Principal Process Engineer

Ecolab is seeking a Principal Process Engineer to oversee and optimize the production processes for co-polymer and resin manufacturing within our specialty chemicals facility in Philadelphia, PA. This role is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable operations while driving continuous improvement initiatives in process design, scale-up, quality, and cost optimization. The engineer will provide technical leadership to the production team, collaborate with R&D and Quality groups, and lead troubleshooting and process improvement projects across the site.

What You Will Do:

Process Engineering & Optimization

• Lead day-to-day technical support for resin production units, ensuring stable, efficient, and safe operations.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance yield, reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, improve first pass fail, and optimize cycle time.
• Analyze process data and KPIs to identify trends, root causes, and performance improvement opportunities.
• Develop and maintain process documentation including PFDs, P&IDs, SOPs, and operating parameters.

Project Management

• Lead scale-up activities for new resin formulations from pilot to commercial scale.
• Manage process modification projects including scope definition, design, equipment specification, and commissioning.
• Work closely with EHS, Maintenance, and Production to ensure successful execution of capital and improvement projects.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Champion process safety management (PSM) and risk assessments such as HAZOP, MOC, and incident investigations.
• Ensure all process operations comply with environmental, health, and safety regulations.
• Support quality control initiatives and collaborate with QA/QC to resolve product quality deviations.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Provide technical mentorship to process and production engineers
• Provide training to shopfloor and/or support in developing the training materials for others to do the training
• Interface with R&D on resin formulation changes and their manufacturing implications
• Foster cross-functional teamwork to meet production, quality, and safety targets

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering or related discipline
• 10 years of process engineering experience in chemical manufacturing
• Demonstrated success leading improvement projects or small engineering teams
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience using statistical and process analysis tools (Six Sigma, SPC, DOE etc.)
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced production environment
• Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in chemical engineering
• Deep knowledge of chemical process design, thermodynamics, kinetics, and heat/mass transfer
• Proven experience in continuous and batch reactor operations, distillation, filtration, drying, and material handling systems
• Excellent communication, documentation, and leadership abilities
• Familiarity with safety management systems (PSM, HAZOP, LOPA, etc.)
• Experience with epoxy, polyester, or phenolic resin systems
• Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt or higher certification
• Strong understanding of process control systems (DCS/PLC), instrumentation, and data analysis tools Manufacturing experience in chemical manufacturing; experience with resin, polymer, or thermoset/thermoplastic systems preferred
• Solid understanding of all moving equipment used in the processing polymer and resin

Annual or Hourly Compensation Range

The base salary range for this position is $107,600.00 - $161,500.00. This position is eligible for annual bonus pay based on performance, per plan terms. Many factors are taken into consideration when determining compensation, such as experience, education, training, geography, etc. We comply with all minimum wage and overtime laws.

Benefits

Ecolab strives to provide comprehensive and market-competitive benefits to meet the needs of our associates and their families. Click here to see our benefits.

If you are viewing this posting on a site other than our Ecolab Career website, view our benefits at jobs.ecolab.com/working-here.

Potential Customer Requirements Notice

To meet customer requirements and comply with local or state regulations, applicants for certain customer-facing roles may need to:

- Undergo additional background screens and/or drug/alcohol testing for customer credentialing.

- Be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, including a booster if eligible, unless a religious or medical accommodation is requested by the applicant and approved by Ecolab.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Ecolab will provide reasonable accommodation (such as a qualified sign language interpreter or other personal assistance) with our application process upon request as required to comply with applicable laws. If you have a disability and require accommodation assistance in this application process, please visit the Recruiting Support link in the footer of each page of our career website.