Compounding Engineer

LAVELLE INDUSTRIES INC.•Burlington, WI

About The Position

Lavelle Industries is seeking a Compounding Engineer to join its Burlington R&D team. The role focuses on developing new materials, expanding capabilities, building technical knowledge, and improving products. The Compounding Engineer will work with operations, chemists, and engineering to develop and improve compounding solutions, and will become Lavelle’s expert in rubber compounding, mixing, and preparation, spanning the process from receipt of raw materials to delivery of uncured rubber to molding operations. The role also supports the mixing department and materials lab, leads cross-functional troubleshooting, reduces process variation, and develops mixing programs for new and existing materials. The successful candidate will prepare technical reports and present findings to colleagues, engineers, and management, and will collaborate with plant and engineering leadership on annual improvement initiatives.

Requirements

5 to 10 years of polymer compounding experience.
Hands-on expertise and comfort working in a rubber mixing environment.
Experience working with production and maintenance staff to troubleshoot and improve operational production equipment.
Experience with online research, including searching, disseminating information, and summarizing it for colleagues or teams.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
Ability to learn new technologies and concepts rapidly and apply them to the company’s needs.
Experience leading troubleshooting efforts through experimentation.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience with rubber, rubber rheology, and molding processing is preferred.

Responsibilities

Become the company’s expert in rubber compounding, mixing, and preparation, including the process from raw material receipt through delivery of uncured rubber to molding operations.
Support the mixing department and materials lab by investigating equipment and tooling options for current and new processes and products.
Lead multi-department troubleshooting efforts with chemists, materials lab staff, and process engineers.
Reduce variation in the compounding operation, measured by rheology and molding results, using DOE and other methods.
Develop and improve mixing programs, including steps, times, and temperatures, for new and existing materials.
Write technical reports detailing methods and findings, and present findings to engineers, management, and colleagues.
Work with the plant manager and engineering leader to establish annual improvement initiatives, then align efforts and targets cross-functionally.