Production Process Engineer

Kelly Engineering is seeking an experienced Production/Process Engineer to join our team in Orange, TX.

Please apply to learn more!

Ideal Candidate:

• The ideal candidate has experience in a chemical manufacturing or process production environment and is comfortable working directly with plant operations to identify problems, develop engineering solutions, and implement sustainable improvements.
• The successful candidate will be a hands-on Production/Process Engineer who enjoy being in the plant and working directly with operators and maintenance personnel. This is not strictly a desk-based engineering role — success requires the ability to troubleshoot real-time manufacturing problems, translate data into actionable solutions, and drive improvements from concept through implementation.

Summary:

• Support safe, reliable, and efficient operations at our Orange, TX manufacturing facility.
• This position will work closely with Operations, Maintenance, Process Engineering, Quality, and EHS teams to improve production performance, troubleshoot process issues, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day engineering support to manufacturing operations and troubleshoot production/process issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve plant productivity, process reliability, quality, yield, and operating costs.
• Analyze production data and process performance to identify trends, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Lead and support root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective action efforts for process and production issues.
• Develop and implement process improvements while maintaining compliance with safety, environmental, quality, and operating requirements.
• Work closely with Operations and Maintenance to troubleshoot equipment and process problems.
• Support Management of Change (MOC), process modifications, and implementation of engineering improvements.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, operating procedures, engineering calculations, and technical reports.
• Participate in process safety activities including PHA/HAZOP, PSSR, incident investigations, and risk-reduction initiatives.
• Support capital projects, equipment upgrades, debottlenecking, and plant optimization projects as needed.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement continuous improvement and Lean/Six Sigma initiatives.
• Monitor key process and production KPIs and recommend actions to improve plant performance.
• Ensure engineering activities are conducted in accordance with applicable OSHA, EPA, PSM, and company standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 3+ years of engineering experience in a chemical manufacturing, petrochemical, refining, or other continuous/process manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of chemical/process manufacturing operations and process troubleshooting.
• Experience with root cause analysis, process optimization, and continuous improvement.
• Working knowledge of PSM, MOC, PHA/HAZOP, and process safety principles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work with production/process data.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and site leadership.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; experience with process simulation, data analysis, or plant historian systems is a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Experience in specialty chemicals, polymers, intermediates, or other batch/continuous chemical processes.
• Experience supporting capital projects or equipment modifications.
• Familiarity with SAP, PI/OSIsoft, or other manufacturing/process data systems.
• Previous experience working in a PSM-covered chemical facility.