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Polypropylene Process Control Engineer

Company:

INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA

Interested in joining a winning team? A team whose employees are empowered to make a difference?

Job Grade: H33-H35, commensurate with experience

Organizational Context:

INEOS is a global chemical company.
Our products touch every aspect of modern day life.
We comprise 36 businesses with 194 sites in 29 countries throughout the world.

INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA operates from 12 sites in the USA, manufacturing and marketing four main product lines: Olefins, High Density Polyethylene resin, Manufactured Polyethylene Pipe, and Polypropylene resin.

With an annual manufacturing capacity of 9.1 billion pounds of petrochemicals and polyethylene pipe, INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA is a major participant in the North American chemical industry. A workforce of over 1700 makes up our employee team. They staff our Marina View headquarters in League City, Texas; our fractionation facility located between the communities of Seminole, Texas, and Hobbs, New Mexico; our major manufacturing plants at La Porte and Alvin, Texas; our West Coast manufacturing facility in Carson, California, and eight pipe extrusion plants located across the US.

Our efficient, integrated assets earn us strong North American market positions. Our facilities are as follows:

  • Battleground Manufacturing Complex in La Porte, Texas
  • Carson Polypropylene Plant in Carson, California
  • Chocolate Bayou Works in Alvin, Texas
  • Hobbs Fractionation Complex in Gaines County, Texas
  • Marina View Headquarters in League City, Texas
  • WL Plastics Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas
  • 9 WL Plastics manufacturing sites throughout the US

The 300-acre INEOS Battleground Manufacturing Complex (BMC) was originally built in 1956 and is located on the Houston ship channel east of Houston, Texas. The site is comprised of 7 polyethylene lines; 1 polypropylene line; a 20 MW Cogen facility; and a state-of-the-art polyolefin technical center that supports research and development, technical services and quality assurance. In 2017, a new world-scale bimodal polyethylene unit was brought online to manufacture high-density polyethylene.

Purpose of the job:

The Process Control Engineer will provide technical leadership in pursuit of INEOS and site goals by working to support the Polypropylene operations group and resource team at the BMC Polypropylene Unit.

This position is responsible for supporting day-to-day operation of the Distributed Control System (DCS) to optimize and enable safe operation of the assets. This position is a member of the Polypropylene Resource Team in support of the Polypropylene unit and the Polypropylene utilities. In this responsibility, the process control engineer will interface with a multidiscipline team in order to support control applications and technologies in the Polypropylene area.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

  • Demonstrates Safety Leadership through the promotion of the INEOS 20 Safety Principles.
  • Provide day-to-day process control support for Polypropylene unit which includes:
    • Troubleshoot process, process alarm, DCS and process control network issues
    • Preparation and support for unit shutdowns, turnarounds, and start-ups.
    • Root Cause Failure Analysis
    • Regulatory and advanced control loop tuning
    • Control strategy improvement
    • Daily process performance monitoring (e.g. quality, environmental, energy, stability, reliability, etc.)
    • Daily DCS and process control network performance monitoring (e.g., PCN, OPC, etc.)
  • Provide a leadership role in developing and improving process control applications and optimization technology
    • Identify and champion ways to create value
    • Lead implementation of process control improvement projects
  • Provide guidance for prioritization of DCS projects
  • Support Capital projects as the process control representative
    • I/O assignment and redundancy
    • Control philosophy development, design, documentation and implementation
    • Support the definition, development and configuration of the process control strategy for projects in the PP area
  • Ensure acquisition and sharing of process control best practices among operating areas in BMC
  • Participate in process control network troubleshooting and design
  • Provide process control support for the PSM process
    • Participate in HAZOPs and LOPA studies as needed
    • Alarm reduction efforts; participate in documentation and rationalization efforts and implement results through the MOC process
    • Understand and provide ownership of Alarm management system
    • Participate in the MOC process including leading appropriate MOCs
    • Participate in pre-startup safety reviews and lead appropriate PSSRs
    • Serve as a resource for Safety Instrumented Systems
    • Participate as a team member and lead incident investigations
  • Lead process control strategy to maintain the Process Safety, SHE Compliance, Alarm Management, Quality systems, and support of the INEOS 20 Principles for the asset.  
  • Participate in site-wide coverage of DCS issues as necessary
  • Identify and champion ways to create value.
    • Assess emerging technologies of interest, both within and beyond area of specialization
    • Provide analysis of industry trends and vendor capabilities
    • Assess emerging trends and their potential value to the Polypropylene area
    • Identify gaps and challenges to achieving reduced operating cost, and overall business optimization

Skills & Knowledge Required

Education/Experience

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering required.
  • Previous experience in polymers manufacturing is preferred.
  • Other relevant experience: experience in the application of Honeywell DCS control technology, experience in polyolefins, petrochemicals manufacturing processes or similar processes, experience with other multivariable control technologies, and advanced process control applications.
  • The ideal candidate will have at least three (3) years of experience in manufacturing of olefins, polyolefins, or similar process industries. 

Key Skills / Competencies

  • Achievement motivated, striving for a standard of excellence
  • Client-service oriented, focusing efforts on discovering and meeting needs of internal clients
  • Impact and influence, able to persuade others to a particular course of action
  • Teamwork, shares accountability for team results and utilizes interpersonal skills to improve team performance
  • Analytical and conceptual thinking, able to understand both the details and the underlying systemic issues in order to plan and implement creative and effective solutions to business challenges
  • Innovative and information seeking, monitors internal and industry trends to identify new opportunities
  • Listens well
  • Organizes work effectively and uses available resources
  • Anticipate problems and adjusts accordingly
  • Demonstrated ability to manage progress and deliver multiple and competing priorities.

ADA Physical Requirements, Visual Acuity Requirements, and Environmental Conditions

The process control engineer must be able to work in a variety of environments that include both fieldwork and deskwork.  Minimum requirements include:

  • Maintaining constant awareness of personal safety and the safety of all other personnel.  This includes knowledge of unit operation, procedures, and rules.
  • Being able to work in a safety sensitive environment that includes large rotating equipment and hazardous chemicals. 
  • The manufacturing facility is located outside in the Houston ship channel area.  As such, the process engineer must be able to withstand both high temperatures and high humidity while wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment.
  • In addition, the engineer must be comfortable working in a loud or dusty environment that could include exposure to fumes / odors or vibration from surrounding equipment.
  • Being able to ascend and descend a barrel ladder with continuous vertical length of up to 35 feet. 
  • Being able to climb and descend stairs up to a total structure height of 150 feet.
  • Being physically able to wear and navigate through the unit with a respirator if needed.
  • Being able to pick up a 50 lb. object such as a fire extinguisher.
  • Being able to work at a desk and operate routine items such as a computer and calculator.

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Candidates are required to be fully COVID vaccinated.

INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA is an equal opportunity employer.

If you are selected for a position, your employment will be contingent upon submission to and successful completion of a post-offer/pre-employment drug screen (and alcohol screening/medical examination if required by the role) as well as pre-employment verification of the information and qualifications provided during the selection process.

INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA does not accept or retain unsolicited resumes or phone calls and/or respond to them or to any third party representing job seekers.

Our culture is one of honesty and integrity with an emphasis on safety, health and environmental performance.On our team, people are acknowledged for embracing new practices that help create real value for customers.