Field Customer Solutions Engineer - Ethanol Process Expert [Remote]

Fuel Ethanol | Process Engineering | FTIR Instrumentation | Technical Support | Customer Solutions

The KEIT story:

In 2009, a small team of physicists working with the UK Space Agency set out to answer an ambitious question: how do you analyze the atmosphere around Mars? Their answer was a ground-breaking FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrometer, built to withstand the rigors of space travel.

Along the way, they realized the technology had enormous potential much closer to home.

In 2013, KEIT was founded to bring that technology to industry. Today our IRmadillo FTIR process analyzer delivers lab-grade data, 24/7, directly from the process line – removing the need for manual grab samples, lab delays and guesswork. It is trusted by ethanol producers across the Midwest, and by manufacturers in chemicals, pulp & paper, fats & oils and beyond.

We have now added a fermentation intelligence software platform, built and proven inside a working US ethanol plant, which combines IRmadillo data with plant control system data to give operators and managers clear, actionable insight. Well-backed, well-established and highly trusted, we are now growing our US team to bring this combined hardware and software offering to the wider industry.

Where you come in:

You know ethanol plants in depth. You can walk the line with a plant team, understand the problem they're facing and explain exactly where an IRmadillo would help – what it would measure, and what that would mean for yield and performance. That credibility is central to this role.

As our Customer Solutions Engineer , you'll act as the ethanol specialist alongside our US sales lead, then support customers to install, operate and get full value from the IRmadillo and our new software. As we're building our US operation from the ground up, you'll also help shape how we work – turning what you learn on each site into processes the wider team can follow.

The role involves significant travel, mainly across the Midwest with occasional trips beyond, and you'll manage your own schedule. In return, you'll work daytime hours with no rotating shifts, and have real influence in a growing company.

Typical backgrounds include Process Engineer, Lab Manager, Fermentation Specialist, Operations or Shift Supervisor, or Technical Service Representative in fuel ethanol – whether at a plant or with a yeast, enzyme, chemical or equipment supplier to the industry.

The Role at a Glance:

Customer Solutions Engineer
Midwest USA – within daily reach of Kansas City, Omaha or Des Moines (Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota)
$100,000 – $140,000 Base Salary (DOE) + Commission
Plus Benefits Including Health & Dental Insurance, and All Travel Expenses Covered (Rental Cars Included) & Equity Options

Reporting to: Senior Leadership Team in the UK

Values: Continuous Improvement, Teamwork, Building a Valuable Business, Developing as People, Having Fun!

Your Experience: Fuel Ethanol Plant Operations, Process Optimization, Process Analytics, Mechanical and Electrical / Electronic Systems

Who we are:

We're a fast-growing, well-backed sci-tech company headquartered at Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, UK, with significant (and growing) sales in the US – the Midwest in particular. We're ISO 9001 certified, and our customers include fuel ethanol producers, chemical manufacturers (bulk, specialty & fine), pulp & paper mills, fats & oils processors, biofuels producers and more.

We remain a small, agile team with big ambitions. There is little red tape: everyone talks to customers, everyone contributes beyond their job title, and you will have a genuine hand in shaping how we build our US operation.

The Customer Solutions Engineer Opportunity:

Working in the US, you'll be part of our delivery team, helping customers to install and operate the IRmadillo and our fermentation intelligence software, and showing them the business benefits they can realize by controlling and optimizing their production processes.

You'll also play a key role in the sales process, working closely with our US sales lead on pre-sales activity. He opens doors; you bring the ethanol expertise that turns a conversation into a project.

Examples of the type of teamwork you may be involved in:

• Being the ethanol expert in customer meetings – spotting where the IRmadillo and our software can make a measurable difference
• Surveying sites and advising on the mechanical interface to the customer's process
• Measuring a customer's chemical samples in their lab on the IRmadillo (we'll teach you how to do this)
• Supporting the installation, commissioning and rollout of the IRmadillo and our software
• Helping to troubleshoot the data connection to the plant DCS / historian
• Training plant teams to use the data in their day-to-day operations
• Troubleshooting existing customer installations
• Capturing what you learn on site and turning it into repeatable processes for our growing US team

About you:

• Located in or near the Midwest (ideally within daily reach of Kansas City, Omaha or Des Moines) and keen to travel
• Experience working in a fuel ethanol plant, or as a service provider to one
• A background in process engineering, lab or operations in fuel ethanol – engineering training is a real plus
• Practical, problem-solving skills in mechanical and electrical/electronic systems
• Self-organizing – able to plan your own schedule, routes and priorities without a fixed shift structure
• A natural process-builder – when something new comes up, you work it out and document it so it's easier next time
• Effective at resolving customer issues face to face and on site, and quick to pick up the phone to solve problems
• Happy to step outside your comfort zone and take on new ways of working and new technical challenges
• A proactive approach – you take ownership and make things happen
• A collaborative team player – all of our work is team-based and peer-reviewed, so this really matters to us

Ready to put your ethanol expertise to work on a bigger stage?

If you know ethanol plants inside out and want to help shape a growing US operation, we'd like to hear from you. Apply today for a fast-track conversation with our team. We're reviewing applications now, and our talent partner RR will be in touch quickly to talk you through the next steps.

Apply now?

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