New opportunity

Robotics Expert

Novartis · Tuas South Avenue, Singapore

About this role

The Robotics Expert will lead the robotics transformation of the Drug Substance manufacturing site in Tuas South Avenue, Singapore, driving the development, implementation, scaling, and lifecycle management of robotics solutions across manufacturing, laboratories, warehousing, and material handling. The role combines robotics expertise, strategic leadership, program management, and stakeholder engagement to enhance productivity, quality, safety, and operational excellence while ensuring GMP, validation, and cybersecurity compliance. Key Responsibilities: Develop and execute the site robotics strategy and roadmap, identifying high-value automation opportunities and defining long-term robotics initiatives. Lead robotics programs end-to-end, from opportunity assessment and business case development through implementation, deployment, and value realization. Own the full lifecycle of robotics solutions, ensuring sustainable operations, maintenance, optimization, upgrades, and replacement planning. Evaluate, select, and deploy robotics technologies, including AMRs, AGVs, material handling robots, service robots, AI-enabled robotics, and emerging Physical AI solutions. Drive cross-functional collaboration, partnering with manufacturing, laboratories, warehousing, engineering, quality, IT/OT, and global robotics experts. Establish robotics governance, standards, and performance monitoring, ensuring scalability, reliability, safety, and operational excellence. Ensure regulatory and operational compliance, including GMP requirements, validation, qualification activities, cybersecurity standards, and inspection readiness. Build site robotics capabilities and external partnerships, acting as the site's robotics subject matter expert and fostering strong vendor and stakeholder relationships. Essential Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Automation Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related technical discipline. Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience in robotics, with hands-on implementation and deployment of industrial robotics solutions. Experience leading robotics or automation programs/projects from concept through implementation and operational support. Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills. Fluent English language skills. Strong understanding of industrial operations, safety, maintenance, and continuous improvement practices. Desirable Requirements: Exposure to GMP/pharmaceutical environments and AI-enabled robotics is preferred. Expertise in robotics technologies such as AMRs, AGVs, automated material handling systems, robotics automation, and vision-guided systems.

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Skills for this role

RoboticsAutomation EngineeringMechanical EngineeringElectrical EngineeringMechatronicsAMRsAGVsMaterial HandlingPhysical AIGMPCybersecurityStakeholder ManagementVision-guided systems

Checking your profile…

Preparation suggestions, not the employer’s actual interview questions. Always check the original posting for current requirements.

Understand the role

What matters most

Strategic Robotics Roadmap Development
The role requires defining and executing a long-term robotics strategy for the Tuas South Avenue site. You must demonstrate the ability to identify high-value automation opportunities across manufacturing, labs, and warehousing, translating these into actionable business cases and phased implementation plans.
End-to-End Lifecycle Management
You are responsible for the full lifecycle of robotics solutions, from initial selection and deployment to ongoing maintenance, optimization, and eventual replacement. This requires balancing technical performance with operational sustainability and long-term reliability.
Regulatory and GMP Compliance
Operating within a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment necessitates strict adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. You must integrate validation, qualification, and cybersecurity protocols into every stage of the robotics deployment to ensure inspection readiness.
Cross-Functional Stakeholder Influence
Success depends on aligning diverse teams including IT/OT, quality, engineering, and global robotics experts. You must act as the site's subject matter expert, effectively influencing stakeholders to adopt new technologies while maintaining operational excellence.

Likely challenges to think through

Balancing Innovation with GMP Constraints
Introducing advanced technologies like AI-enabled robotics into a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment creates a tension between rapid innovation and rigorous validation requirements. Prepare by discussing how you have managed technical deployments that required strict documentation and compliance with quality standards.
Integrating IT/OT Systems
The role requires bridging the gap between robotics hardware and IT/OT infrastructure. A significant challenge is ensuring seamless data integration and cybersecurity compliance across disparate systems. Prepare by highlighting your experience in managing the intersection of operational technology and enterprise IT networks.
Managing Site-Wide Change Resistance
Implementing a robotics transformation involves changing established workflows in manufacturing and warehousing. You may face resistance from teams concerned about operational disruption. Prepare by sharing examples of how you have successfully managed stakeholder expectations and communicated the long-term value of automation to non-technical partners.

Practice your answers

Technical practice

Robotics Lifecycle Management in GMP Environments

What to coverExplain your approach to managing the full lifecycle of a robotics solution within a regulated pharmaceutical environment. Focus on how you balance operational uptime with the rigorous requirements for validation, qualification, and periodic re-qualification of automated systems.

AMR and AGV Integration Strategy

What to coverDiscuss the technical considerations for deploying Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) versus Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in a complex manufacturing and warehousing facility. Address factors such as navigation technology, fleet management, and integration with existing facility infrastructure.

Cybersecurity for Industrial Robotics

What to coverHow do you ensure cybersecurity compliance for interconnected robotics systems in an IT/OT environment? Describe your strategy for securing robot controllers, communication protocols, and data interfaces against unauthorized access while maintaining operational availability.

Vision-Guided Systems Implementation

What to coverDescribe a scenario where you implemented vision-guided robotics to solve a specific material handling or quality control challenge. Detail the selection process for sensors and algorithms, and how you ensured the system met accuracy and reliability requirements.

Developing a Robotics Roadmap

What to coverWhat methodology do you use to identify and prioritize high-value automation opportunities within a large-scale manufacturing site? Explain how you translate these opportunities into a long-term strategic roadmap that aligns with business productivity and safety goals.

Physical AI and Emerging Technologies

What to coverHow do you evaluate the maturity and applicability of emerging Physical AI solutions for industrial use cases? Provide an example of how you would assess the risk versus reward of integrating AI-enabled robotics into a stable production line.

Robotics Governance and Performance Monitoring

What to coverWhat key performance indicators (KPIs) do you establish to monitor the health and efficiency of a site-wide robotics ecosystem? Explain how you use this data to drive continuous improvement and proactive maintenance planning.

Business Case Development for Automation

What to coverExplain your process for building a business case for a significant robotics investment. How do you quantify intangible benefits like safety and quality improvements alongside traditional metrics like ROI and labor cost reduction?

Behavioural practice

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Engagement

What to coverDescribe a situation where you had to influence stakeholders from different departments, such as Quality, IT, and Operations, to adopt a new robotics initiative. How did you address conflicting priorities and build consensus?

Managing Vendor Relationships

What to coverProvide an example of a time you managed a complex relationship with a robotics vendor or technology partner. How did you ensure they met project timelines, quality standards, and long-term support expectations?

Leading Through Change

What to coverTell me about a time you led a robotics transformation that required significant changes to existing operational workflows. How did you manage resistance from the workforce and ensure successful adoption of the new technology?

Problem-Solving in Operational Support

What to coverDescribe a critical failure or performance issue you encountered with an deployed robotics system. What steps did you take to diagnose the root cause, mitigate the impact on production, and implement a permanent solution?

Sharpen your knowledge

Topics to prepare

GMP and Regulatory Compliance in Robotics
Review Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards specifically for automated systems in pharmaceutical environments. Exercise: Draft a hypothetical validation plan for an AMR deployment in a cleanroom, focusing on how to maintain compliance during software updates and hardware maintenance.
Robotics Lifecycle and Program Management
Understand the end-to-end lifecycle of industrial robotics, from business case development to decommissioning. Exercise: Create a project roadmap template that includes phases for opportunity assessment, vendor selection, validation, and long-term performance monitoring.
Industrial Cybersecurity for Robotics
Study the intersection of IT and OT (Operational Technology) security in a manufacturing context. Exercise: Identify potential attack vectors for a networked material handling system and propose mitigation strategies that align with standard industrial cybersecurity frameworks.

Skills to revise

Stakeholder Management and Influencing
Practice articulating technical robotics benefits to non-technical stakeholders like quality, operations, and IT teams. Exercise: Prepare a 5-minute pitch for a new robotics initiative, focusing on ROI, safety improvements, and operational excellence to gain buy-in from cross-functional leaders.
Deployment of AMRs and AGVs
Focus on the practical implementation of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in warehouse and manufacturing settings. Exercise: Review technical specifications for common industrial AMRs and list the key environmental and infrastructure requirements needed for a successful site deployment.
Vision-Guided Systems Integration
Develop proficiency in how vision systems enable robotics to perform complex tasks. Exercise: Research how vision-guided systems are used for quality inspection or material handling and document the typical challenges in calibrating these systems for high-precision pharmaceutical environments.

Your preparation checklist

Prepare a project lifecycle case study
Draft a concise summary of a past robotics or automation project you led from concept to deployment. Highlight your role in business case development, technology selection, and how you managed the full lifecycle, including maintenance and operational support.
Map your experience to GMP and regulatory standards
Review your past projects to identify specific instances where you ensured compliance with safety, validation, or quality standards. Prepare to discuss how you would apply these practices to a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
Develop a strategy for cross-functional stakeholder engagement
Prepare examples of how you have influenced diverse stakeholders, such as IT/OT teams, quality assurance, and manufacturing floor staff, to align on automation goals and resolve conflicting priorities.
Formulate technical questions for the interview
Prepare thoughtful questions regarding the current state of the Tuas South Avenue site's robotics maturity, the specific challenges in integrating AI-enabled solutions with existing legacy systems, and the governance model for site-wide robotics standards.
Refine your expertise in industrial robotics technologies
Be ready to discuss your hands-on experience with AMRs, AGVs, and vision-guided systems. Prepare to explain how you evaluate new technologies for scalability and how you address cybersecurity risks in an industrial automation context.

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