Operations Engineer

Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials and fine chemicals. We provide innovative products, technologies and services which our customers use to manufacture everyday products like renewable fuels, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, food packaging, beer, edible oils and more. Our thousands of employees help shape a better future at our global headquarters in Columbia, MD and locations worldwide.

Grace is seeking a Production Engineer to join Specialty Chemical Manufacturing. The Production Engineer is part of an exciting team, in a rewarding role, where they have an important impact helping Grace meet business goals. The Engineer collaborates with multiple disciplines to monitor the process and ensure it is operating safely and efficiently, to achieve desired quality and production targets. They work, and take calls, on nights/weekends when issues arise.

The Production Engineer is on-site in Baton Rouge, LA and reports to the Operations Engineer Leader.

• Track and manage production rates, yield, and quality performance data along with troubleshooting process issues outside of target range.
• Identify and lead Continuous Improvement Projects with emphasis on manufacturing cost reduction, capacity improvements/cycle time reductions, energy and waste reduction, and process reliability.
• Collaborate with different work groups (Maintenance, I&E, Safety, Logistics, and Vendors) to ensure process is compliant and meets targets.
• Create, maintain, and manage Process Safety Management (PSM) information like operating procedures, block flow diagrams, process and instrumentation diagrams, and mass/energy balances.
• Lead Management of Change, Process Hazard Analysis, and Root Cause Investigations.
• Participate in plant shut down, startup, and turnaround activities, as well as project commissioning and plant trials.
• Perform permit audits, safety observations, management walk arounds, and other safety initiatives.
• Work with batch reactors, distillation columns, heat exchangers, pumps, filters, DCS programming, PSM documentation, and environmental regulations.

• Ability to follow safety protocols and standards working in a pilot plant facility with highly hazardous materials.
• Ability to work in a high hazard environment, including adverse weather conditions, elevated spaces, confined spaces, extreme temperatures, and noisy surroundings.
• Must be able to stand, walk, sit, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and climb stairs and ladders over 100 ft.
• Must be willing to wear PPE (Personal Protective equipment) including but not limited to hard hat, protective eyewear, steel-toed boots, hearing protection, Level A suit, full face respirator.

• Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering.
• Ability to work and take calls on nights/weekends when issues arise.

• Experience at a Process Safety Management (PSM) site.
• Experience handling highly hazardous chemicals.
• Experience with batch reactors, distillation columns, steam boilers, solid filtration, DCS programming, PSM documentation, and environmental regulations.
• Experience with solid and slurry processes.
• 2+ years of experience in process, production or manufacturing engineering within the petrochemical industrial manufacturing environment.