Process Engineer, Building Products

Westlake•Salisbury, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

We are in search of a Process Engineer to champion process engineering at the Salisbury, NC composite siding and trim manufacturing facility. The Process Engineer will be at the forefront of identifying, formulating, and spearheading a range of manufacturing engineering initiatives at their facility to maximize safety, productivity and efficiency. Personal and professional desire to drive continuous improvement and achieve operational excellence is critical to success in this role. You will closely interface with all operations teams, including production, quality, formulation, capital engineering, and product development. The nurturing, development and sustainment of close professional relationships is necessary to achieve the goals of the organization. Must be currently residing in or near Salisbury, NC, or willing to relocate to the area. Must be willing to travel up to 10% to support other Westlake sites.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from ABET accredited university in Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Industrial Engineering.
Minimum 3 to 5 years of functional and HANDS-ON process engineering experience preferably within polymer injection molding & 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 identify root cause of production issues is required.
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, collect data, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, and build consensus amongst a diverse technical and operational team.
Knowledge of the manufacture, testing, analysis and application of Polymer chemistry.
Effectively communicate with all levels of employment both verbally and in writing.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build collaborative working relationships across a diverse organization are critical to success in this role.

Nice To Haves

Six sigma green/black belt and knowledge of DOE, DMAIC, Fishbone, 5-Why, FMEA, statistical analysis, etc. is preferred.

Responsibilities

Ensure that all activities are conducted in a safe and professional manner, and hold others accountable to the same level.
Partner with R&D and Manufacturing in leveraging gated processes to bring new products, concepts and ideas to market.
Assist in capital equipment budget planning and specifying to improve on existing production techniques and to develop new products and production methods.
Interface with internal and external customers and stakeholders to strategically plan and develop new products and solve a variety of production related issues.
Analyze data using statistical software and communicate results into easy to understand formats.
Help develop, trial and implement new material compounds to meet productivity and business objectives.
Continuous improvement of production processes to improve rates, properties, densities, reduce scrap, etc. by utilizing lab equipment and coordinating trials on pilot and production extrusion equipment.
Develop collaborative relationships with suppliers to stay abreast of new machinery and/or raw materials.
Retain samples and controls for production and sales as requested.
Continually update stakeholders on status of projects through email, phone and meeting participation.
Maintain electronic records of compound formulations and physical/thermal properties of profiles.
Assist in development and testing of projects not directly related to extrusion, i.e. print rolls, heat transfer rolls, injection molding, etc.
Calculate formulation costs and costs of material in extruded parts for management’s evaluation in new and existing parts.
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.
May serve as technical representative in trade association meetings, i.e. SPE, PIA, AAMA and NFRC, etc.
Ensure compliance with federal and state safety and environmental regulations.
Maintain constructive working relationship with all employees and supervisors/managers.
Perform other duties as assigned to satisfaction of your reporting manager.