Plant Engineering Manager, Chemical Scale-Up | Build the Engineering Function Behind a First-to-Market Material - 3610787

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱.

Most engineering leaders inherit someone else's plant. This one is still being written, and the person in this seat writes it.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a publicly traded global specialty chemicals and electronic materials company operating in more than 50 countries, with an electronics materials heritage that goes back generations. They recently brought in a breakthrough conductive material and run it like a startup division inside the larger company. It is first to market, it conducts electricity and manages heat better than the standard material, and it is headed for AI chips, datacenters, electric vehicles, and fifth-generation wireless (5G).

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗪

- The material is in customer trials, so you come in before the volume ramp, not after it

- Leadership has made a major multi-plant investment to scale it: the first plant is coming online, this site is next with higher throughput, and more are planned

- The core electronics business is growing and funding this build at the same time

- The engineering system you build here becomes the model the next plants copy

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

This is the plant's head of engineering, not one engineer on a large team. You own how the material gets made and improved, and you build the team that does it. Startup scope, with the resources and stability of an established public company behind you.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲

- You want to commission and scale a site, not maintain a mature one

- You lead from the floor; when equipment fails, you are at the line driving the root-cause analysis yourself

- You are comfortable, even energized, working around flammable solvents and corrosives in a process-safety-first operation

- You would rather write the engineering standards than inherit a binder of them

- You wear many hats and move with urgency while the site comes online

This is not the role for a design engineer who lives in computer-aided design (CAD), a leader who prefers to direct from a desk, or anyone who needs a fully documented plant to step into.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗪𝗡

- The site's technical strategy, set alongside site operations leadership and production goals

- Design, commissioning, and optimization of manufacturing processes, equipment, and tooling

- Measurable gains in safety, quality, throughput, and cost

- Root-cause analysis and corrective action on critical and recurring failures

- Capital projects from scoping and budget through installation and validation

- Reliability engineering and maintenance strategy for new equipment from day one

- Hiring, mentoring, and developing the site's engineers, including succession planning

- Technology transfer and standardization with research and development (R&D) and sister plants

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞

The site is early. Some systems do not exist yet, priorities shift as the plant ramps, and for a while you will be both the strategist and the person solving the problem on the floor. If that sounds like the best part of the job, you are who we want to talk to.

𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱:

- 8 to 12+ years of engineering experience, with real leadership responsibility in a manufacturing plant

- Chemical, specialty chemical, pharmaceutical, or semiconductor process manufacturing; high-volume or batch chemical is the closest fit

- Hands-on ownership of process optimization, equipment, root-cause analysis, and capital projects

- Continuous improvement results using Lean or Six Sigma

- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, chemical, industrial, or a related engineering field

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

- Plant startup, commissioning, or new-line ramp experience

- Built engineering standards or an engineering team from scratch

- Master's degree

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦

𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: $129,000 to $193,000, with most offers landing near the middle of the range

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: Annual performance bonus

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀: Medical, dental, and vision; 401(k) with company match; paid time off and holidays; paid parental leave; tuition reimbursement; wellness program

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: Full-time, on-site, with occasional travel to sister sites

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: West Haven, CT, an easy commute from New Haven, Milford, Orange, and the Connecticut shoreline

Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll reach out to schedule a conversation.

𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿 All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱