LCA Engineer

Here at Rehrig Pacific, we are all about our people. Since 1913, our organization has focused on sustainable supply chain solutions while creating a culture and atmosphere where amazing people, like you, are celebrated for doing their best work. Rehrig Pacific has grown to meet the needs of our industry consumers across the country and internationally. We are constantly creating innovative solutions to transcend the new standards set forth by our customers. We find true fulfillment in helping others, both within the Rehrig Pacific family and in our communities. As servant leaders, we lead by example.

Position Summary

This role will develop and maintain comprehensive life cycle assessments (LCA’s) for Rehrig Pacific Co’s (RPC’s) Core plastics products to substantiate the carbon footprint of the products we manufacture, and create a data-driven, science-based approach towards sustainable improvements throughout the value chain.  The role is responsible for expanding the LCA’s in a phased approach as follows:

1. Implement the LCA project across all RPC manufacturing locations in order to establish a “cradle to gate” baseline for all products.
2. Continuously develop the LCA database to support:
   • Operational sustainability improvements (manufacturing efficiency gains, raw material use, energy consumption, etc.)
   • New product development (optimizing for LCA)
   • Customer collaboration (quantifying sustainability benefits for customers including “cradle to cradle”)    

The LCA engineer will gather and analyze data for every point of the manufacturing process including raw material (resin and other additives), equipment energy consumption, and other essential components/resources associated with manufacturing the core plastic products portfolio. The scope of work will require extensive cross-functional collaboration across RPC departments, suppliers, and partners in order to collate this information, and coordination with the LCA development partners (EcoChain and Nexio), located in Europe.

Accountabilities and Core Performance Behaviors

Lives our Values, Self-Development

• Become Subject Matter Expert (SME) on life cycle assessment concept, tools, and industry trends
• Coaches, mentors, and leads team members and Rehrig Pacific employees in accordance with our Core Values and Strategic Vision.
• Contributes to the development of a culture of continuous learning and innovation by
  encouraging creativity, commitment, and courage.
• Embrace DIB Initiatives and opportunities to grow.
• Create and execute on Individual Development Plan (IDP).

Customer Focus, Collaborates, Situational Adaptability

• Gather raw material (Polyethylene and Polypropylene) consumption data for all Core products manufactured in all Rehrig Pacific plants.
• Gather all additional information relevant to the life cycle approach (energy gas, water, waste, scrap rates, downtime, etc.).
• Partner with LCA development teams in Europe (currently Nexio and EcoChain) to ensure data is provided to them and entered into the platform to support overall project goals and timeline.
• Partner with sales team to further develop LCA data for select and strategic customers (cradle to cradle).
• Partner with marketing to present LCA in an engaging and inspiring manner to customers and a broader set of stakeholders.
• Support the sustainability organization (operational and customer facing) to extract maximum possible value from the LCA tool.
• Assist in the aggregation of sustainability metrics that can then be reported back to Rehrig Pacific customers
• Develop complete project plan and timeline, manage tasks accordingly, and ensure clear stakeholder communication.

Drives Results, Decision Quality

• Refer to the data generated, and lessons learned from the Lawrenceville plant assessment to support the broader roll out across the other Rehrig plants.
• Lead and complete the development of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA’s) for all Rehrig Pacific Core products.
• Make data-driven and fact-based recommendations to improve LCA of products based on findings from baseline data collection.
• Support New Product Development (NPD) to understand and explain the implication of product design, material selection and processing techniques on the sustainability attributes of a product to support the design of the most sustainable designs possible.
• Provide inputs to the Annual Sustainability Report on progress and outlook for LCA projects
• Research relevant sustainability and life cycle developments that are relevant to this role and recommend suitable areas of opportunity.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a two-year degree preferred (Science or Engineering emphasis preferred).  Four-year degree in these same subjects with a laboratory component is preferred.
• Minimum of two years’ experience at a manufacturing facility with a preference for injection molding or other plastics processing methods.
• Excellent data analysis, communication skills (both verbal and written) and report writing skills are required. 
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality results. 
• Candidate must be results oriented with the ability to excel in a self-initiated environment.
• Continuous improvement mindset.
• Detail oriented in a sustainability, systems-thinking approach.
• Ability to convey technical information to a non-technical audience.
• Highly organized and able to multitask.
• Resilience, tenacity, & diplomacy.
• Ability to effectively work as a part of a team and team building skills.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook) and JD Edwards
• Moderate travel is required.

Rehrig Pacific Company is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also here.