Associate Director, Quality USDA

USDA Compliance Subject Matter Expert (SME) Associate Director

The USDA Compliance Subject Matter Expert (SME) Associate Director will report to the Animal Health Global Quality Compliance and Technical Lead. The responsibility of this position is across all Animal Health operating units; however, the position will focus on US Quality activities related to governance by the USDA. The role will require collaboration with manufacturing sites, contractors, and suppliers.

Primary Responsibilities :

• Provide Subject Matter Expertise to ensure our company's manufacturing sites adhere to compliance standards established in 9CFR and enforced by USDA-APHIS-CVB Inspection and Compliance (IC), and Policy, Licensing and Evaluation (PEL).
• Develop and maintain global Quality Management System (QMS) documents pertaining to USDA requirements for facility design, auditing, quality systems and ensure team and company adherence to these documents.
• Develop a risk-based approach to prioritize USDA compliance requirements for our manufacturing sites.
• Understand and provide guidance on Ingredients of Animal Origin issues.
• Ensure any audits or site assessments are conducted to assess compliance with applicable USDA regulations / guidelines, customer requirements, SOPs and project specific guidelines / instructions.
• Evaluate audit findings and ensure timely identification / escalation of potential critical observations and compliance gaps observed during audits.
• Develop and maintain a strong training program for USDA requirements to increase knowledge and skills development and ability to detect and communicate GxP compliance concerns.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge base with respect to emerging regulatory trends and changes in regulations and standards to incorporate into the business to ensure ongoing compliance to these requirements.
• Participate in industry groups (e.g. Animal Health Institute) that assess and influence standards and trends within Animal Health.
• Provide updates to company stakeholders on GxP and regulatory trends as well as the auditing program's ability to detect compliance to current and evolving expectations.
• Ensure timely identification and escalation of potential critical observations and compliance gaps.
• Assist during USDA audits.
• Oversee quality and compliance activities within assigned area of focus.
• Comply with all of our company's corporate guidelines and policies.

Education Requirement :

Required Experience and Skills :

Required Skills :

Animal Health Care, Audit Inspections, cGMP Regulations, GMP Auditing, GMP Compliance, GMP Operations, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Inspection Readiness, Quality Auditing, Quality Management, Quality Management System Auditing, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Quality Standards, USDA Regulations

Preferred Skills :

Experience working for a health authority (particularly USDA-APHIS-CVB-IC and / or -PEL) as an inspector, product reviewer, compliance officer, other GMP / regulatory role or Site Quality Head at a USDA governed site

Salary Range : $126,500.00 - $199,100.00

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

VISA Sponsorship : No

Travel Requirements : 25%

Flexible Work Arrangements : Hybrid

Shift : 1st - Day

Valid Driving License : Yes

Hazardous Material(s) : N / A

Job Posting End Date : 11 / 11 / 2025

Requisition ID : R370452