Compounding Engineer
| Company | Westlake |
|---|---|
| Location | Bristol, VA, USA |
| Salary | $Not Provided – $Not Provided |
| Type | Full-Time |
| Degrees | Bachelor’s |
| Experience Level | Mid Level, Senior |
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from ABET accredited university in Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Plastics Engineering.
- Minimum 3 to 5 years of functional and HANDS-ON plastics compounding experience preferably within rigid and foamed PVC extrusion processes or other physical/chemical production environments.
- Exceptional ability to collaboratively solve challenging problems is a must.
- Demonstrated ability to make data driven decisions as a team to develop PVC compounds to support extrusion plant operations.
- Must be able to organize data, people and tasks; possess leadership skills; have a strong working knowledge of our products and possess problem-solving skills and conflict resolution skills.
- Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
- Ability to define problems, execute test trials, collect data, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, and build consensus amongst a diverse technical and operational team.
- Evidence of effective project management and communication skills to drive technical projects with significant impact on business and operations performance.
- Knowledge of the manufacture, testing, analysis and application of Polymer chemistry.
Responsibilities
- Lead the creation, testing and implementation of new material compounds to meet productivity and business objectives.
- Develop standard work and structured processes for evaluating, scaling and implementing compounding changes across multiple production platforms.
- Utilize design of experiments methodologies to ensure complete and efficient evaluation of formulation changes and their impact on key manufacturing requirements.
- Learn from experienced, data-driven experts in your field and develop sound science-based principles while collaborating with a highly functioning operations team.
- Engage directly with cross-functional leadership to share knowledge, ideas and strategies for improving our business operations.
- Interface with internal and external customers and stakeholders to strategically plan and develop new products and solve a variety of production related issues.
- Develop collaborative relationships with suppliers to stay abreast of new machinery and/or raw materials.
- Improve product performance, cost efficiency, reduce scrap, etc. by utilizing lab equipment and coordinating trials on pilot and production extrusion equipment.
- Analyze data using statistical software and communicate results into easy to understand formats.
- Partner with R&D and Manufacturing in leveraging gated processes to bring new products, concepts and ideas to market.
- Attend trade shows, classes and training seminars to keep skills up to date and learn about new equipment, chemicals, new processes related to our industry.
- Calculate formulation costs and costs of material in extruded parts for management’s evaluation in new and existing parts.
- Assist in capital equipment budget planning and specifying to improve on existing production techniques and to develop new products and production methods.
Preferred Qualifications
- Six sigma green/black belt and knowledge of DOE, DMAIC, Fishbone, 5-Why, FMEA, statistical analysis, etc. is preferred.