Associate Director, HVAC Operations (Rahway, NJ)

Job Description

The Associate Director, HVAC Operations is responsible for leading a team that operates, optimizes, and continuously improves the HVAC and building automation systems for our commercial offices and pharmaceutical laboratories across our Rahway, NJ campus.

 

This role ensures HVAC systems are reliable, meet strict regulatory standards (FDA, cGMP/GxP as applicable), maintain critical environmental conditions for product and research quality, and support 24/7 operations. The ideal candidate brings deep technical knowledge of HVAC in a highly regulated environment, combined with strong leadership experience managing teams and vendors in a unionized setting.

Major Responsibilities:

  

Team & Operations Leadership

• Lead the HVAC operations team responsible for 24/7 operation, troubleshooting, and optimization of HVAC systems across both commercial office buildings and pharmaceutical laboratories.

• Develop and manage a team of salary and hourly union employes; provide oversight of contract partner support team.

• Ensure all staff are trained and follow standard operating procedures.

• Promote and model strong safety leadership.

Technical & Regulatory Excellence

• Lead the operation, monitoring, and optimization of the site Building Automation System (BAS) using data analytics to drive performance.

• Develop, implement, and maintain HVAC operational strategies that ensure compliance with GxP (as applicable), cGMP, and other regulatory requirements.

• Drive root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) for HVAC system issues, deviations, and failures.

• Monitor environmental conditions and ensure HVAC system reliability, energy efficiency, and cost-effective performance.

 

Performance, Projects & Stakeholder Management

• Establish, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for HVAC reliability, energy efficiency, compliance, and service levels.

• Partner with facility owners, engineering, capital projects, and other stakeholders to provide technical HVAC input to the site utilities master plan and capital projects.

• Identify and support HVAC-related capital projects; collaborate with project teams to ensure designs meet operational and regulatory requirements.

• Coordinate with outsourced service providers to deliver services to agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and KPI targets.

Financial & Compliance Oversight

• Develop and manage operating expense budgets for HVAC operations; identify and deliver cost savings and energy optimization opportunities.

• Ensure compliance with all relevant Safety, Health, Environmental, GxP (as applicable), DOT, Labor, HR, and company policies and procedures.

• Prepare and present status updates, risk assessments, and continuous improvement initiatives to senior management.

 

Continuous Improvement & Industry Awareness

• Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes in HVAC and controls.

• Champion continuous improvement and innovation in HVAC operations, maintenance strategies, and automation.

 

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or related field

Required Experience and Skills:

•  Minimum of 7 years of experience in Maintenance, Engineering, Facilities, or Utilities leadership, preferably in complex, multi-building campuses.

• Strong technical knowledge of HVAC system design, operation, and maintenance in laboratories; experience with Building Automation Systems

• Experience leading teams, including managing and developing staff and working with external service providers.

• Working knowledge of EHS principles and regulatory compliance in a technical operations environment.

• Proven ability to lead through competing priorities, influence across a large organization, and drive results in a matrixed or enterprise environment.

• Strong problem-solving and root cause analysis skills; able to use data and analytics to make decisions.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Advanced Engineering degree or related graduate degree.

• Direct HVAC/BAS operations experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or other highly regulated environments (e.g., cGMP, GxP).

• Experience working with collective bargaining units and administering Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs).

• Experience with core maintenance functions, reliability programs, and CMMS systems.

• Project management experience, including supporting capital projects and system upgrades.

• Demonstrated track record of delivering energy efficiency and sustainability improvements.

#eligibleforerp

Required Skills:

Building Automation Systems, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Management, HVAC Design, HVAC Systems, People Management, Pharmaceutical Industry, Regulatory Compliance

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

03/13/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.