Sr. Process Engineer

Solugen

Houston, TX 77035

Position

Sr. Process Engineer

About Solugen:

Solugen is a groundbreaking technology company on a bold mission to decarbonize the physical world. At the heart of our innovation is the world’s first sustainable molecule factory—the Bioforge. This unique manufacturing platform uses a chemienzymatic process to convert plant-derived substances into essential materials that have historically been made from fossil fuels—all with minimal emissions and no hazardous waste. A highly scalable and localized alternative to conventional approaches, the Bioforge enables us to produce a range of high-performance, cost-competitive, and sustainable solutions to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Ready to shape the future? Join us.

Are you passionate about sustainable solutions and combating climate change? We're always on the lookout for dynamic individuals who blend passion with adaptability. You thrive in an environment where curiosity propels you, questions are celebrated, and insights power your work. As a self-starter, you’ll embrace the pace and uncertainty of startup culture– that’s where the best ideas flourish. At our core, we prioritize safety above all, value respect for others, and consider creative problem-solving a superpower.

Mission

Solugen’s mission is to decarbonize chemicals manufacturing. As a first step, Solugen is building a 10,000 tpy first commercial plant with the potential to offset up to 37,000 tpy of carbon dioxide equivalents. This role will directly support Solugen’s mission by ensuring Solugen’s manufacturing and R&D assets are achieving high levels of output and utilization via automated controls systems. Reporting to the Senior Director of Process Engineering, this is a hands-on role where the individual’s initiative, engineering prowess, and energy level will make a substantial impact on the company’s mission. Key projects will involve improvement of equipment reliability and implementation of a variety of small – medium sized projects for debottlenecking and enablement of existing Bioforge and Pilot Plant assets. The Sr. Process Engineer should also proactively identify additional potential process improvement projects. As the company grows and the individual progresses, the ideal candidate for this position can move up and laterally to different areas within the company including commercial plant operations, project engineering, process optimization, and technical business development.

Key Outcomes

The Sr. Process Engineer is expected to operate at a high level on multiple projects to:

• Independently own the entire Design, Project, and Process engineering scopes for complex and varied projects, including:
• Drafting PFDs, P&IDs
• Generating Mass and Energy Balances
• Planning and Running PHA / P&ID Reviews
• Management of internal and external partners (engineering firms, internal engineering department, etc.) and operations personnel to ensure on-time construction of plant equipment and assets
• Delegation and management of tasks to other engineers within the team
• Troubleshoot process issues and then identify and correct root causes
• Start-up, optimize, and handover complex unit operations to Operations
• Develop work strategies and start-up plans for complex equipment
• Work with R&D to determine relevant process experiments to troubleshoot plant issues
• Use fact- and data- based reasoning to identify root causes of technical or quality problems and solve them
• Develops innovative extensions to accepted methods; may develop new research methods; extends technology into new application areas
• Identify required skill sets for setting-up and running projects
• Perform team leadership responsibilities as needed, including directing and mentoring other engineers

Key Competencies

Job Specific

• Acts with a high degree of integrity
• Attention to detail and organization
• Good communication, negotiation, leadership, and project management skills with the desire to further develop these skills as the company grows
• Commitment to safe workplace goals and practices that ensure operational integrity, including compliance with all regulatory policies and procedures
• Comfortable following safety protocols and wearing personal protective equipment—including hard hats, gloves, earplugs, and respirators--in work zones
• Good familiarity with Office products as well as a general level of comfort with online communication and work management platforms such as Dropbox, Google Doc, and Slack
• Advanced understanding of project management execution and scheduling software (e.g., Microsoft Project, Primavera)
• Analytical approach to problem solving, with a focus on managing a team environment with attention to results and a sense of urgency
• Comfort working with complex processes and equipment without supervision
• Recognized as a scientific/engineering leader for relevant technical area
• Provides innovative problem-solving approaches to enhance organizational capability
• Ability to directly and indirectly influence key stakeholders to ensure project support

Company Specific

• Ask a lot of questions, be curious, and have insights into your work
• Be nimble, embrace the speed and ambiguity of startup culture
• A passion for green chemistry and fighting climate change
• Ability to self-manage and set your own priorities and schedule
• Be comfortable working in multiple roles
• Emphasize safety above all else
• Respect for others
• Creative problem solving
• Willingness to learn and research new engineering/science concepts

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering
• 5 – 10 years’ experience with Process Development, Time Management, Process Scale- up, Leadership

Solugen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status.