Advanced Process Control (APC) Engineer

Flint Hills Resources; Rosemount (MN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Flint Hills Resources, a Koch company, seeks an APC Engineer to evaluate/pursue value from APC and Real-Time Optimization opportunities at Pine Bend Refinery. You will transform APC capabilities into cross-unit optimization and work with operations, engineering, and management stakeholders to drive high-impact improvements.

The role requires strong knowledge of APC/RTO software, model development, and collaboration with diverse teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent experience in process control.
• Five (5) years or more of work experience as a process or controls engineer.
• Experience communicating effectively with engineers, managers, operators and contractors.

Responsibilities

• Partner with optimization engineers, operations experts, process engineers, and vendor consultants for model prioritization and development.
• Prioritize, design, develop, build, test, commission, and document APC applications using DMC3 and other tools in support of refinery optimization objectives.
• Provide insights and short-term support for system optimization and oil flow planning in collaboration with operations and optimization team members.
• Work with vendors and internal experts to advocate for emerging technologies (e.g. AI for process control) to advance Pine Bend’s competitive position.
• Manage relationships with operations partners to maximize refinery profitability.
• Educate refinery personnel on APC benefits and multi-variable control design, troubleshoot APC and RTO applications, and implement improvements from customer input.
• Develop and maintain lines of communication with board operators, engineers, and managers to sustain high model utilization.
• Communicate value captured, opportunities lost, and control system health across process areas under study.
• Demonstrate critical and economic thinking through clear written and spoken communication.

Skills

Process control knowledge

Communication

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

AspenTech APC tools

RTO software

Job description

Your Job

The Advanced Process Control (APC) Engineer will evaluate, prioritize, and capture sustainable value from multiple APC and Real-Time Optimization (RTO) opportunities for the Pine Bend Refinery. They will learn to transform our APC Engineering capabilities from a technical service into a cross-unit optimization and controls capability, and explore new or emerging technologies that advance Pine Bend’s competitive advantage.

The successful candidate will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to support APC and RTO software solutions and model development to better improve overall system availability, performance, and reliability. The successful candidate will have the drive and passion to collaborate with operations and optimization to prioritize multiple, simultaneous, high-profile business requests and aggressively pursue the highest-value alternatives while building and maintaining strong relationships with our key operations, engineering, and management stakeholders.

Our Team

Our team consists of APC engineers and AI process control engineers, with a mix of technical experts and developing talent, that provide the modeling and control expertise necessary to turn optimization strategies into control solutions. APC Engineers collaborate with other members of the PC Capability in small tactical teams, including a System Optimization Engineer, 6th Process Lead, DCS Engineer, and members of one or several Business Teams to develop and implement the daily oil flow strategies and optimization priorities every day.

What You Will Do

• Partner with teams of optimization engineers, operations experts, process engineers, process control engineers, and/or vendor consultants for model prioritization and development.
• Prioritize, design, develop, build, test, commission, and document APC applications using DMC3 and other tools in support of optimization objectives for an area of the refinery.
• Provide insights and short-term support for system optimization and oil flow planning in collaboration with operations and optimization team members.
• Work with vendors and internal experts to advocate for emerging technologies (i.e. artificial intelligence for process control) to advance Pine Bend’s competitive position.
• Manage relationships with our operations partners to provide maximum benefit in support of the refinery’s operational profitability vision.
• Educate other refinery personnel on APC benefits and multi-variable control design, provide support and troubleshooting of process control problems for APC and RTO applications, and implement recommendations for improvements that often originate from the customer.
• Develop and maintain lines of communication with board operators, engineers, and managers with the intent of sustaining high model utilization against an optimized constraint set.
• Communicate effectively the value captured, opportunity lost, and control system health in each process area under study.
• Demonstrate critical and economic thinking skills through strong written and confident verbal communication.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering OR a minimum of ten (10) years of work experience with process control systems.
• Five (5) years or more of work experience as a process or controls engineer.
• Experience communicating effectively with various levels of an organization (engineers, managers, operators, team leaders, contractors).

What Will Put You Ahead

• Ten (10) years or more of advanced process control or process engineering work experience in refining or petrochemicals.
• Experience with refinery economics, constraints, and oil flow planning.
• Experience with process modeling and/or advanced process control fundamentals.
• Experience with AspenTech’s suite of APC software tools and familiarity with RTO applications.
• Experience with troubleshooting and resolving process control strategies and problems.
• Experience designing, implementing, and tuning advanced control applications.

This role is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

For this role, we anticipate paying $120,000 - $180,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a Koch company, Flint Hills Resources is an industry-leading refining company making the oil and transportation products that keep the world moving. We make a large supply of fuel for gas stations and airports in addition to transporting crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined products through 4,000+ miles of pipeline - delivering energy to farmers, manufacturers and families. Our team champions innovation and excellence to help power modern life.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).