Director, Engineering. HVAC & Mechanical at AbbVie, North Chicago, IL

Director, Engineering. HVAC & Mechanical at AbbVie in North Chicago, IL. Full-time. Est. up to $130k. Apply with swipeandhired.

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Position Summary
The Director HVAC Mechanical owns strategic discipline leadership, technical governance and project enablement for HVAC, mechanical static and rotating systems, facility interfaces, reliability, maintainability, sustainability and Building Management Systems within AbbVie Strategic Investments Engineering.
The role provides senior technical leadership for strategic capital investments through standards deployment, front-end engineering support, technical decision-making, project risk management and disciplined execution support across priority investment programs and technology platforms.
The role enables high-quality delivery of new facility investments, major capacity programs, technology platform deployments, infrastructure solutions and facility system strategies that support enterprise growth, operational readiness and long-term asset performance.
The role partners with Strategic Investments, project delivery teams, operations, quality, EHS, validation / CQV, digital / automation, site engineering and external engineering partners to deliver technically robust, scalable and business-aligned engineering solutions.
Strategic Investments Engineering Context
Strategic Investments Engineering provides senior engineering leadership, technical governance, standards deployment and project execution support for AbbVie’s strategic capital investment portfolio.
The organization supports new facility investments, major capacity programs, technology platform deployments, critical infrastructure solutions and facility systems strategies required to deliver safe, compliant, reliable and scalable manufacturing capability.
Strategic Investments Engineering roles are expected to promote common standards, transfer lessons learned across programs and regions, and enable consistent engineering delivery across strategic capital investments.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Investments Engineering Governance and Standards

• Establish, maintain and deploy engineering standards, technical practices and governance expectations for HVAC, mechanical static and rotating systems, Building Management Systems, facility interfaces, reliability, maintainability, sustainability and project delivery support.

• Drive consistent application of technical standards, design principles, lessons learned and engineering playbooks across regions, sites and capital projects.

• Ensure discipline strategies support AbbVie’s long-range strategic investment objectives, technical capability needs and major capital program priorities.

• Provide governance and escalation for technical decisions with material safety, quality, compliance, cost, schedule, operability or lifecycle impact.

Strategic Capital Investment Support

• Provide engineering leadership for strategic capital investments, including new facility builds, major capacity programs, technology platform deployments, critical infrastructure solutions and lifecycle asset strategies.

• Support front-end engineering, facility concept development, investment option evaluation, manufacturing capability assessments and site / platform planning activities.

• Partner with Strategic Investments and project leadership to ensure technical assumptions, deliverables, risks and resource needs are integrated into capital program plans.

• Apply global lessons learned and network standards to improve project quality, speed, reliability and readiness across the portfolio.

• Define and influence HVAC, mechanical and Building Management Systems design strategies for strategic projects, including system architecture, capacity planning, environmental control philosophy, critical utility interfaces, alarm / monitoring requirements, maintainability and operational readiness.

Technical Leadership and Delivery

• Lead or support technical decision-making for HVAC, mechanical static and rotating systems, Building Management Systems, facility interfaces, reliability, maintainability, sustainability and project delivery support across strategic programs, capital projects and technology platforms.

• Ensure engineering deliverables support safety, quality, compliance, operability, maintainability, reliability, sustainability and operational readiness.

• Provide technical governance for HVAC zoning, pressure cascade concepts, temperature / humidity control, ventilation strategy, cleanroom / controlled-environment interfaces, mechanical utilities, energy performance and BMS integration required for strategic project delivery.

• Coordinate technical input from project teams, site SMEs, external engineering partners, vendors and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Drive timely resolution of technical issues and ensure suitable escalation when decisions have broader project, network or business impact.

Cross-Functional Integration

• Partner with Strategic Investments, manufacturing operations, quality, validation / CQV, EHS, site engineering, MS&T, supply chain, finance and related engineering disciplines.

• Ensure discipline decisions are integrated with manufacturing strategy, network capacity, technology platform deployment, regulatory expectations and site handover needs.

• Facilitate collaboration across regions, sites and project teams to avoid fragmented solutions and drive consistency across the global network.

• Represent Strategic Investments Engineering in technical reviews, project forums and risk discussions relevant to assigned scope.

Capability Building and Continuous Improvement

• Share engineering best practices, lessons learned and technical knowledge across sites, regions and projects.

• Build capability through coaching, mentoring, technical review discipline and development of reusable engineering practices.

• Promote a culture of engineering excellence, safety, quality, reliability, collaboration, accountability and proactive risk management.

• Support continuous improvement of Strategic Investments Engineering standards, templates, knowledge management and project delivery approaches.

Strategic Investments Engineering Leadership Expectations
Leadership Positioning: This is an enterprise-level discipline leadership role accountable for setting direction, exercising technical authority and shaping decisions across AbbVie’s strategic investment portfolio. The Director acts as the senior HVAC and mechanical advisor to the VP Global Engineering and project leadership, balancing business priorities with safety, quality, compliance, cost, schedule and lifecycle performance. The role leads primarily through influence in a global matrix, establishes clear accountabilities, challenges constructively, makes or escalates timely risk-based decisions, develops technical talent and represents the discipline with credibility in executive and governance forums.

• Set and communicate a clear global vision, strategy and multi-year roadmap for HVAC, mechanical and Building Management Systems across the strategic investment portfolio.

• Serve as the accountable enterprise discipline leader and senior technical advisor, with authority to endorse, challenge or escalate material technical decisions and departures from approved standards.

• Translate complex technical issues into clear, executive-ready recommendations that define options, risks, trade-offs, required decisions and business impact.

• Lead through influence across strategic investment programs, engineering disciplines, sites and external partners; establish decision rights, align stakeholders and hold owners accountable for commitments and outcomes.

• Promote consistency, quality, reliability, sustainability and project delivery performance across strategic capital projects and technology platforms.

• Support long-range manufacturing strategy, strategic investment planning and technical capability development.

• Build a strong global technical community and succession pipeline through coaching, mentoring, talent development, standards governance, knowledge management and cross-functional collaboration.

• Model visible leadership in safety, quality, integrity, inclusion, constructive challenge, disciplined execution and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science or a relevant technical discipline required; advanced degree preferred where relevant.

• Typically 12+ to 15+ years of relevant engineering, manufacturing, capital project, technical operations or regulated manufacturing experience.

• Demonstrated technical capability in HVAC, mechanical static and rotating systems, facility interfaces, reliability, maintainability, sustainability and project delivery support.

• Experience supporting pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical device, API, peptides, biologics, sterile or similarly regulated manufacturing environments preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to work across global functions, manufacturing sites, project teams, suppliers, vendors and external engineering partners.

• Strong communication, risk management, technical judgment, stakeholder engagement and structured problem-solving skills.

Technical Competencies

• HVAC systems, zoning, pressure cascades and environmental control strategy

• Mechanical static and rotating equipment

• Facility systems integration and Building Management Systems enablement

• Reliability and maintainability

• Strategic capital investment support

• New facility, infrastructure and technology platform investment support

• Engineering governance and standards

• Technical risk management

• Project execution support

• Stakeholder management

• Vendor / partner technical coordination

• GMP and regulated manufacturing awareness

• Operational readiness and handover support

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and enterprise mindset

• Matrix leadership and influence without direct authority

• Clear technical communication and executive-ready recommendations

• Risk-based decision making and issue escalation

• Collaboration across functions, sites, regions and external partners

• Capability building, mentoring and knowledge sharing

• Continuous improvement and commitment to safety, quality and compliance

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.​

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.
US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html
US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
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