production, Engineering, QA, Supply Chain, Procurement, contractors and suppliers; promote shared priorities, visual management and standardized ways of working.
- Financial Stewardship: Follow financial policies; own requisitions and procurement processes compliantly; track costs and close purchasing agreements accurately to meet budget expectations.
- Project Management: Manage multiple initiatives and local projects simultaneously; integrate activities to minimize downtime and deliver to regulatory, statutory and engineering standards.
- SHE Leadership: Promote a safe working environment; proactively use the SHE system to identify hazards and act; understand chemical and operational hazards across small molecule API, oligo/peptide and linker development and manufacture.
- Coaching and Team Contribution: Share technical expertise, coach peers, and help build a positive, can-do team spirit; provide holiday and absence cover to maintain continuity of service.
Essential Skills/Experience:
- Degree in Chemical Engineering, or a relevant chemical engineering degree (preferred) or recognised chemical engineering training route (e.g. apprenticeship with HNC/HND or equivalent).
- Data driven to evaluate process performance for the purpose of identifying required problem solving, improvements and opportunities.
- Experience in Pharmaceutical industry in Development, Manufacture or Capital Projects. (At least 3-5 years)
- Understanding the challenges of manufacturing high hazard materials from a Safety, Health and Environmental perspective.
- A confident and engaging communicator who can influence a variety of partners and stakeholders to drive success.
- Comfortable working in a dynamic environment.
- Project and business process management experience.
Desirable Skills/Experience:
- Experience and understanding of Chemical Reactions Hazards, preferably spending time working in the laboratory collecting, manipulating and understanding reaction data and kinetics, allowing safe manufacture of hazardous chemistry at scale.
- Experience of project delivery outside the UK - preferably Singapore or US.
- Stakeholder engagement at all levels within the organisation.
- Problem solving experience and skills.
- Experience in process qualification and validation.
- Experience of Lean manufacturing and associated tools.
- Experience of managing plant changes in a regulated environment.
- Experience of supporting introduction of new manufacturing processes into a COMAH or equivalent facility.
When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.
Why AstraZeneca:
Join a company that turns cutting-edge science into real treatments through disciplined execution and relentless improvement. You will work on complex, technical projects in modern facilities, surrounded by colleagues who value curiosity, kindness and ambition. We bring diverse expertise together to spark new ideas, apply digital and Lean methods, and build sustainable, end-to-end processes that stand up to real-world demand. Your contribution will shape how medicines move from development to dependable manufacture, leaving a lasting legacy for patients and for our industry.
If you are ready to build and improve processes that power life-changing medicines at scale, send us your CV and take the next step in your impact-driven career.
Date Posted
02-Jul-2026
Closing Date
08-Jul-2026
Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.
