Senior Manufacturing Support Engineer

Abbott in Ireland

Abbott has maintained a strong presence in Ireland since 1946 and celebrates its 80th anniversary in the country in 2026. The company supports the Irish healthcare sector with a broad portfolio spanning diagnostics, diabetes care, medical devices and nutritional products. Today, Abbott employs more than 6,500 people across ten sites located in Dublin, Donegal, Clonmel, Cootehill, Galway, Kilkenny, Longford and Sligo.

Please note any offer of employment for this position is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment medical examination, including drug and alcohol screening, conducted by a medical practitioner designated by the Company.

Abbott Diabetes Care Kilkenny

Abbott Diabetes Care has opened  a new site, in Kilkenny, that is  at the forefront of Diabetes care with the latest technology, to manufacture FreeStyle blood glucose test strips and FreeStyle Sensors for use in diabetes management. Among Abbott Diabetes Care leading brands are the FreeStyle Precision, FreeStyle Lite and FreeStyle Libre systems.

Purpose of the Role

Abbott Diabetes Care is committed to helping people with diabetes lead healthier, happier lives through innovative glucose monitoring technology. We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Manufacturing Support Engineer to join our manufacturing operations team and play a critical role in ensuring the reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of our production equipment and processes.

Key Responsibilities

Process Engineering & Technical Leadership

• Provide site-level and global technical leadership in process engineering initiatives.

• Apply specialist process engineering knowledge to proactively identify and eliminate manufacturing process risks.

• Lead the implementation of process improvement programmes that drive standardisation, efficiency, and best practices across manufacturing operations.

• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, R&D, Automation, and Operations teams to develop and execute effective process strategies.

• Act as a technical mentor, coaching and supporting engineers through complex technical and process challenges.

Process Performance & Manufacturing Excellence

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve manufacturing processes to maximize product quality, yield, throughput, and operational efficiency.

• Monitor and analyse key process performance indicators to identify trends, opportunities, and areas requiring improvement.

• Drive process optimisation initiatives through data-driven analysis and scientific problem-solving methodologies.

• Support equipment and process qualification activities, including validation, characterization, and verification studies.

• Lead initiatives to improve process capability, reduce variability, and enhance manufacturing robustness.

Complaint Investigations & Quality Improvement

• Lead and support product complaint investigations, ensuring timely and thorough assessment of manufacturing-related issues.

• Conduct detailed root cause investigations using structured problem-solving methodologies such as DMAIC, 8D, Fishbone Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and 5 Whys.

• Collaborate with Quality, R&D, Regulatory, Operations, and Global Complaint Handling teams to determine defect sources and implement corrective actions.

• Evaluate manufacturing data, device history records, process trends, and product performance information to support complaint assessments.

• Drive the identification, implementation, and verification of corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) arising from complaint investigations.

• Monitor recurring complaint trends and lead activities aimed at reducing customer-impacting quality issues.

• Support regulatory reporting requirements and provide technical input during internal audits, external audits, and regulatory inspections as required.

• Prepare and present technical investigation reports with clear conclusions, risk assessments, and recommendations.

Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving

• Lead root cause investigations and develop robust engineering solutions for manufacturing issues, non-conformances, yield losses, and product quality concerns.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on process capability, cycle time reduction, scrap reduction, and manufacturing effectiveness.

• Identify opportunities to improve process consistency, product quality, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and statistical analysis techniques to eliminate waste and improve process performance.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver sustainable improvements and measurable business results.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Support the development and execution of risk management activities including PFMEA, risk assessments, and process control strategies.

• Ensure process changes and engineering solutions comply with quality, regulatory, safety, and compliance requirements.

• Support change control activities and validation requirements associated with process improvements.

• Contribute to maintaining a culture of operational excellence within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

• Ensure compliance with FDA, ISO 13485, GMP, and other applicable regulatory requirements.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Effectively communicate technical updates, investigation outcomes, project progress, and recommendations to stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.

• Influence decision-making through data-driven analysis and engineering expertise.

• Present investigation findings and process improvement recommendations to leadership teams and quality review boards.

• Support the sharing and implementation of process engineering best practices across the wider organisation.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or a related scientific discipline is required.

• Minimum of 5 years' experience within medical device, biotech, pharmaceutical, electronics, or other highly regulated manufacturing industries.

• Minimum 5 years of manufacturing experience supporting high-quality, FDA-regulated products and processes.

• Proven experience in reliability engineering, manufacturing engineering, asset management, maintenance strategy, or equipment performance improvement.

• Experience working within high-volume, multi-step, process-controlled manufacturing environments.

• Strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance methodologies.

• Experience leading reliability improvement initiatives and delivering measurable operational results.

• Knowledge of medical device regulations and quality system requirements.

• Familiarity with ISO 9001, CE Mark, GMP, and FDA regulatory requirements.

• Strong leadership, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across functions.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and root cause investigation capabilities.

• Experience mentoring and developing engineers is desirable.

What we Offer

Attractive compensation package that includes competitive pay, as well as benefits such as

• Family health insurance,

• Excellent pension scheme

• Life assurance

• Career Development

• Fantastic new facility

• Growing business plus access to many more benefits.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com or https://www.ie.abbott/, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

Abbott is an equal opportunities employer.