Principal Engineer & Support Manager, DD&T Laboratory Systems (LabWare & MODA)

Overview

Principal Engineer & Support Manager responsible for strategic leadership, technical stewardship, operational excellence, and continuous improvement of Takeda's LabWare LIMS and MODA platform and associated laboratory informatics ecosystem.

What you'll do

• Serve as the principal technical authority for the LabWare LIMS and MODA platform.
• Define and maintain the LabWare and MODA technology roadmap aligned with DD&T and business objectives.
• Lead solution architecture, platform modernization, and integration strategy.
• Provide guidance on configuration, customization, workflow design, and best practices.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and laboratory informatics solutions.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, design principles, and technical governance.
• Own the overall health, performance, scalability, and reliability of the LabWare ecosystem.
• Ensure platform lifecycle management, including upgrades, patches, and technology refresh activities.
• Oversee integrations with SAP MES platforms, CDS systems, ELN solutions, data lakes and analytics platforms, and laboratory instruments.
• Manage technical debt and platform optimization initiatives.
• Lead global support operations for LabWare and MODA systems.
• Establish and monitor service performance against agreed SLAs and KPIs.
• Manage incident, problem, change, and release processes aligned with ITIL principles.
• Drive root cause analysis and continual service improvement activities.
• Ensure effective vendor and managed-service-provider performance.
• Coordinate major incident management and escalation procedures.
• Ensure systems remain compliant with GxP regulations, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11, ALCOA+ data integrity principles, and Takeda Quality Management standards.
• Support audits, inspections, and regulatory inquiries.
• Review and approve validation documentation including URS, FS, DS, IQ/OQ/PQ, and risk assessments.
• Ensure adherence to Computer System Validation (CSV) and Computer Software Assurance (CSA) methodologies.
• Lead and develop internal engineers, support analysts, and external partners.
• Build high-performing global teams through coaching and mentoring.
• Define team objectives, staffing strategies, and capability development plans.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Support succession planning and talent development activities.
• Act as trusted advisor to laboratory, quality, manufacturing, and R&D stakeholders.
• Partner with business process owners to identify digital transformation opportunities.
• Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Manage stakeholder expectations and communicate platform strategy effectively.
• Present technical recommendations to senior leadership and governance boards.
• Ensure compliance with Takeda cybersecurity standards and collaborate with Security and Infrastructure teams on vulnerability remediation.
• Conduct risk assessments and mitigation planning.
• Ensure systems maintain high availability, resilience, and disaster recovery readiness.
• Manage operational and project budgets.
• Drive value realization from technology investments.
• Oversee vendor contracts, licensing, and support agreements.
• Evaluate supplier performance and strategic partnerships.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Life Sciences, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in IT, engineering, or laboratory informatics.
• 4+ years supporting or engineering LabWare LIMS solutions.
• 4+ years in technical leadership or management roles.
• Experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or regulated manufacturing industries.
• Demonstrated experience managing global support organizations.
• Proven experience delivering enterprise-scale digital solutions.
• Strong experience with LabWare LIMS, MODA, Oracle / SQL databases, web services and API integrations, ITIL service management processes, GxP regulated environments, and Computer System Validation (CSV).
• Experience with cloud and hybrid architecture concepts and DevOps and Agile delivery methodologies.

Nice to have

• Master's degree in relevant field.
• LabWare ELN experience.
• SAP integrations experience.
• Azure cloud technologies experience.
• Laboratory instrument connectivity experience.
• Data analytics platforms experience.
• CSA methodologies experience.

Details

• Location: Bengaluru, India.
• Work mode: Hybrid (flexible work environment, including hybrid working).
• Employment type: Full time, regular employee.