Principal Water Systems Engineer

This role serves as Exentec’s senior-most technical authority for high-purity water (UPW), RO/DI, reclaim/reuse, and industrial wastewater treatment (IWT) systems supporting semiconductor fabs, advanced manufacturing sites, and mission-critical data centers. The Principal Engineer provides deep technical leadership across design, system performance, operations, troubleshooting, reliability engineering, contamination prevention, and environmental compliance.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Governance
  • Serve as the global Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Ultra Pure Water (UPW)/RODI systems, Industrial Waste Treatment (IWT), and wastewater reclamation.
  • Maintain Exentec’s global engineering standards, design criteria, material specifications, FAT/SAT/commissioning protocols, and quality thresholds.
  • Create go-to-market strategies based on customer segmentation, competitive analysis, and product positioning best practices.
  • Develop product pricing, budgeting, and positioning strategies to balance market share and revenue recognition.
  • Act as a partner with sales and service resources to increase product awareness and manage new opportunities.
• Water Quality, Reliability & Risk Management
  • Own water quality standards and ensure compliance with client specifications.
  • Lead failure mode analysis, contamination investigations, abnormal water events, and system upsets.
  • Develop high-reliability strategies for UPW, RO/DI, and IWT infrastructure, including redundancy planning and critical component monitoring.
  • Analyze SCADA/PLC data for performance optimization, membrane health, mixed bed performance, oxidation events, and reclaim variability.
• Operational Support & Escalation
  • Provide Tier-3 engineering support to global sites for complex water-related issues.
  • Develop corrective actions, engineering countermeasures, and recovery plans for water quality deviations.
  • Support emergency response during critical water events affecting fab tools, environmental discharge, or facility uptime.
• Environmental Compliance & Safety
  • Ensure compliance with environmental permits, discharge limits, hazardous waste regulations, and chemical handling requirements.
  • Lead environmental risk assessments, spill response strategies, and incident investigations for water systems.
  • Establish safe procedures for chemical injection systems (antiscalant, SBS, caustic, acid, ferric, polymer, chlorine, UV, etc.).
  • Drive global compliance with safety standards and facility-level requirements for handling high-risk water treatment chemicals.
• Standards, Training & Technical Development
  • Develop training program content for UPW, RODI, WWT, IWT, analytical, etc.
  • Mentor engineers and technicians, strengthen technical talent, and lead global knowledge-sharing.
  • Support creation of digital tools for water quality dashboards, reclaim optimization, lifecycle tracking, and automated reporting.
  • Develop auditing program to ensure sites are compliant with service delivery expectations.
• Client Engagement & Sales Support
  • Act as the technical lead during client discussions on water quality requirements, discharge standards, optimization strategies, and capacity needs.
  • Provide expertise during RFP responses, scope development, and solution design for new business pursuits.
  • Participate in client workshops, site walkthroughs, and technical presentations to demonstrate Exentec’s capabilities.
  • Identify cost-saving opportunities through reclaim optimization, energy/water efficiency, membrane upgrades, and chemical reduction strategies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 12+ years of experience with UPW, RO/DI, industrial wastewater treatment, or high-purity process water systems—semiconductor experience strongly preferred.
• Expert knowledge of UPW, WWT, and/or water reclamation.
• Strong background in process controls, SCADA systems, and instrumentation.
• Proven ability to lead technical investigations, develop engineering countermeasures, and resolve contamination or discharge issues.
• Ability to travel 30–40% to support global sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineering license (PE or international equivalent).
• Experience in semiconductor manufacturing or similar high-purity water environments.
• Experience designing or optimizing reclaim/reuse systems and advanced treatment technologies.
• Familiarity with environmental permitting, sampling protocols, and regulatory reporting.

Skills

• Technical Mastery: Deep expertise in UPW, RO/DI, and IWT systems and water quality control.
• Safety & Compliance: Strong understanding of environmental and chemical-handling risks.
• Reliability Engineering: Capable of diagnosing and preventing water quality instability or system failures.
• Leadership: Coaches technical teams and raises global engineering competency.
• Analytical Mindset: Uses data to improve system performance and predict risk.
• Sales Support: Communicates technical value to clients and supports new business growth.