Process Design Engineer

Lexington, MA, United States

With a strategy centered on people and sustainability, Braskem is engaged in contributing to the value chain to strengthen the Circular Economy. Braskem’s 9,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improving people's lives through sustainable solutions in chemicals and plastics. With its corporate DNA rooted in innovation, Braskem offers a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse industries, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, health and hygiene, and more. With 40 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem exports its products to clients in over 70 countries.

Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and a New Renewable Innovation Center in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa .

Travel Involved: 10-20%

Job Type: Hybrid

Description: Braskem, a global leader in the production of bio-based materials, has recently opened a new renewable research and development facility in Lexington, MA. This new 35,000 SFT facility will bring together scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines to ideate and develop novel technologies for the production of bio-based chemicals and materials.

Braskem Innovation and Technology is seeking an exceptional process engineer for conceptual process design and scale-up of emerging technologies in the area of bio-based chemicals via fermentation processes. The candidate will have primary responsibility for pilot plant design, ensuring technical risks are addressed and mitigated in scale-up. The ideal candidate will have a process development background, technological knowledge of purification techniques for bioprocesses, and aptitude for creative and innovative problem-solving.

Key Responsibilities: Develop the conceptual process design for emerging new technologies within Braskem in collaboration with Braskem’s advanced modeling team. This will require configuring the initial process flowsheet from a blank sheet of paper for purification of new fermentation products.

Work closely with the research team to guide experimental work with a view toward the commercial process design, and ensure relevant technical targets are set based on commercial process economics.

Guide the pilot plant design and pilot testing program according to the conceptualized commercial design to ensure the key risks are mapped and minimized as the technology progresses through scale-up.

Build strong relationships while working closely with the firms constructing the pilot plant units.

Support process safety reviews for emerging technologies.

Serve as the process expert during pilot and demo testing.

Own responsibility as the expert on the process technology and key deliverables of the Process Design Package (PDP) that will be the basis for commercial design and engineering.

Additional Responsibilities and Activities :

Identify and evaluate innovative and disruptive technologies through interaction with technology licensors, participation in events associated with bio-based chemical technologies, and review of international publications.

Carry out technical-economic assessments, actively participating in the preparation and/or technical review of mass and energy balances, PFD's, Capex and Opex estimates, among others.

Work with different teams within Braskem (e.g., process engineering, biotech and catalysis, sustainability, innovation, intellectual property, etc.) to guarantee the successful development of projects.

Collaborate with universities, start-ups and technology hubs seeking new technologies that may be of interest to Braskem.

Requirements: M.S. in Chemical Engineering or relevant field (Ph.D. is a plus) with a strong background in new technology development.

10+ years (including graduate research) of chemical process engineering or innovation and technology fields.

Demonstrated experience in process development for fermentation product purification.

Demonstrated expertise using process simulation software (Aspen Plus and Aspen Economic Analyzer)

Experience bringing conceptual designs of processes to pilot or demonstration plant scale is highly desirable.

Strong technical judgement to assess project decisions and timetables.

Experience in pilot plant and/or demo plant operation is a plus.

Ability and seniority to ensure good interpersonal relationships and people management, to work on projects with internal and external interfaces.

Have a working knowledge of intellectual property.

English is required, Portuguese is a plus.

Candidate will work in a hybrid mode but must be willing to relocate to the greater Boston area. The position may require periodic travel to Pittsburgh and Brazil, to ensure a close working relationship with research teams at the Braskem Tech Centers.

What we offer

At Braskem we offer more than just a competitive base pay package. Out total rewards package includes a wide range of benefits that you need for every stage of your life. Out benefits include:

Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Life Insurance

Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance

A wide range of voluntary benefits like Pet Insurance, Legal and ID Theft Insurance

Flexible work schedules like 9/80 schedules for eligible team members

Candidates must be currently eligible to work in the United States without the need for any type of sponsorship now or in the future. Braskem is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees pursuant to applicable law. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require reasonable accommodation as part of the application process please contact the Talent Acquisition team.

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Voluntary Demographic Questions At Braskem, we are proud of our culture that promotes Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) encouraging its team members to be who they are, following the motto: “You are free to be you.” This mindset adds value to the organization by unlocking untapped potential.

To support this important value, D&I is part of our business strategy encouraging diversity and inclusive behavior within our teams. You will see some of this throughout your application process, aiming to identify and mitigate unconscious biases in our hiring process.

Below is a set of voluntary demographic questions that are part of this inclusive tool set within our recruiting process. If you choose to fill them out, the responses will be used only to help us identify areas for improvement in our process in forms of summarized anonymous reports. Your responses, or choice not to respond, will not be associated with your specific application, is not visible to anyone of the Braskem team including the hiring leader, HR and IT, and will not in any way be used in the hiring decision.

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