Job Description

Sr. PROCESS ENGINEER

Valicor Environmental Services, LLC. (Valicor) seeks a chemical process engineer with five to ten years of experience to join its team in the Dayton, OH area. The successful candidate will report to the CTO and support the development and application of projects in various industries, with focus in mass transfer operations (evaporation, distillation) along with classical physicochemical unit operations (oil-water separation, organics and metals-laden wastewater/byproduct streams) treatment and recovery. A variety of industry and solution applications makes for a very diverse and challenging environment for experienced engineers to apply their know-how and gain new skills.

The position involves various upgrade and new capital improvement projects at Valicor's Dayton Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) facility - a strategic growth hub for the company. The lessons learned and operability/safety/performance garnered at Dayton may then be used to support existing CWT and operations across the USA. 

Engaged in all aspects of process development, from initial feasibility, through process design, CAR submittal, construction, commissioning, operational handover, and ongoing support of operations, the ideal candidate will have a faithful reliance on data-driven decision making. This position is field-based and will require good communication and team working skills with other critical departments such as compliance, operations, and interface with laboratory and process development arms.

General Requirements: This position requires experience in the following areas:

• Core process engineering and economic studies. (PFDs, P&IDs, process and control narratives, mass/energy balances, specification of major equipment, vendor packages and control devices, etc.)
• Providing technical guidance on complex issues requiring independent and/or teamwork analysis and judgment. This is a "use the academic skills in a practical manner position" not just a "circle the best efficiency point on the fan curve" type of job.
• Familiarity with work processes of smaller companies where there is a lot of overlap between operations, process, procurement and project management. Bring all your hats!
• An ability to refine/improve the process groups efficiency and execution capabilities.
• An ability to work effectively with a range of technical and operations personnel
• Good writing skills. Engineers write long emails, and you can be forgiven on this point but making a clear point that can be understood for action is critical.
• An ability to provide technical support for business development.
• Willingness to take ownership when everyone seems confused as to who is doing what. Organizing and leading behind the scenes to drive project flow and success.
• Travel <10% of the time. But if the successful candidate desires getting to other sites and learning more about the larger company needs, the opportunity exists to avoid cabin fever.

Education: B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. Master's also considered. This is not a job for a PhD unless your steel-toed boots don't look new.

Qualities: The position places an emphasis on the following qualities:

• Safety leadership. Demonstrates safe work practices and speaks up when deficiencies are identified. If the candidate can speak the language of PSM, this is a strong plus
• General attitude and work ethic. The position is challenging. Learning how to balance the stress of complex problems and maintain a good attitude is something we at Valicor consider Team Blue worthy.
• Functional contribution to the team. This is not a desk or delegation position. Results and tangible project success are metrics. If you are not comfortable in the field or helping to tune a crazy actuator alongside maintenance after lunch and then go work on a mass balance later in the day, skip this opportunity now.
• Ability to troubleshoot, innovate and strengthen the group’s ability to perform. Maybe mentor is a shortcut way of saying the former.
• Demonstrated written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills across a divergent audience.

Skills: The following skills are expected of a candidate in this role:

• Development of material and energy balances (MEB).
• Use of AutoCAD to develop process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and process General Arrangements (GAs).
• Develop process and functional control descriptions and provide support with operating procedures and troubleshooting guides.
• Experience with Process Safety Management and, especially, Process Hazards Analyses (PHA) is a plus.
• Working with business development to define client requirements and develop processes that meet goals in an economical fashion.
• Project Management. Ability to develop work scopes and direct various work crafts during construction.
• Experience with commissioning and start-up.
• Basic understanding of industrial Electrical and Instrumentation (I&E) and the ability to make recommendations for instrument selection.
• Practical working knowledge of principals of chemical engineering, including heat and mass transfer, and fluid dynamics for pump sizing and pressure loss calculations.
• Working knowledge of Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices, e.g., ISA, API, etc.

Technologies: Experience with the following technologies and unit operations is beneficial:

• Processes involving the handling of oily wastewater separation, metal-bearing wastewater, solids and slurries, including conveyance and pumping systems.
• Mass transfer operations, including novel and modified evaporation and distillation operations involving a wide variety of feedstocks. Designing robust and configurable equipment rather than running the same thing every day is our way of life.
• Solid-Liquid Separation
• Physicochemical-based unit operations
• Biological Treatment systems (MBR) experience is a plus. If you don't have it, don't sweat it. You will pick it up as we go along. The team each has their own strengths and weaknesses in all of the above.

 Computer and Software – Aside from typical office productivity software, experience with AutoCAD is a plus. We have our own standards and blocks so the transition will be easy in this area.