Process Engineer - Plant

Advanced Drainage Systems•Bessemer City, NC

8h•Onsite

About The Position

Advanced Drainage Systems is a leading manufacturer of stormwater and onsite septic wastewater solutions, committed to sustainability and innovation. With a vast manufacturing and distribution network, we deliver high-quality products across multiple industries while recycling over half a billion pounds of plastic annually. At ADS, we foster a culture where diverse perspectives drive better ideas, ensuring every employee feels valued, heard, and empowered to make an impact. The Process Engineer is the main technical support for our ADS manufacturing sites. This person works closely with these manufacturing sites helping them improve their productivity through extrusion processing, equipment reliability, equipment upgrades (including replacements), standard work, and standardized processes.

Requirements

Excellent interpersonal skills
Solid analytical & systematic problem-solving skills
Lean Manufacturing
Ability to communicate at all levels of the organization
Six Sigma
Ability to drive continuous improvement methodology
Development and roll out of SOPs
Plastic processing equipment
Resilience and resourcefulness
Strong organizational and analytical skills
Strong extrusion processing skills
Equipment reliability and maintainability
Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Plastics, Industrial, Mechanical, or another Engineering discipline
25% travel would be typical for this role
Ability to travel as needed to support plant requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs
Ability to stand for long periods of time
Ability to work within the various climate conditions

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a manufacturing environment, plastic extrusion, and molding a plus
Proven track record of driving continuous improvement with manufacturing teams
Polymer processing equipment and tooling (extrusion, injection molding, and blow molding)
Experience with capital planning, project development, and project execution
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite Software

Responsibilities

Work with the various teams to develop and deploy processes that help standardize manufacturing practices
Support new production tooling runs
Identify productivity improvement opportunities and work with the manufacturing site to develop and implement these opportunities
Support production associate training as needed
Reviews the condition of existing manufacturing lines and work with the manufacturing teams to develop and execute equipment/line improvement plans
Assist the plant teams in reviewing their equipment needs and helping to prioritize these needs for capital planning purposes
Managing key equipment installations working closely with the manufacturing teams
Developing standard operating procedures for key manufacturing processes
Lead systematic problem-solving teams to help identify root causes and permanent corrective actions for key manufacturing issues
Provide formal updates and reviews to Leadership on key projects, tooling runs, and improvement activities that are being implemented
Share lessons learned and best practices amongst the plants
Drive best practices and continuous improvement through standardized processes
Collaborate with various Operation teams to resolve project obstacles or roadblocks
Lead lean Root Cause Analysis (RCA) efforts (A3, 5 Why, Fishbone diagrams, etc.) to improve process and equipment reliability
Develop, manage and implement capital equipment projects that support production.