Process Engineer

Location: Delaware Water Gap, PA

About the role

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) is the go-to leader and partner of choice in sustainable packaging. We are dedicated to creating efficient and scalable paper and packaging solutions to help solve complex packaging challenges. Guided by our values of safety, loyalty, integrity and respect, we are committed to delivering meaningful value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where we operate. The Process Engineer is responsible for managing technical projects aimed at product and process problem-solving and/or improvements, cost reduction, and profitability improvement. Process Engineers provide technical assistance to the operating departments to help them achieve the mill’s goals and objectives while driving continuous process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Determine and implement process changes and/or trials to improve operating efficiency and performance and minimize variation
• Perform daily checks of production output and contributing factors
• Partner with operations, E&I, and Process Control Engineers to understand all processes and how teams and individuals are involved and impacted at each step
• Provide operators, other managers, and salaried employees with analytical support and problem-solving related to operating processes
• Drive continuous process improvement within an operating area through the coordination and management of process trials
• Translate production efficiencies and reduced variances to revenues and costs
• Use material balances to identify process problems with transmitters and other equipment
• Serve as the owner and subject matter expert for Process Book (the mill’s software to view Distributed Control System equipment), ensuring that all data and documentation is accurate and up to date
• Develop PI pages to capture insight into processes and equipment, including the creation of new PI tags (e.g. flow, pressure, temperature, and mode on the equipment)
• Track and analyze data related to any trials, changes and continual production information to inform recommendations and decisions
• Gather and cleanse production and process data and perform statistical/analytical tests to uncover important variables and their impacts
• Generate production reporting, create process monitoring reports, and perform daily troubleshooting of the process
• Review and share best practices with peers in technical subject areas including computer software and systems (PI Vision/Process Book, Excel, quality data tracker, EhkoSoft)
• Support the area operations management with daily production reporting
• Regularly communicate process-related data to operations and management in readily consumable way
• Deliver presentations to operations team and leadership providing an executive-level summary of Process Excellence projects
• Could be responsible for vacation coverage for Shift Supervisors

Skills

• Analytical: Logically processes information to produce insights in a consumable format; aggregates, cleanses, and disseminates data in structured formats to support better business decisions and improved performance; process-analysis skills to evaluate data and make decisions to drive process improvements
• Process-Oriented: Plans, designs, manages processes while focusing on refining and improving to increase efficiency and effectiveness; understands process inputs, activities, outputs, roles and sequencing
• Problem-Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations; demonstrates tackling a problem by using a logical, systematic, or sequential approach
• Communication: Clearly exchanges thoughts, ideas, and messages through written, verbal, and non-verbal methods that promote an understanding with the target audience; listens carefully and attentively; can clearly convey process-related data to operations and management in readily consumable way
• Interpersonal: Can relate to and communicate effectively with others to build rapport and relationships
• Organizational Skills: Plans, arranges and/or monitor's work to ensure achievement of desired results; establishes a systematic course of action to accomplish objectives
• Time Management: Plans, prioritizes, and manages time spent on accomplishing tasks to increase productivity and efficiency; demonstrates awareness and control over amount of time spent on activities; meets deadlines
• Growth and Results Oriented: Demonstrates an interest, willingness and drive to learn new things; seeks to understand concepts, processes, and ideas within area of functional expertise; naturally inquisitive; sets meaningful goals for