Staff Process Engineer

Who You Are

As a Managing Staff Process Engineer on Sila’s Technology Team, you will be the Material Handling Team Lead Engineer responsible for the conceptual design, detailed engineering, and commissioning of all material handling equipment in Sila’s first industrial scale plant. As a mentor to other engineers, you will help set a culture of engineering rigor - you will challenge assumptions that do not align with your understanding of the first principles and convince yourself of the technical basis and constraints for the manufacturing plant design which will influence the broader team’s roadmap and work list. 

You are used to working efficiently in high pressure situations, such as commissioning high volume and complex solids handling systems and overhauling or retrofitting large manufacturing facilities with material handling equipment. You bring the experience of having seen dozens of different material handling technologies, having significant knowledge of material handling equipment vendors / integrators, and having designed and project managed dozens of specialized material handling systems for various industries over years. You also have experience working with cross functional teams ensuring material handling equipment operates as designed, meets the function of the associated processing steps and ensures product quality and reliability specifications are met. Most importantly, you are comfortable working on new problems everyday, have an extreme-ownership mentality, and have a track record of pushing yourself and your team to be better every single day.

Responsibilities and Duties  

• Hire, coach, and support talent through consistent feedback, navigation of challenges, and celebration of wins
• Lead the daily workflow of the material handling technology team, provide continuous team development and, by example, set the standard for performance
• Be an engineer and lead the team to write unit manuals, basis of design, control narratives and operations procedures, complete factory and site acceptance testing, execute commissioning & startup, and drive continuous plant and technology improvements
• Play a critical role in the long term vision and execution of production line improvements by recommending and developing technical plans to drive continuous CAPEX and COGS reduction
• Expertly balance day-to-day priorities with long term deliverables
• Work seamlessly with internal teams and 3rd party vendors to drive technical deliverables

• Develop PFDs, P&IDs, control narratives and other FEED deliverables from concept through commissioning for first-of-a-kind plant
• Able and experienced at leading all phases of commissioning of a new process unit

Knowledge and Skill Requirements 

• B.S. or M.S. in Industrial, Chemical, Mechanical Engineering or other equivalent material handling backgrounds/experiences
• Minimum of 10 years of experience directly owning a high volume production line or in a design-to-commissioning (EPC) role as a Design Engineer or Project Manager for the chemical or other related industries focused primarily on material handling equipment
• Experience with process design of green/brown field chemical plant material handling units
• Demonstrated ability to develop new ideas and progress them to fruition in spite of the possibility that the broader organization does not see your view
• Demonstrated ability to pitch ideas, request resources, and recommend new directions for an organization resulting in step-changes in the organization’s trajectory
• Deep knowledge of basic controls schemes and familiarity with advanced control strategies
• Experience with safety critical instrumentation, safety relief, and operational alarms
• Extensive experience with process integration of solids handling systems including but not limited to controls, mechanical design, material handling related codes, technology selection.
• Strong ability to make decisions based on functional requirements and technical risk (design risk, technology selection risk, management of change and HAZOP risks)
• Years of experience creating, reading and edited PFDs, P&IDs, 3D CAD models, Equipment Drawings, Control Narratives, and Operating Procedures
• Ability to determine and solve for key parameters for process scale-up to commercial volumes
• Have developed dozens of basis of design and project scope document for new ideas or management of change

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a laptop, copier/printer machine, etc.
• Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a hard hat, lab coat or coveralls, gloves, safety glasses, and safety shoes
• Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection on a periodic basis
• Move long distances and occasionally kneel or bend
• Up to 10% travel for work at new production sites and 3rd party design offices
• Commissioning phases may require more intense travel, up to 80% time per month

The starting base pay for this role is between $151,000 and $191,000 at the time of posting. The actual base pay depends on many factors, such as education, experience, and skills. Base pay is only one part of Sila’s competitive Total Rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses.  The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
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