Process Engineer

Primary Purpose

Provide technical expertise and day-to-day engineering support to the manufacturing facility.  This will include; interaction with the operations and maintenance employees, input in to design and modification of existing and new facilities, gather and analyze data, troubleshoot problems, identify root cause(s), present conceptual solutions, recommend and implement process improvements. This individual must be committed to the site's vision of continuous improvement and strive to accurately measure and track key performance metrics such as yield, cost, quality, and efficiency.  They will be focused on benchmarking and improving performance against these metrics and implementing robust systems to sustain improvements.  An overall goal will be to reduce variation in production processes and lead the plant operating culture to a focus on optimization.  They support the effort to achieve superior Health, Safety and Environmental performance, especially in the areas of process safety (PSM), procedure writing and training of plant employees.

Key Responsibilities

• Promotes and instills operating discipline and accountability with the goal of excellence in execution from the production department.
• Assists with transfers and new product introduction (NPDI).  Key role is ‘seamless’ introduction into the plant.  May include assessment of current equipment capabilities, HSE issues, capital requirements, and quality assurance capabilities.
• With support from Plant Quality, lead efforts to implement formal systems and processes to analyze quality, cycle time improvements, variation reduction for multiple product lines, and methods to establish operational accountability.  Works toward establishing ‘in-control’ processes.   Analyzes process data and quality critical parameters for control of manufacturing processes.  Troubleshoots problem areas and identifies measures for improvement.  Identifies areas of variation (raw materials, process, or quality analysis), implements measures to reduce variation, and tracks effectiveness of reduction measures.  Analyzes batch cycle times.  Identifies and implements process optimization improvements to establish consistent cycle times and reduce overall cycle times.
• Assists the investigation of off-grade or abnormal batches.  Identifies root cause, reports findings, and implements corrective actions.
• Supports small capital projects associated with unit.  Responsible for aiding in determining justification, scope definition, safety reviews, ‘punch-list’ items, coordination of implementation with production schedule, startup, chemical commissioning and performance report on agreed deliverables.
• Maintains accurate  flow diagrams, P&ID’s, and equipment and control specifications
• Utilize management of change for applicable situations.
• Trains production operators and production supervisors on unit operations, chemistries, and batch recipe or DCS changes/enhancements in regards to product line.
• Assists in day to day troubleshooting and ‘firefighting’ associated with product line.
• Support the plant’s quality management systems and its compliance with pertinent quality standards including ISO 9001, EFfCI, RSPO, Kosher, and HALAL.

HSE Responsibilities

• Responsible for personal safety and overall support of plant achievement of zero lost time injuries, zero recordable injuries, and zero environmental incidents.
• Responsible for participating in safety reviews for product line and associated equipment for: management of change (equipment, quality, etc.), new product introduction/technology transfer, revalidation of process hazard analysis.
• Assist with Job Safety Analysis (JHA) effort at the plant
• Provide data and assist plant PHA (Process Hazard Analysis).
• Assist with environmental compliance with wastewater permits, air permits, and disposal permits in accordance with regulatory standards.
• Utilize cross-functional teams to develop new safety procedures or evaluate existing procedures.
• Attend all safety related training sessions.  Conducts departmental safety meetings and provide safety training to the Operations and Maintenance employees.
• Enter incident reports and near misses in the Gensuite database
• Identify process and behavioral safety issues and find solutions to correct them
• Conduct or direct the completion of investigations of incidents or near misses, as appropriate, and insure corrective actions are identified, assigned, and completed.
• Comply with all policies, procedures, etc. of the company and plant including safety procedures, PPE requirements, operating procedures, etc.

Experience and Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Must have good computer skills and be proficient in the usage of MS Outlook, MS Excel, and MS Word.  Skills with MS Project, MS Access, statistical software, or relational databases are a plus.
• Chemical industry background.
• Familiarity with engineering and safety standards – i.e. OSHA PSM
• Must be able to analyze, troubleshoot and solve problems with innovative approaches to problem solving.
• Must be proficient in the use of engineering spreadsheets/calculations
• Individual must be organized, systematic, independent, and self-motivated.
• Working knowledge of application of statistical methods to analyze quality, cycle times, and process parameters for process improvement efforts.
• Knowledge of LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Job Safety Analysis (JHA) is desirable
• Be able to manage and lead process improvement teams in the plant
• Knowledge of 6 Sigma a plus, but not required

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits package
• The U.S. base salary range reasonably expected to be paid for this position is $98,720 to $123,400 per year. Since actual compensation packages are based on a variety of factors unique to each candidate we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted base salary range. Total compensation for this role also includes bonus and/or other incentives.
• 16 weeks of maternity/paternity and co-parenting leave
• Training platform for all employees
• Free language courses (24 languages available)
• Free well-being sessions (physical and psychological)