Sr Director Capital Engineering

The Senior Director of Capital Engineering is accountable for the enterprise capital investment strategy and execution for a global chemical manufacturer with a high-capex footprint. This leader ensures that >$400M/year of capital is deployed safely, on time, and on budget to deliver growth, reliability, sustainability, and cost competitiveness, while maintaining world-class process safety and engineering standards.

This role owns the end-to-end capital lifecycle—from strategic planning and portfolio prioritization through engineering execution, construction, commissioning, and post-investment value realization.

By collaborating with Manufacturing Operations and other key stakeholders, the Senior Director will drive transformative initiatives that enhance customer satisfaction and adapt to market dynamics.

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Capital Strategy and portfolio governance

• Lead development of the multi-year capital investment plan, aligned with corporate strategy, growth ambitions and asset integrity.

• Transition from project-based engagement to capability building engagement

• Establish and govern the capital portfolio management framework, including prioritization, stage-gate rigor, risk management, and capital allocation discipline.

• Partner with Finance and Commercial teams to optimize return on invested capital (ROIC) and cash flow impact.

• Lead a high-performing team of engineers and project managers, inspiring them to embrace innovation and strategic thinking in all project initiatives.

Capital Project Management

• Ensure best-in-class execution of large-scale capital projects (brownfield & greenfield), including plant expansions, debottlenecking, technology upgrades, and site infrastructure.

• Own delivery against cost, schedule, scope, safety, and quality KPIs for the full capital portfolio.

• Drive fastest and lowest cost project execution capable of competing with world-class manufacturing globally

• Ensure compliance with environmental, permitting, and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.

• Enable capital investments that support decarbonization, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainability.

Engineering Standards & Technical Excellence

• Set and maintain enterprise engineering standards, design practices, and specifications consistent with chemical industry best practices.

• Ensure robust process safety management, hazard analysis, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

• Champion value engineering, modularization, constructability, and digital engineering methods.

Organizational Transformation

• Act as a change agent, embedding strategic thinking throughout the organization to challenge conventional practices and drive enhanced performance.

• Build and lead a high-performing global capital engineering organization (centralized, regional, or hybrid).

• Develop internal engineering talent and succession pipelines; define when to “own vs. outsource.”

• Drive a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement that emphasizes agility and responsiveness to evolving customer needs and industry trends.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as the primary strategic liaison with senior management, providing updates on project alignment with corporate strategy and performance metrics.

• Serve as the capital engineering interface to Operations, Supply Chain, EHS, R&D, Commercial, IT, and Finance.

• Support S&OP / IBP processes by aligning capital timing with demand and capacity plans.

• Establish a robust partnership with Manufacturing Operations to align operational capabilities with strategic project objectives, ensuring quality and reliability in product delivery.

• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to enhance integration between capital projects and core manufacturing processes, optimizing efficiencies.

• Foster effective communication channels to ensure transparency and collaboration among stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

Customer-Centric Focus

• Embed a customer-first mindset in all project initiatives, ensuring that strategic decisions and project outcomes consistently meet or exceed customer expectations.

• Engage with key customers and stakeholders to gather insights that shape project strategies and improve overall service delivery.

Financial Stewardship

• Develop and manage a comprehensive capital budget for projects, aligning financial resources with strategic initiatives and organizational priorities.

• Monitor financial performance and provide strategic insights to enhance project and organizational profitability.

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Chemical, Mechanical, or related field); a Master's degree or MBA is preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10-15 years of experience in capital project management within the specialty chemicals or related industries, with a strong focus on strategic initiatives.

• Deep experience with large brownfield expansions, plant reliability investments, and operational turnarounds

• Proven track record of leading transformative projects that align with organizational goals and deliver significant business impact.

• Strategic Leadership Skills:

• Exceptional ability to develop and implement strategic plans that contribute to organizational growth and competitiveness.

• Technical and leadership competence

• Strong command of process engineering, mechanical integrity, and PSM

• Expertise in stage-gate governance, FEL methodology, and capital portfolio optimization

• Executive-level communication and decision-making skills

• Proven ability to influence across functions and geographies

• Leadership Attributes:

• Safety-first mindset with unwavering integrity

• Enterprise thinker with strong financial acumen

• Decisive, disciplined, and comfortable operating in high-ambiguity environments

• Trusted partner to Operations and Finance

• Builder of scalable systems, standards, and teams

• Strong verbal and written communication abilities that foster productive relationships with stakeholders and facilitate strategic discussions.

• Extensive experience in leading organizational change initiatives that align with strategic objectives and enhance operational efficiencies.

PAY RANGE

The annual base salary range for this position is $258,000 - 323,000. Please note that this salary information serves as a general guideline. Solstice considers various factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience, education and training, key skills, as well as market and business considerations.

This position is incentive plan eligible.

BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR SOLSTICE ADVANCED MATERIALS

In addition to a competitive salary, leading-edge work, and developing solutions side-by-side with dedicated experts in their fields, Solstice Advanced Materials employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package. This package includes employer-subsidized Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance; Short-Term and Long-Term Disability; 401(k) match, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, EAP, and Educational Assistance; Parental Leave, Paid Time Off (for vacation, personal business, sick time, and parental leave), and 12 Paid Holidays.

Solstice Advanced Materials is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, religion, or veteran status.

About Us

About Solstice Advanced Materials

Solstice Advanced Materials is a leading global specialty materials company that advances science for smarter outcomes. Solstice offers high-performance solutions that enable critical industries and applications, including refrigerants, semiconductor manufacturing, data center cooling, nuclear power, protective fibers, healthcare packaging and more. Solstice is recognized for developing next-generation materials through some of the industry's most renowned brands such as Solstice®, Genetron®, Aclar®, Spectra®, Fluka™, and Hydranal™. Partnering with over 3,000 customers across more than 120 countries and territories and supported by a robust portfolio of over 5,700 patents, Solstice’s approximately 4,000 employees worldwide drive innovation in materials science. For more information, visit Advanced Materials ( .

Job Identification 107015

Job Category Engineering

Job Schedule Full time

Locations 1334 Brittmoore Rd Ste 240, Houston, TX, 77043, US

Hire Eligibility Internal and External

Relocation Package US & CAN Domestic Tier 1

Pay Transparency TX: $258,000 - 323,000

US Person Due to U.S. export control laws, candidates must be U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or have protected status under asylum or refugee.