Chemical Production Engineer II
Boulder Scientific

Description

Boulder Scientific Company (BSC) is headquartered in Mead, CO, and is a premier provider of organometallic compounds and other specialty chemicals used in a wide range of applications. BSC is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of metallocene catalysts and co-catalysts that are primarily used to produce metallocene polyethylene, polypropylene and elastomers, but also supplies products into Electronics, Pharmaceutical and Defense applications. BSC operates two sites in Northern Colorado, which include: a main production facility in Mead and a second facility in Longmont. BSC has continuously grown the sales of its products to existing and new customers and expects to continue on a high growth trajectory.

Pay for this role is $85,000-95,000 annually, depending on experience. BSC offers medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, and 401(k) with matching. See more about our offerings on our Opportunities page.

Boulder Scientific Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

The primary responsibility of the Chemical Production Engineer is supporting technical and manufacturing aspects of Stage 5 operations undertaken in Production. The Engineer monitors daily Production batch processes and reports and/or corrects non-conformances during the Run-phase. A considerable amount of the Production Engineer's time will be spent troubleshooting and optimizing Production processes during Production upsets. Collaborates and communicates with Production and Pilot Plant Management, Group Leaders, Scientists, and Analytical Management regarding technical issues and problem resolution.

Top Five Broadly defined Responsibilities

• Safety
• Equipment Quality & Compliance
• Timely execution of Maintenance tasks maximizing OEE
• Budget
• Assures company and engineering standards are met

Leadership Behaviors

• Leads by giving and earning trust
• Demonstrates ethical behavior; strives to meet and exceed our Environmental and Safety requirements
• Acts respectfully, demonstrates the ability to Listen, Think, Speak (in that order)
• Is Accountable: holds self and others accountable
• As a leader, demonstrates his/her most important values visibly everyday while at work

Job Responsibilities

• Lead in the promotion of a strong safety and environmental stewardship culture, ensure good engineering practices and standards are followed, contribute with technical expertise to events that impact the safety, health, and environmental performance of the site
• Lead and participate on site teams tasked to address the Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements including Management of Change (MOC), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Incident Investigations and basic technical data
• Create, maintain, and manage process PSM information-like operating procedures, block flow diagrams, process and instrumentation diagrams, and mass/energy balances
• Serve as technical lead for a specific area of the process, provide technical assistance, calculations, and troubleshooting for the daily operational, maintenance, and product quality needs
• Identify and lead Continuous Improvement Projects with emphasis on manufacturing cost reduction, capacity improvements/cycle time reductions, energy and waste reduction, and process reliability
• Participate in plant shut down, startup, and turnaround activities, as well as project commissioning and plant trials
• Actively engage in the Run-phase of Production Campaigns
  • Responsible for observing batches in-process to identify possible means of improvement and/or preempt upset conditions
  • Use metrics and communication with plant staff to immediately identify and investigate variances during Production run
  • Drive ideation to execution related to Productivity projects based on Chemistry, MBR adherence consistency, and engineering practices that are sound and current
  • Utilize Production Visual Management Board to evaluate and elevate potential issues
  • Troubleshoot Production Processes and provide support to Plant Supervisors and Chemical Operators in collaboration with Group Leaders and Scientists
  • Brief Chemical Operators on new processes and in evaluating and debriefing these processes after they have been completed
  • Participate in operating training
  • Request front-run and bench top experiments if necessary to determine path forwards
• Participate in the Ready-phase of Production Campaigns
  • Provide feedback related to scale and equipment deviations
  • Provide feedback related to alternate processing parameters
  • Validate raw materials as required by purchasing department
  • Work with QA to provide feedback and instruction on raw material qualifications
• Lead Review-phase of Production Campaigns
  • Identify causes of variances and opportunities to improve throughput
  • Suggest and record incremental changes in an upcoming Production Campaign
  • Target improvements in process metrics such as yield, cycle time, productivity, and throughput
  • Capture, analyze, and publish metrics data
• Technical Transfer
  • Actively participate in Tech Transfer from the Pilot Plant to the Production Units
  • Responsible for actions related to MBR review
  • Join Pilot Plant team during final commercial batch to gain experience related to a new processes, chemistries, and gain an understanding of the Pilot Plant MBR contents
  • Introduce new MBRs into the Production Unit, validate MBR is accurate as written; work in tandem with Technical Writers to modify MBRs as needed
• Employee may be required to work hours other than their usual schedule; may be required to be on-call or available at odd hours and weekends

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering or similar, required.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 - 8 years' experience, preferably in a chemical or petrochemical plant
• Experience with highly hazardous chemical and processes
• Experience with Process Safety Management (PSM) programs and work streams
• Process Safety Information, Process Hazard Analyses, Management of Change, continuous improvement through incident investigations and root cause determination, auditing, and on-time completion of PSM recommendations
• Knowledge and experience of chemical manufacturing unit operations, including batch reactors, distillation columns, solvent recovery, pumps, filtration, crystallization, PLC Programming, etc.
• Strong technical and analytical skills
• Understanding of basic economic information (IRR, NPV, PB, etc.)
• Strong computer skills in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other analytical software (Minitab, etc.)
• Six Sigma Green Belt certification or higher is considered a plus

Must pass a Physical and Job Function Evaluation.

Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to Colorado weather conditions and manufacturing plant environment. Will be in manufacturing and lab environments that require the appropriate use of PPE.

Employee may be required to work hours other than their usual schedule; may be required to be on-call or available at odd hours and weekends to support manufacturing startups and continuously-running processes.

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