Senior Wastewater Process Engineer — Lead Innovation

Cairns Regional Council; Gladstone Regional; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Alpha HPA is seeking a Senior Process Engineer to lead Operational Readiness, Commissioning and ongoing production improvements at the Stage One HPA First Project site in Yarwun. The role provides technical direction to the site team and leads root cause problem solving to optimise production and safety performance.

Based at Yarwun, you will develop standard work, mentor junior engineers and drive process improvements during the operational readiness and Stage 2 ramp-up, delivering high-purity

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Process or Chemical Engineering with manufacturing experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading improvement projects.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in chemical handling/process operation environment desirable.

Responsibilities

• Ensure safety, health and environmental rules and programs are followed.
• Develop technical capabilities of Process Engineers and Operational staff.
• Provide technical support to Production and maintenance teams, including clear operating instructions.
• Initiate, manage and implement process changes with proper change management practices.
• Develop and maintain process documentation and operating instructions.
• Lead Root Cause Problem Solving activities on problems.
• Develop best practices and innovative solutions to improve production rates and quality.
• Design, run, test and upgrade systems and processes to maximise on-spec production.

Skills

Lead improvement projects

Communication skills

Independent worker

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Process or Chemical Engineering

Job description

Senior Process Engineer

Alpha HPA

Posted today

Job Type: Full-Time (Permanent)

Location: Gladstone, QLD

• Join a highly innovative Australian company leading the world in high purity alumina production.
• Play a key role in the commissioning and operational readiness for a greenfield facility.
• Build a long-term career with a global leader in sustainable advanced manufacturing.

Organisation

Alpha HPA is a publicly listed, Australian-based company that has commercialised the world’s first solvent extraction (SX) purification technique applied to aluminium. This breakthrough process produces a growing range of ultra-high purity aluminium materials – oxides, hydroxides and nitrates – used across advanced industries such as LED lighting, synthetic sapphire, semiconductors and lithium‑ion batteries.

Alpha HPA’s materials deliver market-leading purity levels with a significantly lower carbon profile. The Stage One HPA First Project in Gladstone is already in production – the first commercial application of Alpha HPA’s proprietary Smart SXTM process, producing >99.99% pure aluminium products.

Construction of the large-scale Stage Two facility is underway, with full-scale production targeted for late 2027. Once operational, Alpha HPA will produce 10,000 tonnes of HPA equivalent per year, right here in Gladstone. The Stage 2 facility will be a Major Hazard Facility and the largest high purity alumina plant in the world.

Opportunity

The Senior Process Engineer provides technical direction to the site team throughout the Operational Readiness, Commissioning and operational phases of the project to optimise production processes and control safety, environment and quality risks.

The Senior Process Engineer will serve as technical lead on assigned projects and lead Root Cause Problem Solving activities.

They will set the priorities for improving production and quality performance through monitoring and analysis of process performance in line with business requirements. They will lead continuous improvement activities on the highest priorities.

They will be responsible for setting up and maintaining standard work activities and systems to ensure the process is controlled to meet the business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that safety, health and environmental rules and programs are strictly adhered to.
• Develop the technical capabilities of Process Engineers and Operational staff
• Provide technical support to the Production and maintenance teams, including clear operating instructions
• Initiate, Manage and implement process changes and improvement, ensuring proper change management practices are followed
• Develop and maintain process sampling schedule in agreement with stakeholders.
• Be an initiator and responsible technical reviewer for Change proposals.
• Contribute to setting the priorities for Improvement activities for production and quality.
• Supervise and mentor junior engineers.
• Develop best practices, routines and innovative solutions to improve production rates and quality of output.
• Ensure monitoring and troubleshooting of the process is conducted in a timely manner to identify and eliminate the root cause of any problems
• Prioritise problems to be solved
• Lead and conduct Root Cause Problem Solving activities on problems.
• Develop and maintain process documentation and operating instructions
• Design, run, test and upgrade systems and processes to maximise on-specification production safely.
• Develop and implement technical systems and processes during the Operational Readiness phase of the PPF Phase 2 and Stage 2 of the HPA facility
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

About You

You’ll bring:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Process or Chemical Engineering with a minimum 8 years’ experience in manufacturing.
• Demonstrated experience leading improvement projects
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Proven and demonstrated experience within a chemical handling/process operation environment
• Detailed understanding of control systems and processes.
• Ability to solve practical problems, handle multiple tasks effectively and able to work with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated experience with industrial safe work procedures and practices and operational experience on a Major Hazardous Facility is desirable.
• Ability to operate independently
• Self-motivated, highly pro‑active and resilient attitude.

Reward

This is a permanent, full-time opportunity offering a competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus additional benefits.

You’ll be based at Alpha HPA’s Stage One HPA First Project in Yarwun, working within a collaborative and high-performance team and enjoy genuine long-term career growth as the commercial facility comes online.