Senior Process Engineer

GEA•Columbia, SC

16d

About The Position

The Senior Process Engineer supports sales and execution of GEA process systems, particularly evaporation and crystallization technologies for the chemical industry. The role is part of the North American Technical Offer Management team and supports offerings for the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical markets. Based in Columbia, Maryland, the engineer works closely with customers and regional sales managers to understand technical needs and serves as a primary technical contact. The role develops engineering documents and technical proposal content, reviews orders, and collaborates with Procurement, Contract Management, Sales, Project Management, and Engineering. The expected allocation is approximately 30–40% oversight responsibilities and 60–70% individual sales and project-execution assignments. The position participates across the project lifecycle, from customer meetings and pre-award support through engineering, commissioning, troubleshooting, and optimization. It develops process designs and documentation, supports proposals and cost estimation, and helps ensure designs meet customer requirements, standards, schedules, budgets, and contractual constraints. The role also provides customer-facing technical support, including site evaluations, pilot trials, presentations, training, commissioning, and plant audits. The position requires a BS, MS, or PhD in Chemical Engineering and at least 15 years of experience. Travel is normally 10–20% of the time. The current work-from-home policy is two days in the office and three days at home. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Requirements

BS, MS, or PhD in Chemical Engineering.
At least 15 years of experience.
Proficiency in fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.
Experience with process design, equipment sizing, and component selection.
Ability to read and interpret technical specifications and drawings.
Willingness and ability to travel, normally 10–20% of the time.
Excellent spoken and written English communication skills.
Effective interpersonal skills and ability to work well both in a team and independently.
Self-motivation and ability to work from home periodically.
Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
Authorization to work in the United States without current or future visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

At least 2–3 years of hands-on chemical industry process engineering experience.
At least 5 years of process equipment industry engineering or sales experience.
Strong knowledge of ASME Section VIII, Division 1, and ASME B31.3.
Knowledge of shop and/or field fabrication practices, including fit-up techniques and welding types and quality.
Experience selecting materials of construction, including corrosion testing techniques.
Ability to interpret CFD modeling results.

Responsibilities

Participate in project phases from initial customer meetings and pre-award sales support through cost estimation, proposal generation, engineering, commissioning, and optimization.
Own specific technical areas of projects, follow design standards, and optimize designs to meet customer specifications within time, budget, and contract constraints.
Collaborate with project teams to accomplish milestones and goals.
Identify and justify scope changes that affect process design over the project lifecycle.
Develop technical solutions that meet customer expectations and requirements.
Maintain accurate records of meetings, discussions, correspondence, and technical documents.
Develop Block Flow Diagrams, Process Flow Diagrams, Process and Instrumentation Diagrams, and heat and mass balances.
Develop process equipment specifications and specify or design utility consumption.
Contribute to general arrangement, plot plan, and elevation-view drawings.
Evaluate and approve design changes, specifications, and drawing releases.
Develop process and functional descriptions of operation.
Lead and facilitate software factory acceptance testing and confirm operation according to process and functional descriptions.
Plan and implement test procedures and commissioning plans.
Troubleshoot equipment and system performance issues and provide technical support to resolve customer concerns.
Complete plant audits.
Ensure compliance with government regulations, safety and environmental requirements, industry standards, and sanitary requirements.
Support safety evaluations, including HAZOP meetings.
Collaborate with team members, technology centers, and GEA European Centers of Competence to improve technology and execute projects successfully.
Coordinate with other disciplines to minimize deficiencies, errors, and omissions in technical documents and specifications.
Build relationships with technical stakeholders on process design and operation considerations.
Provide pre-sale and post-sale support, including site evaluations, pilot trials, presentations, and training.
Technically evaluate third-party supplier proposals and equipment selections.
Work with customers in support of sales managers and build and maintain customer relationships.
Lead or support on-site commissioning and train customer personnel on GEA process systems.
Provide ongoing troubleshooting support, train customer personnel, and report process improvement initiatives.