Process Engineer

Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia.

Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products. At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low‑carbon economy.

We are seeking a highly motivated, technically strong Process Engineer with 3+ years of hands‑on experience in a reactive chemical manufacturing environment. This individual will bring proven troubleshooting skills, strong ownership, and the ability to hit the ground running in a fast‑paced, safety‑focused operation. In this role, you will serve as the primary technical resource for daily plant operations, providing guidance to operators, supervisors, and cross‑functional partners.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical aptitude with the drive to improve processes, elevate performance, and grow into roles of greater responsibility and accountability over time.

• Serve as the technical expert for daily production operations, proactively supporting safe, efficient plant performance.
• Engage closely with operators, supervisors, maintenance, and process engineers to ensure high-quality, consistent production.
• Act as the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) champion, analyzing data, identifying losses, and driving continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide hands‑on troubleshooting support for production issues, alarms, and equipment performance concerns.
• Identify safety, quality, and process improvement opportunities; prioritize actions and implement sustainable long‑term solutions.
• Ensure compliance and continuous improvement with safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements in all chemical process‑related work, including, but not limited to, participation in process hazard analyses for hazardous processes, design of layers of protection barriers, auditing barriers, and development of preventive operating routines related to safety critical barriers.
• Support safe manufacturing and regulatory compliance (PSM, RMP) through PHA participation, MOC adherence, SOP development, and incident investigations.
• Lead and facilitate Root Cause Analysis (RCA) activities for production events, quality deviations, customer complaints, and safety incidents.
• Own production‑related projects, ensuring they are delivered safely, on time, and within budget.
• Support new product development, scale‑ups, and product modifications, acting as the technical point of contact.
• Provide backup support for DCS and process control troubleshooting as needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or related discipline.
• 3+ years of experience in a reactive chemical or similar process manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly assess situations and make sound technical decisions.
• Strong problem‑solving, analytical, and facilitation skills with the ability to drive measurable outcomes.
• Proven track record of initiating and leading process…