Senior Process Engineer

Senior Process EngineerWe are seeking an experienced, hands-on Senior Process Engineer to support our plastics injection molding operations. Safety is our highest priority and must come before production, quality, cost, and delivery. This position requires a strong background in scientific molding, process development, production troubleshooting, mold qualification, and continuous improvement. The successful candidate will understand the complete relationship between the machine, mold, material, process, automation, and finished product. We need an engineer who uses verified measurements and disciplined root-cause analysis, not trial-and-error adjustments to establish safe, stable, repeatable, and sustainable molding processes. Structural foam molding experience is a strong plus.Responsibilities:Lead by example and ensure safety remains the first consideration in every process, trial, mold change, startup, shutdown, and troubleshooting activity.Follow and reinforce all safety requirements, including lockout/tagout, machine guarding, PPE, mold handling, purging, and working around hot plastics, high pressures, hydraulics, and electrical systems.Identify and correct unsafe conditions, stop work when necessary, and participate in incident investigations and corrective actions.Develop, validate, document, and maintain robust scientific molding processes.Establish Golden Processes and repeatable process windows for new and existing molds.Perform fill analyses, in-mold rheology studies, cavity-balance studies, pressure-loss studies, gate-seal studies, and process capability evaluations.Verify CPI (Critical Process Indicators) like melt temperature, mold-steel temperature, injection velocity, fill time, transfer position, transfer pressure, etc.Conduct Rigorous Machine testing i.e. injection-speed linearity and dynamic check-ring repeatability, load sensitivity etc.Troubleshoot molding defects using verified data and disciplined root-cause analysis.Determine whether problems originate from the machine, mold, material, process, automation, auxiliary equipment, or part design.Support new mold trials, mold qualifications, engineering changes, material changes, mold transfers, and new-product launches.Reduce safety risks, scrap, downtime, cycle time, material consumption, process variation, and recurring production problems.Improve process capability, machine uptime, throughput, quality, and OEE without compromising employee safety or product quality.Provide technical recommendations for mold repairs, tooling improvements, machine upgrades, and capital projects.Train and mentor Process Technicians and production personnel in safe work practices, scientific molding, and measurement-based troubleshooting.Work collaboratively with Production, Quality, Tooling, Maintenance, Automation, Materials, and Product Engineering.Promote a professional, fact-based, and non-blaming problem-solving culture while maintaining accountability to established safety and process standards.Minimum Qualifications:Experience with hands-on plastics injection molding experience.Minimum of five years working specifically as a Plastics Injection Molding Process Engineer.Demonstrated commitment to workplace safety and safe molding practices.Strong knowledge of scientific molding and process-window development.Proven ability to troubleshoot molding, tooling, material, machine, and part-quality problems.Strong understanding of thermoplastic materials and how material properties, moisture, temperature, shear, residence time, additives, and re-grind affect processing behavior and finished-part performance.Experience with a variety of injection molding machines, hot-runner systems, valve gates, auxiliary equipment, and automation.Experience supporting high-volume manufacturing operations.Structural foam molding experience is preferred.AIM Institute, RJG, Paulson, A-Routsis, ZIPPS or equivalent scientific molding training is preferred.Engineering or related technical degree is preferred; extensive directly related experience may be considered in place of a degree.Microsoft Office Suite experience, CAD software (preferred), MoldFlow, and Moldex (preferred)Physical Requirements & Work Environment:Standing and walking approximately 90(ninety) percent of work time.Ability to work over or occasionally on weekends with short notice.Typical plant/manufacturing environment with concrete floors and moving equipment.Ability to stand, walk, and bend for extended periods.The Virginia base pay range for this position is from $76,800 to $105,600. Salary will be based on prior experience related to the skills required for this position.