Sr. Process Engineer (Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol Area)

Our client is a well established North American manufacturer of paper and packaging products with facilities across the United States and Canada. They are known for a strong focus on safety, sustainability and operational excellence, and they offer competitive pay, a supportive work environment and real room to grow.

The client is hiring a Sr. Process Engineer to support a paper machine at one of its mills. This role drives safety, quality improvements, new product development, process optimization and cost reduction while supporting a high performance work system. Continuous improvement methods are central to the job, both for solving problems efficiently and for carrying out process improvements. The engineer helps build a continuous improvement mindset across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Effectiveness

• Provide technical oversight of paper machine operations to keep efficiency and product quality where they should be
• Train the workforce on process improvements and process changes
• Work with maintenance, production and quality control to drive improvements
• Lead optimization of chemical usage, fiber yield, water usage and steam usage
• Participate in daily management systems and use data analytics to monitor KPIs and find opportunities
• Perform mass balances and water balances on unit operations and provide solutions
• Read and interpret P&IDs
• Support capital projects, including equipment upgrades and new technology
• Work with vendors to gather information that improves productivity and quality
• Ensure compliance with environmental, safety and regulatory standards
• Serve as a technical coach and mentor for operations team members

Process Optimization

• Identify cost reduction projects and work with teams to deliver results
• Develop and run chemical, process and quality trials
• Create training materials, procedures and charts for operators
• Apply standard process engineering methods across all areas of the paper machine
• Check process control loops for effective operation
• Participate in shutdown planning and execution
• Perform engineering calculations as needed
• Translate manuals and drawings into clear explanations for mill operators

Quality

• Use a human performance improvement (HPI) process with management and operating teams to find root causes of off quality events and put permanent fixes in place
• Organize and track solutions in the mill wide tracking database
• Develop techniques and processes to improve quality
• Respond to customer complaints when needed

Continuous Improvement

• Use lean tools such as Six Sigma, DMAIC and FMEA to help lead continuous improvement projects
• Perform root cause analysis as required
• Develop and implement process control strategies that improve machine performance and reduce variability
• Be open to exploring machine learning principles

Safety

• Be a safety advocate and lead by example
• Lead team efforts to find root causes, develop permanent corrective actions, document them and follow up

Suppliers and External Technical Resources

• Work with suppliers and outside technical experts to start cost reduction, quality and process improvement trials

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Paper Science or a related field from an accredited university
• At least 8 years of expert level process troubleshooting and analytical problem solving in paper mill operations

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven, high level troubleshooting skills: analytical, critical thinking and problem solving
• Advanced knowledge of safe work practices
• Experience identifying process changes and improvements
• Ability to prioritize, make sound decisions and resolve issues efficiently
• Strong written and verbal communication with internal and external contacts
• Strong organization and planning skills, with the ability to juggle several priorities
• Works well independently and as part of a team
• Results focused and detail oriented
• Strong computer skills; working knowledge of PARCView and SAP is a plus
• Comfortable in a fast paced manufacturing environment
• Able to present work to all levels of management

Critical Competencies for Success

• Communicates well with employees at every level of the mill and with suppliers and outside technical resources
• Manages time well and handles multiple priorities
• Process engineering experience focused on high speed paper machines
• Good working knowledge of mill operations
• Able to interpret and apply a collective bargaining agreement
• Experience in a 100% recycle mill
• Experience with paper machine and winder startup and optimization

Equal Opportunity Employer

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, color, sex (including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, religion, national origin, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Reasonable accommodations are available for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.