What does a Biosystems Engineer do?
Cortney Giardino (BE’98 / Biotechnology Emphasis) Automation Engineer KINETICS-bio/Pharmaceutical Division Durham, NC

BioKINETICS is a design/build engineering firm focusing on high-purity process systems. A system to provide pure water is an example. Our clients include large pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer, Merck, Centocor, Smith Kline, Biogen, and Warner Lambert. We also have clients in the cosmetic industry including Clairol and Gillette.

A system is designed by the process engineer (see Rob Miller) to meet particular performance criteria, specified by the client and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. This includes process temperature, pressure, flow rate, conductivity, total organic carbon, and other variables such as pH, endotoxin levels and microbial content. As an “Automation Engineer”, I specify instruments that control these variables. Control valves are used to manipulate the process temperature and pressure, regulators are specified for pressure control, relief devices are specified by safety purposes, and additional instruments are used to transmit values to be graphically displayed for plant operators. Using the performance criteria and system functional description, I also specify software functional requirements from which software is written. Once the programming is done, I am then responsible for testing this software before it is implemented into the client’s existing control system to correct obvious problems.

As a design/build company, we are also responsible for lending construction support. Instrument installation is checked, instrument calibration is confirmed and documented, and control loops are tested. Finally, we are responsible for a final software test done with the system in full operation.

Being in the pharmaceutical business, the process is validated by the FDA. Therefore, there are stringent regulations that must be followed that involve another entire aspect of the job. We must document purchasing, calibration, installation, and testing of each instrument used on the system in order for the system to be validated.

Automation engineers within our company have a diversity of career choices. I have only touched on some of the aspects of my job that I have encountered in the short time I have been here. Several of my colleagues are proficient PLC programmers, some focus on system start-up, and others on documentation.

My job includes occasional travel. Recently, I was fortunate to travel to Australia to assist with a project for our pharmaceutical clients there.