Technical Leader – Environmental & Quality Focus

Bakelite•Lufkin, TX

About The Position

At Bakelite, you’ll help us create a better tomorrow with sustainable and innovative chemistry today. We’re Everywhere. Everywhere you look, you’ll find products enabled by Bakelite, from stronger homes to safer automobiles and everywhere in between. With more than 100 years of history and strong customer relationships, we boldly engineer sustainable products to tackle our world’s most challenging demands. Join Our Team and Help Us Build a Stronger, Safer, Better World. It’s Better with Bakelite. Technical Leader – Environmental & Quality Focus You will lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing technical team, including direct reports across Quality, Environmental, and Health & Safety, to deliver operational excellence and innovation. You’ll optimize chemical processes to enhance safety, efficiency, and sustainability while supporting long-term business performance. Leverage your experience with OSHA, TECQ, and other regulations to champion environmental stewardship, regulatory compliance, and a strong safety culture. You will drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase productivity, reduce waste, and strengthen quality and environmental performance. You’ll collaborate cross-functionally (e.g., R&D, Process Control, Operations) to align technical capabilities and strategies with broader business objectives. Our Commitment Back to You You’ll Help Shape Our Future. As a Bakelite associate, you’re part of a diverse, global population creating the next generation of the company and we expect you to put your fingerprint on it. We Champion Our Associates. At Bakelite, you don’t just climb the career ladder – you pave your personal path through continued learning and development. Together, We Will Protect the Planet. From our processes to our products, we are focusing on the opportunities that both grow our profitability as a company, and improve and protect the planet. Safety is a Core Value. At Bakelite, safety is a 24/7 mindset. We are all safe today to ensure we are able to show up tomorrow – for our families and friends, for each other and for our communities. We Care. Plain and simple, we care about our associates. From the top on down, we place a high value on our culture and the associate experience. We offer competitive compensation, robust benefits and support our associates every step of their career. Life in Lufkin: Located northeast of Houston, Lufkin is just 60 miles west from the Texas-Louisiana border. Surrounded by vast areas of pine trees, Lufkin and has a rich history of manufacturing in lumber and paper. Explore downtown Lufkin, home to many restaurants, shops and historic architecture. Other attractions to check out include the Ellen Trout Zoo, the Texas Forestry Museum and the Naranjo Museum of Natural History. Lufkin has lots of outdoor nature areas to explore. The city is the headquarters for all four U.S. National Forests and two U.S. National Grasslands located in Texas.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
5+ years in chemical manufacturing, with at least 2 years in a leadership capacity.
Strong understanding of OSHA, EPA, and environmental regulations.
Proven problem-solving skills and technical troubleshooting experience.
Familiarity with advanced control systems (DCS/PLC/SCADA) and data visualization platforms.
Excellent communication, planning, and organizational skills.

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma certification (Green or Black Belt) preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor engineers, EHS, and technical staff to achieve site objectives.
Provide expert guidance in chemical process operations for safety, efficiency, and quality.
Implement and optimize process control systems (DCS/PLC/SCADA) and leverage data analytics.
Drive compliance with OSHA, EPA, ISO 9001, and other regulatory standards.
Champion continuous improvement initiatives using Lean and Six Sigma principles.
Collaborate across departments to embed standardized work practices and sustain improvements.
Promote a strong safety culture and environmental responsibility throughout the site.