Test Facility Engineer I (BSChE)

Pfaudler Company•Rochester, NY

36d•Onsite

About The Position

GMM Pfaudler US Inc. is a leading supplier of highly engineered, critical equipment and process systems for energy, chemical and industrial markets. The Systems Group within GMM Pfaudler designs and fabricates complete modular process systems including Reactor Systems, Wiped Film Evaporator (WFE) Systems, Distillation Systems, and other special process design systems. Pfaudler is seeking a newly or recently graduated chemical engineer to fill the position of Test Facility Engineer (TE) in the Systems Group located at GMM Pfaudler in Rochester, NY. Every process system that our Systems Group designs is custom-designed for each client’s specific needs. We work with a broad range of processes for many different industries including Specialty Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals, Petrochemicals, Polymers, and others. Our clients rely on our Systems Group to design complete chemical process systems for their new products and for their capacity expansions of existing processes or products. For the new product systems that we design, we take the client’s pilot test data, or our own pilot test data, and scale up to design commercial scale production systems. GMM Pfaudler has a Pilot Test Facility located in Rochester, NY. The Pilot Test Facility is used to process customer materials, with GMM Pfaudler equipment and systems, to confirm the performance of the equipment and systems and to collect pilot data to scale up and design commercial scale process systems. There are two (2) Test Facility Engineers (TE) who operate and maintain the Pilot Test Facility under the guidance of senior process engineers.

Requirements

Must be a self-starter, but also team player and focus on customer service.
Good communications skills to communicate with GMM Pfaudler team members and customers.
Good computer skills (Word, Excel).
BS in Chemical Engineering
Must speak and write English proficiently.
Must be able communicate effectively (listen and speak) with GMM Pfaudler team members and customers during technical discussions.
Must have the ability to complete basic math calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). Must have the ability to complete basic process design calculations (e.g. mass or volumetric flow rates, mass transfer, pressure, temperature, unit conversions, etc.).
Must have ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Must have ability to deal with typical pilot plant opearational problems and troubleshoot to resolve issues.

Nice To Haves

1-2 years of experience with operation and/or maintenance of chemical process equipment and systems in a chemical plant is a plus.

Responsibilities

Work with the customer, and GMM Pfaudler Application Engineers, to develop a test P&ID to depict the required test setup. The TEs install the equipment, interconnecting piping, and associated instruments for the different configurations.
Lead test meetings and hazard reviews prior to each test to develop a safe and efficient test plan.
Install steam or hot oil tracing and insulation (if necessary) on the piping in the new configurations before each test.
Operate the system to perform a preliminary test run before operating the customer test.
Receive and store the customer’s drums of material.
Execute the pilot test, sometimes with the assistance of other GMM Pfaudler Process Engineers. Monitor the system operation and make necessary changes to operating conditions (flows, temperatures, vacuum levels) as necessary to find the optimum operating conditions and to collect the proper data. If necessary during the test, complete emergency equipment or instrument reconfiguration or maintenance or replacement.
Chemically and/or mechanically clean the process system equipment and piping after each test.
Drum off and ship the customer’s product and waste materials.
Develop a customer test results report after each test.
Perform repairs and routine preventive maintenance on the equipment (WFEs, pumps, vacuum pumps, vacuum blowers) and utility systems (steam boiler, hot oil system, chiller system, tempered water pump system).
Monitor inventory levels of system maintenance and operational parts and components (Personal Protective Equipment [PPE], pumps, motors, gaskets, bolting, pipe fittings, tube fittings, insulation, instruments, etc.) and reorder as necessary.
Ensure annual inspections are completed (by vendors, contractors or exports) and recorded for the Pilot Plant Facility. These include inspections of the boiler, chiller, hot oil system and cranes as well as the Test Facility safety equipment/systems (safety shower, fire extinguishers, fire alarm, respirator fit test, etc.).
Maintain a Process Test Facility Task List for modifications, repairs, upgrades, etc. and work together to complete all tasks in a timely fashion.