ENGINEER - RESEARCH ENGINEER - Chemical/Process Engineer - Refinery Pilot Plants

at  Southwest Research Institute

WHO WE ARE:

Refinery and Catalyst Pilot Plant Services Section works in pilot plant services and operations for the fuels and chemicals industry

REQUIREMENTS:

• Requires a Bachelors or a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering.
• Shift work required.
• 1-3 years: Experience in any of the following areas: biofuels, hydrotreating, distillation, isomerization, base oil production, renewable chemicals.
• 1-3 years: High attention to detail in calculations, design, and operations. Must be able to develop process flow diagrams, process and instrumentation diagrams, I/O diagrams, and process control strategies.
• 1-3 years: Must be able to communicate clearly and interface with clients or potential clients as needed in the course of the project or proposal process. Must be able to conduct tasks in parallel. Experience with actual hands-on operations of processes and test systems is preferred.
• Direct experience with chemical engineering process development work (developing Excel spreadsheets for chemical engineering calculations and data compilation) to include designing and performing lab scale to pilot scale experiments is preferred.
• A valid/clear driver’s license is required.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be a U.S. person (i.e., U.S. citizen, non-U.S. citizen national, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee) due to ITAR work in section.
An Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
Race/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disabled/Veteran
Committed to Diversity in the Workplac

OBJECTIVES OF THIS ROLE:

• This position will fill a role in supporting operations for pilot plants for process development by expanding our technical portfolio of offerings to our clients.
• Be leader in operations training, procurement, and inventory control for process development and pilot plants, with expertise in technical areas of the research (alternative fuels, hydrotreating, fixed bed testing).
• Train operators and engineers to maintain pilot plant area and operations with a high degree of “technical” success.
• Emphasis on department safety culture, waste disposal, procedures, ISO.
• Increased utilization by supporting existing large projects and conducting business development for existing and new areas.

DAILY AND MONTHLY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design processes or unit operations for chemical or refinery systems. Plan and conduct research and process development work in chemical, gas, and petroleum areas.
• Expand particular area of expertise (ideally hydrotreating, distillation, processing of biofuels, etc).
• Support ongoing projects through data compilation, mass and energy balances, operator training, procedure development, laboratory upkeep, maintenance, and safety review/document preparation.
• Department safety emphasis.
• Conduct strategic business development activities.
• Provide technical supervision to other engineers, technicians, and analysts.
• Emphasis on proposal writing and publications.
• Communicate with vendors, clients, and operators to set up equipment and construct systems for new processes.
• Promote and secure new work as trained through mentorship and internal business development training.