Test Validation Engineer - 260282

Primary Responsibilities

Pilot Plant Operations

• Plan and coordinate daily pilot-plant activities to meet technical goals, project milestones, and business priorities.
• Develop and maintain operating procedures, test records, shift logs, and other required documentation.
• Monitor plant performance and identify opportunities to improve production, efficiency, reliability, and process stability.
• Coordinate operating schedules, testing activities, maintenance, and equipment modifications.
• Establish and maintain expectations for safe operations, accountability, and proper documentation.

Testing and Process Development

• Develop and execute test plans to optimize hydrogen and carbon production and support process scale-up.
• Use structured testing methods, including design of experiments (DOE), to improve process understanding and performance.
• Establish test objectives, operating conditions, data requirements, and success criteria before testing begins.
• Review test results and operating data to identify trends, process limitations, and improvement opportunities.
• Document test procedures, results, issues, and conclusions to ensure findings are clear and repeatable.
• Share test results and technical findings with operations, R&D, engineering, and commercialization teams.

Engineering and Scale-Up

• Work with R&D and engineering teams to evaluate, test, and improve process equipment and systems.
• Use pilot-plant experience to support the design and development of larger-scale systems.
• Define equipment and system requirements for operation, maintenance, reliability, instrumentation, and testing.

Safety and Regulatory Compliance

• Promote a strong safety culture and ensure safe work practices throughout pilot-plant operations.
• Ensure all operating and testing activities follow site procedures, environmental requirements, and safety regulations.
• Ensure safe handling of hazardous materials, including natural gas, hydrogen, and carbon powders.
• Follow and enforce lockout/tagout, confined-space, PPE, and other applicable safety requirements.
• Participate in safety inspections, audits, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
• Support risk-management activities, including Management of Change (MOC), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), and HAZOP studies.

Performance Management and Communication

• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to production, safety, equipment reliability, testing, and operating efficiency.
• Prepare regular reports outlining operational performance, test results, challenges, risks, and recommended actions.
• Identify and communicate equipment issues, technical risks, and outstanding actions affecting plant operations.
• Coordinate communication between operations, R&D, engineering, maintenance, and EHS teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in pilot-plant operations, manufacturing, process development, test engineering, equipment reliability, or a related industrial environment.
• Experience leading operations personnel, technical projects, or plant activities.
• Experience planning and executing complex tests and operating campaigns.
• Ability to analyze operating and test data, troubleshoot problems, and improve process performance.
• Working knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, including piping, valves, pumps, motors, instrumentation, controls, and process equipment.
• Experience with root-cause analysis and corrective-action methods.
• Ability to identify and specify equipment, instruments, components, and replacement parts.
• Strong technical writing, documentation, and reporting skills.
• Ability to manage priorities, solve problems, and adapt to changing schedules.
• Strong leadership, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work safely in an industrial pilot-plant environment, including exposure to outdoor conditions, noise, temperature variations, hazardous materials, and confined spaces.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-temperature gas processing, hydrogen, natural gas, carbon materials, chemical processing, or thermal-processing systems.
• Experience with pilot-scale process development and transitioning processes to demonstration or commercial scale.
• Knowledge of design of experiments (DOE), multivariate testing, and other structured testing methods.
• Familiarity with process safety programs, including MOC, PHA, and HAZOP.
• Experience commissioning, testing, and validating new or modified process equipment.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of applicable industrial, environmental, and occupational safety standards.