Director, General Engineering - job 1 of 2

At Alcon, we're passionate about enhancing sight and helping people see brilliantly. With more than 25,000 associates, we innovate fearlessly, champion progress, and act swiftly to impact global eye health. We foster an inclusive culture, recognizing your contributions and offering opportunities to grow your career like never before. Together, we make a difference in the lives of our patients and customers. Are you ready to join us?

We are searching for a Director of Engineering to lead all engineering functions at our medical device disposables and consumables manufacturing site. This is a senior appointment at a site with deep-rooted expertise in both legacy automated production lines and precision manual assembly processes — and a clear, leadership supported mandate to transform both.

The Director of Engineering will be accountable for four strategic pillars: accelerating automation and digital transformation across legacy and manual operations; delivering disciplined, measurable CI and OpEx savings year on year; transitioning the site to sustainable energy generation and usage; and building an engineering organization recognized for its sustained talent pipeline, capability, and culture.

This is a transformation role, not a maintenance role. The right individual brings both the vision to articulate where the site needs to go and the operational discipline to get it there — on time, within budget, and without compromising the quality and compliance standards expected in a regulated medical device environment at our Manufacturing Facility in Houston, TX.

1. Automation & Digital Transformation

• Develop a prioritized, risk-managed automation roadmap that systematically upgrades legacy automated systems and progressively transitions labor-intensive or high-risk manual operations to validated automated solutions.

• Introduce Industry 4.0 capabilities across the site: real-time process monitoring, machine vision, digital work instructions, OEE dashboards, connected asset management, and predictive maintenance platforms.

• Own the full validation lifecycle (IQ/OQ/PQ/CSV) for all new and modified equipment and software, maintaining compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 820, ISO 13485, and applicable GMP/GDP standards.

• Collaborate with IT and Global Engineering to evaluate, pilot, and scale digital tools that generate measurable throughput, quality, or cost improvement for the site.

• Ensure automation investment decisions are staged and risk-assessed to protect product quality and supply continuity throughout every phase of transition.

2. Lean, CI & OpEx Savings Delivery

• Own and deliver an annual engineering-led savings target spanning energy cost reduction, yield and right-first-time improvement, scrap elimination, material efficiency, labor productivity, and capital avoidance.

• Embed a structured CI culture using Lean, Six Sigma, and Value Stream Mapping methodologies across all manufacturing and support processes.

• Build and manage a prioritized CI project pipeline with clear owners, milestones, and financial accountability — reporting monthly progress to site leadership.

• Partner with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure savings initiatives are sustained, validated, and properly reflected in the site P&L.

• Interrogate every legacy process before automating it — simplifying, standardizing, and eliminating waste at the process level first.

• Develop compelling investment business cases with clear NPV, payback period, and risk-adjusted return analysis.

3. Energy Transition & Sustainability

• Design and own a site-wide energy transformation roadmap covering renewable generation (solar PV, co-generation), energy storage, demand response, and green utility procurement.

• Establish clear energy KPIs — kWh per unit of output, carbon intensity, utility cost as a percentage of revenue — and drive consistent year-on-year improvement.

• Identify, develop business cases for, and deliver a pipeline of energy efficiency capital projects across production equipment, HVAC, compressed air, cleanroom utilities, and site infrastructure.

• Leverage government incentive programs, energy grants, and strategic supplier partnerships to maximize the financial return on sustainability investments.

• Integrate the site energy strategy with corporate ESG commitments and any applicable regulatory or public sustainability reporting requirements.

• Serve as the site's internal authority and external spokesperson on energy and environmental engineering.

4. Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, develop, and inspire a multi-disciplinary engineering organization — setting clear performance expectations, providing meaningful coaching, and creating genuine career development pathways.

• Build capability deliberately and strategically: identify future skill requirements in automation, data analytics, energy systems, and regulatory engineering, and grow those skills from within.

• Foster a culture of psychological safety, intellectual rigor, and courageous problem-solving in which engineers feel empowered to challenge assumptions and innovate.

• Attract and retain top engineering talent through credible leadership, purposeful work, and a site reputation for delivering industry-leading engineering.

• Establish structured engineering reviews, knowledge-sharing forums, and cross-functional communities of practice.

• Represent Engineering at the site leadership table — collaborating across Operations, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Finance, and HR as a peer and strategic partner.

5. Quality, Compliance & Safety

• Ensure all engineering activity complies fully with applicable regulatory frameworks: FDA, ISO 13485, CE requirements, and relevant environmental and safety legislation.

• Champion a safety-first engineering culture in which no project, modification, or maintenance activity proceeds without appropriate risk assessment and safety sign-off.

• Support internal and external audits — regulatory, customer, and corporate — providing engineering evidence, root cause analysis, and corrective action commitments with confidence.

• Maintain robust engineering change control discipline: every process and equipment change properly documented, risk-assessed, and validated prior to implementation.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO ALCON:

• Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent years of directly related experience (or high school +18 yrs; Assoc.+14 yrs; M.S.+7 yrs; PhD+6 yrs)

•  The ability to fluently read, write, understand and communicate in English

• 10 Years of relevant experience

• 6 Years of Demonstrated Leadership

• Location: Onsite

• Travel Requirements: Up to 10%

• Relocation Assistance:  Yes

• Sponsorship Available: No

PREFERRED:

• Direct experience in medical device disposables, consumables, or single-use product manufacturing is strongly preferred.

• Regulated industry in aerospace, automotive or energy.

• Working knowledge of FDA 21 CFR Part 820 and ISO 13485 quality management requirements.

• Experience with energy generation assets such as solar PV, combined heat and power (CHP), or battery storage in an industrial setting.

• Familiarity with Industry 4.0 platforms: MES, SCADA, digital twin environments, OEE analytics, or predictive maintenance tools.

Leadership Competencies

• Visionary yet grounded: can articulate a compelling engineering future for the site while maintaining uncompromising delivery on near-term commitments.

• Commercially fluent: connects engineering decisions to business value and communicates confidently in financial terms at the leadership table.

• Decisive under ambiguity makes sound, evidence-based decisions in complex, fast-moving regulated manufacturing environments.

• Collaborative and influential: builds genuine trust and alignment across Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, and senior site and corporate leadership.

• People-first leader: invests authentically in the growth, wellbeing, and careers of every person on the engineering team.

• High-integrity operator sets and sustains standards in safety, quality, and compliance — and models them personally, every day.

HOW YOU CAN THRIVE AT ALCON:

• Join Alcon’s mission to provide top-tier, innovative products and solutions to enhance sight & enhance lives.

• Grow your career in a highly collaborative and diverse environment.

• Alcon provides robust benefits package including health, life, retirement, flexible time off for salaried associates, paid time off for hourly associates and much more!

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Alcon takes pride in maintaining an inclusive environment that values different perspectives and our policies are non-discriminatory in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Alcon is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an email to alcon.recruitment@alcon.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.