Sr Principal Technologist, FCC

Sr Principal Technologist, FCC

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Date:May 6, 2026

Location: Columbia, MD, US, 21044

Company: W. R. Grace & Co.

Annual Wage Range:$170,455.20 - $234,375.90

Other Compensation: Eligibility for the Short-Term Incentive program and other applicable bonuses

Benefits: U.S. Employee Benefits Summary (grace.com) (

Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials and fine chemicals. We provide innovative products, technologies and services which our customers use to manufacture everyday products like renewable fuels, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, food packaging, beer, edible oils and more. Our thousands of employees help shape a better future at our global headquarters in Columbia, MD and locations worldwide.

Job Description

The Sr. Principal Technologist, FCC serves as a member of a global team of FCC technical specialists for the application and optimization of advanced techniques and strategies to support the use of Grace FCC products at customers and to help position for use at prospects. Serves as advisor to all Technical Service Engineers and customers and as a technology expert to Grace customers in select areas of FCC unit operations, catalyst application, startup, shutdown, inspection, unit optimization, and troubleshooting.

Supports Marketing and Sales efforts with customer visits, participation in professional functions and assistance with new product development. Collaborates with product management on the product portfolio, identifying areas for differentiation or rationalization. Frequently work with Technical Service, Sales and Marketing to provide input to business strategies and will make and implement tactical decisions for specific accounts and new product introduction. May participate in the development of operating manuals, reference documents, and training materials for internal and customer use.

The position is remote and primarily based in North America; however, applicants located at any of our global sites maybe also be considered.

Responsibilities (1 of 2)

• Technical lead for providing advanced process and operational support to Grace FCC customers

• Subject Matter Expert (SME) in FCC Process Technology, serves as a Lead Technology Expert within Grace for FCC fundamental areas.

• Project lead for Critical Catalyst Trial program

• Develops and maintains high level of FCC technical/operational expertise

• Provides technical support to cover critical service needs around the assigned region. Assists customer in achieving higher on-stream reliability/performance.

• Implements FCC Technical Service best practices and deploys optimization tools for use by the regional support teams. Assists the regional sales and technical service representatives to drive standardization.

• Performs statistical analysis, FCC simulation modeling and optimization studies

• Assists with development and application of new tools and models designed to quantify the financial value of our catalyst and service offerings.

Responsibilities (2 of 2)

• Supports regional teams in the catalyst application selection process.

• Provides regional training to Grace regional service teams and customers. Assists in the technical onboarding of new sales and service representatives.

• Provides application and commercial insight into product development needs for the customer.

• Works with marketing and regional technical service to identify and publish case studies for product positioning and sales activities.

• Assists regional sales and service teams in development of technical strategies for retaining customer accounts and securing new customer accounts.

• Takes a direct role in building FCC Troubleshooting FAQs for an online database.

Required Qualifications

• High level of expertise balanced with past record of collaborative approach and strong communication and inter-personal skills. Must be able to interact with a variety of experience levels, position types and culturally diverse clients.

• High level of expertise in the application of cracking catalyst to commercial FCC units.

• Deep understanding of the FCC process with an emphasis on startups and shutdowns as well as application of FCC catalysts and additives.

• Ability to apply technical knowledge to drive business goals and develop customer relationships.

• Ability to use an FCC model for process analysis and optimization.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

• Strong conceptual and analytical thinking skills.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Willingness to collaborate with other team members and with customer personnel is critical.

• Ability to work under pressure and with different cultures to solve difficult customer problems. Ability to deliver results in a fast-paced, high-performance work environment.

• Minimum of 15 years (20+ years preferred) of experience in fluid catalytic cracking, including proven operational experience with startups, shutdowns, optimization, and troubleshooting of commercial FCC units.

• Chemical Engineering degree required.

• #LI -TC1

Preferred Qualifications

• Should be proficient in the use of FCC kinetic process models

Additional Information

• Travel Requirement up to 35% – domestic and international.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Life Insurance and Disability

• Grace Wellness Program

• Flexible Workplace with maximum overlap with the core hours

• Retirement Plans

• 401(k) Company Match

• Paid Vacation and Holidays

• Parental Leave

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Company Donation Match Program

Grace is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Grace via email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Grace. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Grace as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nearest Major Market:Baltimore

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