Plant Engineer

Hydro•The Dalles, OR

About The Position

The Plant Engineer supports the operation and maintenance of the plant by developing knowledge across plant operations, equipment, and systems. The role develops, implements, and manages projects and supports plant outages. Working with production and maintenance, the Plant Engineer identifies opportunities to improve production throughput, equipment reliability, effective uptime, and energy efficiency, while maintaining a strong focus on safety. The role supports plant support systems and assists managers, operators, and technicians with troubleshooting and root cause identification. It applies a broad understanding of systems such as combustion and natural gas, PLC controls, hydraulics, and pneumatics. With minimal supervision, the Plant Engineer supports equipment, process, and facility reliability and maintainability. The highly autonomous position supports the maintenance team, leads plant improvement projects, partners with production to implement improvements, addresses daily maintenance and facility needs, and helps extend the economic life of plant assets.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Electrical).
At least 5 years of project engineering experience in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience applying reliability engineering principles to improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and increase effective uptime in a manufacturing environment.
Experience partnering with production and maintenance teams to improve throughput, troubleshoot recurring issues, identify root causes, and implement sustainable improvements.
Broad knowledge of industrial equipment and plant systems, including PLC-controlled equipment, hydraulics, pneumatics, natural gas, and combustion systems.
Experience leading plant improvement, equipment, or capital projects from planning through implementation.

Responsibilities

Implement project improvements that drive manufacturing performance in speed, waste reduction, cost reduction, and quality.
Identify opportunities for engineering and financial improvement and recommend priorities for capital projects.
Ensure the safe and effective introduction of new equipment and process-improvement technologies.
Determine training requirements and ensure adequate training plans for new equipment and process improvements.
Prepare and manage engineering budgets, forecasts, and plans.
Provide engineering oversight for facility infrastructure.
Plan, direct, and coordinate the design, construction, modification, and maintenance of equipment and machinery in an industrial aluminum casting plant.
Ensure plant improvements comply with applicable Federal, State, and Corporate environmental laws.
Troubleshoot equipment operating issues and recommend short- and long-term resolutions.
Define and resolve process problems through individual and team-based continuous improvement activities and structured problem-solving methods.
Observe and measure operations, collect and interpret data from technical and operating staff, and develop and implement process improvements.
Support plant operations and maintenance, including plant outages and daily maintenance and facility needs.
Work with production and maintenance teams to improve throughput, equipment reliability, uptime, and energy efficiency and to identify root causes of problems.