Plant Manager, Demonstration Plant

Queens Carbon•Stockertown, PA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Queens Carbon is seeking a Plant Manager to lead commissioning, startup, and day-to-day operations of its 10-ton-per-day demonstration plant at an existing cement facility in Stockertown, Pennsylvania. The plant will demonstrate a new process for producing cementitious materials from limestone and clay with lower CO₂ emissions and economics intended to compete with traditional cement. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for building and managing a small operating team, establishing safe and reliable plant operations, and collaborating with R&D and Engineering to turn operating experience into data and improvements for commercial deployment. The position is full-time and on-site at the demonstration plant, with periodic travel to the R&D headquarters in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Occasional off-hours support is needed during commissioning and test campaigns. The work takes place in an industrial environment and requires PPE and physical activities associated with plant operations.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in cement, lime, minerals processing, chemicals, or related industrial operations, including direct supervision of plant personnel.
Experience commissioning, operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting industrial process equipment, particularly solids handling, thermal systems, and plant utilities.
Demonstrated ability to bring new equipment or production lines into operation, develop operating procedures, and establish reliable performance.
Strong industrial safety record and familiarity with MSHA requirements, lockout/tagout, hazard assessments, and operational safety programs.
Ability to interpret P&IDs, mechanical drawings, operating data, and equipment documentation; familiarity with PLC/HMI systems.
Ability to manage people, contractors, daily priorities, and technical challenges in a fast-changing industrial environment.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent industrial operating and leadership experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience in cement manufacturing, continuous solids processing, first-of-a-kind industrial equipment, MSHA-regulated facilities, or experimental and demonstration plants.
Familiarity with cement and SCM quality testing.

Responsibilities

Lead plant commissioning, startup, and transition to steady operations, working with engineering, contractors, and equipment suppliers to resolve installation and performance issues.
Recruit, train, supervise, and develop a small team of operators and technicians; establish responsibilities, shift schedules, and performance expectations.
Manage daily plant operations and experimental campaigns, including production scheduling, process optimization, and operating performance.
Lead operational safety, including equipment safety, lockout/tagout, hazard assessments, training, and compliance with applicable MSHA requirements and host-site procedures.
Coordinate activities with the host cement plant, including utilities, maintenance, site access, environmental requirements, and shared safety responsibilities.
Work with R&D and Engineering to execute test plans, collect process data and samples, and translate results into improvements for commercial system design.
Establish preventive maintenance, spare-parts, and equipment-inspection programs to improve reliability and minimize downtime.
Maintain operating procedures, run logs, safety records, and equipment documentation, including updates to P&IDs and change records.
Manage operating budgets, contractors, consumables, materials handling, and sample shipments.
Track and report plant performance, including safety, throughput, energy consumption, reliability, and progress against operational milestones.