Staff Process Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Texas.

📋 Description

• Act as the corporate Subject Matter Expert (SME) for HF and sulfuric acid alkylation technology, offering technical guidance and support across all refining assets.

• Create, sustain, and oversee unit performance indicators, benchmarking metrics, and technology health dashboards to pinpoint performance gaps, reliability risks, and opportunities for improvement.

• Function as the corporate steward and technical authority for HF and sulfuric acid alkylation process safety standards, engineering best practices, and risk management strategies.

• Manage and uphold corporate alkylation technology standards, operating envelopes, critical process parameter guidelines, and lessons-learned documentation to ensure uniform execution across all refining assets.

• Provide technical advice and troubleshooting assistance to refinery process engineers, production teams, and operations staff regarding unit performance, process optimization, operating challenges, and process safety issues.

• Spearhead initiatives to enhance alkylation unit safety, reliability, environmental performance, and economic optimization through the application of industry best practices and sound engineering principles.

• Develop, maintain, monitor, and benchmark essential alkylation performance indicators, including process safety, reliability, acid consumption, alkylate quality, equipment efficiency, and unit energy intensity.

• Mentor and develop refinery process engineers, technical supervisors, and operations leaders through coaching, technical training, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

• Establish and maintain corporate standards, best practices, engineering guidelines, and operational philosophies related to alkylation technology.

• Lead the refinery alkylation best-practice network and organize periodic technology collaboration meetings, encompassing agenda creation, action tracking, knowledge sharing, and dissemination of lessons learned.

• Coordinate and oversee annual technology health assessments for alkylation units, including performance evaluations, gap identification, risk assessment, and improvement plan formulation.

• Assess emerging technologies, licensor developments, catalyst improvements, process enhancements, and industry trends to uncover opportunities for business advancement and competitive edge.

• Maintain proactive engagement with technology licensors, catalyst suppliers, engineering consultants, industry organizations, and peer networks to guarantee awareness and application of current industry best practices and technological innovations.

• Assist with process studies and technology evaluations concentrating on yield enhancement, energy efficiency, asset utilization, environmental compliance, process safety, and profitability improvement.

• Provide technical leadership during unit startups, shutdowns, major operational events, turnarounds, commissioning activities, and post-startup performance stabilization efforts.

• Participate in and deliver technical leadership for process hazard analyses (PHA), layer of protection analyses (LOPA), management of change (MOC) reviews, pre-startup safety reviews (PSSR), and other process safety management activities affecting alkylation units.

• Act as the technical authority for alkylation-related management of change reviews, significant process deviations, operating envelope exceedances, and major technology recommendations.

• Lead or engage in incident investigations and root cause failure analyses related to process safety events, reliability incidents, environmental occurrences, and production losses.

• Collaborate with reliability, maintenance, and operations teams to identify corrective measures, document lessons learned, and avert recurrence.

• Oversee and facilitate the creation, maintenance, and dissemination of alkylation-specific training materials, operational guidance, and competency development programs.

• Assist in capital project development through concept evaluation, technology selection, design review, risk assessment, process design package review, and startup readiness activities.

• Provide regular updates and recommendations to refinery and corporate leadership regarding technology risks, constraints, performance gaps, improvement opportunities, and long-term strategic initiatives.

• Utilize broad technical judgment and independent decision-making to resolve complex technical issues and influence business outcomes across multiple facilities.

• Support other refining process technologies and business initiatives as necessary based on organizational needs, individual expertise, and business priorities.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.

• Over 15 years of refining experience.

• More than 10 years of experience in supporting alkylation technology.

• Expertise in operation, optimization, troubleshooting, and performance enhancement of HF and sulfuric acid alkylation units.

• Comprehensive knowledge of alkylation reaction chemistry and process fundamentals.

• Proficient in HYSYS and relevant process modeling software.

• Experience with startups, shutdowns, and turnarounds.

• Strong skills in troubleshooting and root cause analysis.

• Knowledge of process safety management principles and regulatory requirements.

• Familiarity with staged-gate project development processes.

🏝️ Benefits

• Up to a 10% match on 401K upon hire.

• Medical benefits that commence on day one with an annual 30% premium rebate.

• Complimentary access to the Calm app for meditation, stress management, and improved sleep.

• Performance management program with additional annual incentives.

• A pay-for-performance culture with substantial bonus payouts.