Plant Mechanical Engineer, Equipment Reliability and Utilities in Brand-, Fast-Scaling Che

Job Overview

This is the engineer who keeps the plant running. You own equipment reliability across reactors, mixing vessels, pumps, valves, and instrumentation, plus the utilities and process-support systems that keep them alive. The first plant just went live. A second, larger one is being built right now.

• Plant engineers who like keeping a live facility healthy, not product designers who live in CAD
• People who read a P& a process flow diagram fluently and walk the floor to chase down the real problem
• Self-sufficient operators who solve 90% of issues in-house and elevate only the hardest 10%
• Builders who want a brand-new, fast-scaling plant, not a mature site with every system already dialed in
• People comfortable working hands-on around industrial chemicals, with process safety first

You support more than one plant from day one. As the business grows, the hiring manager expects to add engineering leaders beneath them, which puts you in line to anchor or lead reliability for a multi-plant operation. The work you standardize on the first plant becomes the template for every plant after it.

This is the company's top priority and it is visible at the highest levels of the business. The product is a genuine first-to-market play feeding the artificial intelligence (AI) chip boom. The hiring manager calls the experience resume-changing for the right person: you get in early on something very few engineers have ever built.

You report directly to the engineering lead and cover multiple plants. Corporate engineering installs each plant and then moves to the next build. Once they hand off, you keep the plant self-sufficient, escalating only the toughest problems back to the corporate team. You are the person the floor counts on to keep equipment healthy and batches running.

If you want classic mechanical product design, finite element analysis, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing all day, or a fully built-out plant where everything already works, this is not your role.

• Maintain equipment health across chemical process equipment: reactors, mixing vessels, pumps, valves, and associated instrumentation
• Support process equipment such as boilers, chillers, air handlers, and exhaust fans
• Keep plant utilities running: deionized (DI) water systems, clean dry air compressors, and related systems
• Read and work from P&IDs (piping and instrumentation diagrams) and process flow diagrams to troubleshoot and improve reliability
• Troubleshoot simple mechanical, electrical, and controls issues, including basic programmable logic controller (PLC) work, to keep the plant 90% self-sufficient
• Support facility expansions, utility tie-ins, shutdown planning, and commissioning as new plants come online
• Partner with the corporate engineering and capital projects teams on the hardest 10% of issues

This is a new plant still working through startup. You will hit punch-list items, unproven equipment, and problems no manual covers. The expectation is that you handle the vast majority yourself and only pull in corporate engineering when you have genuinely exhausted your options. You will work hands-on around flammable solvents and corrosives, so process safety discipline is non-negotiable. This suits someone who wants ownership and pace, not someone who wants a quiet, fully documented site.

• Around 8+ years in plant, mechanical, or reliability engineering in an operating facility
• Hands-on experience maintaining chemical process equipment: reactors, vessels, pumps, valves, and instrumentation
• Strong command of P&IDs and process flow diagrams
• Experience with plant utilities and process-support systems (HVAC, chilled water, compressed air, DI water, exhaust)
• Comfort working hands-on around industrial chemicals (flammable solvents and corrosives) with a process-safety mindset
• Industry background in chemical, biotech, pharmaceutical, or beverage, where the equipment is similar
• Some PLC familiarity for basic mechanical, electrical, and controls troubleshooting
• Commissioning or new-plant startup experience
• Process Safety Management (PSM) exposure
• Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering or a related field

Relocation support is available for the right candidate.