Senior Operations Engineer

Senior Operations Engineer

Location: Fairfield, Ohio

Schedule: Full-time, first-shift, in-person position

Reports to: Director of Operations and Engineering

Position Summary

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Operations Engineer to support daily plant operations, resolve production and systems problems, and lead engineering improvements in a custom chemical blending environment. This role works closely with production, maintenance, quality, shipping and receiving, and IT to improve equipment reliability, manufacturing data, and production flow.

The ideal candidate combines practical engineering skills with the judgment and leadership to take ownership of operational issues in a fast-paced plant. Daily operations support is a core responsibility alongside controls, instrumentation, and project work. SQL proficiency is required; additional application programming skills are preferred.

Daily Operations and Leadership

• Work directly on the production floor to identify and resolve equipment, material, workflow, and system issues affecting safe and timely production.
• Own assigned operational problems and Director initiatives through completion. Coordinate departments, establish action owners and priorities, communicate progress, and verify results.
• Lead the response to production-critical technical issues, coordinating recovery with department managers and escalating safety, quality, or production risks promptly.
• Investigate recurring delays, batching errors, inventory discrepancies, and process failures. Use plant data and operator feedback to implement lasting improvements.
• Coordinate production readiness for approved new products and process changes, verifying equipment suitability, manufacturing instructions, system setup, material availability, and operator training.
• Train operators and supervisors on equipment, systems, and standard work. Cross-train maintenance and IT personnel to resolve common technical problems and provide dependable backup coverage.

Engineering and Automation Projects

• Design, program, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain PLCs, HMIs, and control systems, including sequencing, interlocks, alarms, historical trends, and data logging.
• Specify, integrate, calibrate, and troubleshoot process instrumentation, including pressure, level, flow, temperature, pH, load cells, and radar devices, plus motors, pumps, valves, actuators, and VFDs.
• Evaluate mixing, pumping, material transfer, heating and cooling, equipment capacity, and plant layout. Implement practical changes to improve process performance and production flow.
• Troubleshoot electrical controls, industrial networking, and communications, including Modbus, Ethernet/IP, serial connections, analog signals, and discrete I/O across current and legacy equipment.
• Develop scopes, cost estimates, vendor comparisons, and schedules for assigned equipment, automation, and facility projects. Lead equipment selection, purchasing, contractor coordination, installation, and commissioning within approved budgets. Verify performance, documentation, and operator readiness before handoff.
• Read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, P&IDs, drawings, and manuals. Maintain equipment records, system configurations, verified control program backups, troubleshooting guides, and recovery procedures.
• Coordinate with maintenance and quality on calibration checks, equipment inspections, critical spare parts, and contingency plans. Work with electricians and vendors to resolve failures and prevent recurring downtime.

ERP and SQL Support

• Provide daily user and workflow support for ERP and manufacturing systems, including SYSPRO, Cadence, and custom production applications, in coordination with IT.
• Independently write, troubleshoot, and optimize SQL queries and validate manufacturing data. Own assigned recurring reports on throughput, QC delays, inventory accuracy, equipment utilization, and capacity, and use findings to coordinate improvements.
• Support accurate stock codes, bills of materials, structures, routings, batch instructions, QC specifications, and inventory transactions, working with the responsible departments and approval processes.
• Improve digital batch sheets, scheduling, labeling, inventory tracking, and reporting. Define requirements, coordinate changes with IT, test results, document workflows, and train users.

Safety and Standard Work

• Follow plant safety and equipment isolation procedures and work within training and authorization. Coordinate equipment and process changes with operations, maintenance, and quality.
• Create and maintain standard work procedures and training materials. Support root-cause investigations and corrective actions for recurring operating and quality problems.

Required Qualifications

• At least five years of relevant manufacturing engineering, controls, automation, or plant technical experience, including hands-on production support. Engineering or technical education, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated SQL proficiency, including relational data, joins, aggregations, and queries across multiple tables. Ability to investigate discrepancies and verify that reports accurately reflect plant activity.
• Practical experience with PLCs, HMIs, instrumentation, electrical controls, and troubleshooting mechanical and process equipment.
• Experience supporting manufacturing ERP workflows and an understanding of production, inventory, material movement, and data accuracy.
• Demonstrated leadership in a fast-paced production environment, with sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to coordinate people across departments and follow through on commitments.
• Ability to independently manage competing priorities and carry technical projects through implementation, startup, and operator training.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SYSPRO, Cadence, Microsoft SQL Server, or custom manufacturing applications.
• VB.NET, Visual Basic, Excel VBA or macros, C#, or other application programming and scripting skills. These skills are preferred and are not required.
• Experience in chemical blending, batch manufacturing, formulation systems, QC workflows, or lot traceability.
• Experience with CAD, 3D printing, custom fixtures, process data visualization, or BACnet communications.

Work Environment

• This is a plant-based role involving regular time on the production floor and hands-on equipment support. Assistance at other company locations may also be needed.