Senior Process Engineer

Who are we looking for?

The Senior Process Chemical Engineer is responsible for leading the design, development, scale-up, construction support, commissioning, and optimization of chemical manufacturing processes and facilities from laboratory concept through pilot plant and full-scale commercial production.

This role requires deep expertise in chemical process design, equipment design, process calculations, pilot plant development, experimentation, statistical process control, and data-driven process improvement. The engineer will serve as a senior technical leader within the Global Process Engineering Group, supporting global manufacturing operations, capital projects, new product introduction, process safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement initiatives

What will you be doing?

• Lead the design, development, scale-up, and implementation of chemical manufacturing processes from laboratory scale to pilot plant and commercial production.
• Develop and review process engineering deliverables, including process flow diagrams, P&IDs, mass balances, energy balances, heat transfer calculations, fluid flow calculations, equipment sizing, utility demand calculations, process control narratives, and operating envelopes.
• Provide technical leadership for the design and construction of chemical manufacturing facilities, including greenfield and brownfield projects, process skids, reaction systems, mixing systems, filtration systems, transfer systems, storage tanks, utility systems, and supporting infrastructure.
• Apply engineering standards and regulatory expectations, including API, ASME, OSHA, EPA, NFPA, and other applicable codes, to support safe and compliant process and equipment design.
• Support pressure relief, venting, containment, flammable vapor, hazardous material handling, and process safety evaluations in collaboration with EH&S and external engineering resources.
• Lead or support equipment design and specifications, including reactors, vessels, tanks, pumps, heat exchangers, condensers, filters, piping systems, instrumentation, control valves, relief devices, and utility equipment.
• Develop technical specifications, scopes of work, bid packages, equipment datasheets, vendor requirements, and engineering documentation for capital projects.
• Review vendor drawings, equipment submittals, fabrication packages, installation drawings, and construction documentation to ensure alignment with process requirements and applicable standards.
• Support capital project execution, including design reviews, vendor selection, contractor coordination, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, installation, commissioning, and startup.
• Design, execute, and analyze pilot plant trials to evaluate process feasibility, scale-up risks, operating windows, material compatibility, quality impacts, and manufacturing robustness.
• Develop experimental plans using sound engineering and statistical methods, including design of experiments, hypothesis testing, sampling plans, capability studies, and process validation approaches.
• Apply statistical process control, data analytics, and process performance monitoring to identify variation, improve yield, reduce defects, and increase manufacturing consistency.
• Analyze manufacturing data using tools such as Excel, Minitab, JMP, Python, SQL, Tableau, or equivalent platforms to support data-driven decision-making.
• Troubleshoot complex process, equipment, quality, and scale-up issues using structured root cause analysis, engineering calculations, statistical analysis, and plant data.
• Drive continuous improvement in throughput, cycle time, yield, quality, safety, cost, reliability, and process capability.
• Collaborate with R&D, Operations, Quality, EH&S, Maintenance, Automation, Supply Chain, and external vendors to ensure successful technology transfer and manufacturability of new and existing products.
• Support process automation and control strategies, including instrumentation selection, control philosophy, PLC/DCS interface requirements, data historian needs, and process monitoring requirements.
• Lead process risk assessments, design reviews, process hazard analyses, management of change reviews, commissioning reviews, and pre-startup safety reviews as required.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including engineering reports, commissioning protocols, validation protocols, operating procedures, batch records, troubleshooting guides, and training materials.

Who are You?

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, Chemistry, or related discipline required; master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 7-10 years of experience in chemical process development, scale-up, or manufacturing.
• Experience in designing, building, commissioning, or supporting chemical manufacturing facilities is strongly preferred.
• Ability to develop and review engineering documentation, including PFDs, P&IDs, Plant 3D models, equipment specifications, control narratives, operating procedures, commissioning plans, and technical reports.
• Experience supporting capital projects, equipment installation, contractor coordination, commissioning, startup, and process qualification.
• Experience with specialty chemicals, electronic chemicals, advanced materials, batch chemical processing, reaction systems, or complex formulated products is preferred. Demonstrated expertise in reaction chemistry and complex process troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience with process calculations, including mass balances, energy balances, heat transfer, fluid flow, mixing, reaction engineering, equipment sizing, pressure drop, utility sizing, and process scale-up.
• Working knowledge of applicable engineering standards and regulatory frameworks, including API, ASME, OSHA, EPA, NFPA, and process safety management principles.
• Professional Engineer license preferred or willingness to pursue preferred.
• Advanced ability to perform chemical engineering calculations, including material balances, energy balances, reaction calculations, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, mixing, equipment sizing, pressure drop, and utility calculations.
• Ability to use data analytics to identify trends, process variation, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
• Strong experience with P&ID development and interpretation is required

What competencies will you need?

• Ability to author and present technical reports, process documentation, and communicate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, customers, and regulatory entities
• Advanced skills in engineering mathematics, process modeling, data analysis, and experimental design.
• Proficiency in statistical tools (e.g., Minitab) and process performance metrics.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage ambiguity and resolve complex technical challenges independently or collaboratively

We are Offering...

As part of our team here, as well as receiving a competitive base salary, you will also participate in a generous performance related bonus plan.  In addition, you will also receive a 401k plan with company matching, Life Insurance, and Medical Insurance as well as 9 holidays.

Innovative- At ESI, we are committed to solving the complex and evolving needs of our customers through innovation and high-quality standards. We are focused on bringing cutting edge and environmentally sustainable solutions to the market. Our people are the critical resource required to make that happen. We support your success by creating a strong, inclusive culture, competitive total rewards, and an appropriate work-life balance.

Socially Responsible- We care about what you care about. We respect the individual differences that make up our unique expanding organization. We prioritize both sustainability and social impact in both our business operations and our local communities through our various ESI Cares initiatives and the ESI Foundation. There are many ways to get involved from employee network groups that support your interests and sense of belonging to paid volunteer days.

Rewarding Performance- We are a performance driven culture where every individual has the opportunity to contribute through their actions and judgment. We strive to reward those who choose excellence through both recognition and compensation. Those who demonstrate good judgement, positive attitude, solid work ethics and ambitious objectives will see their responsibilities grow along with their compensation.

Salary range fro this role is $109,341 to $164,011 DOE and Education

Nearest Major Market: New Jersey