Compounding Engineer

LAVELLE INDUSTRIES INC.; Burlington (WI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

an on-site Free health clinic

casual attire and/or uniforms

paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

Lavelle Industries Inc. in Burlington, Wisconsin, is seeking a Compounding Engineer to develop new materials and expand capabilities. You will work with operations, chemists and engineers to deliver innovative rubber compounding solutions and process improvements.

The role requires 5–10 years of polymer compounding experience, a B.S. in Engineering or Chemistry, and strong experimental troubleshooting skills. On-site team collaboration and continuous learning are emphasized.

Qualifications

• 5 to 10 years of polymer compounding experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry or a related field.
• Experience with rubber compounding and molding processing.

Responsibilities

• Become Lavelle’s expert in rubber compounding, mixing, and preparation.
• Support mixing department and materials lab, investigating equipment and tooling options.
• Lead multi-department troubleshooting efforts with chemists, materials lab, and process engineers.
• Reduce variation in compounding operation using rheology, molding results and DOE methods.
• Develop and improve mixing programs for new and existing materials.
• Write technical reports detailing methods and findings and present to engineers and management.

Skills

Polymer compounding

Rubber mixing

DOE

Cross-functional teamwork

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Chemistry or related field

Job description

Description

Join our team!

A market and industry leader since 1912, Lavelle Industries has a unique opportunity for a Compounding Engineer to join our Burlington R&D team. The ideal candidate will focus their knowledge on process of developing new materials, expansion of capabilities and gaining technical knowledge that results in product improvement.

Why Lavelle?

We are a unique organization, rooted in values that emphasize problem-solving and measurement mindsets. We may dress casually – jeans daily! – but we take our work seriously, and we offer our employees competitive benefits and support in recognition of the contributions they make.

This role has been described as giving the “right fit” candidate ASTRONOMICAL possibilities in their work. This means working on a wide variety of projects and material applications, to continue our commitment to delivering innovative solutions to our customers. The Compounding Engineer will work with both operations, chemist & engineering to develop a improve innovative compounding solutions.

Responsibilities will include:

• Become Lavelle’s expert in rubber compounding, mixing, and preparation. This includes all steps of the process from raw material receipt to delivering uncured rubber to the molding operation.
• Supporting mixing department and materials lab, investigating equipment and tooling options for both current and new processes and products.
• Lead multi-department troubleshooting efforts with chemists, materials lab, and process engineers.
• Reduce variation in Lavelle’s compounding operation, measured by rheology and molding results utilizing DOE and other methods.
• Develop and improve mixing programs (steps, times, temps) for new and existing materials.
• Write technical reports that detail methods and findings. Present findings to engineers, management and other colleagues.

“Right fit” candidates for this role will have education and experience suitable for the role. This includes:

• 5 to 10 years of polymer compounding experience.
• Hands-on expert comfortable working in a rubber mixing environment.
• Experienced working with production and maintenance staff to facilitate troubleshooting and improvement of operational production equipment.
• Experience in online research; includes appropriate searches, disseminating information, and summarization of information for delivery to colleagues/teams.
• Rubber, rheology of rubber and molding processing experience is preferred.
• Work with the plant manager and engineering leader to establish annual improvement initiatives; then work cross-functionally to align efforts and targets.
• Evidence of excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.
• Capacity to learn new technologies / concepts rapidly and apply them to the needs of Lavelle.
• Experienced leading troubleshooting efforts through experimentation.
• A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry or a related field is required.

At Lavelle we believe in continued learning, visible problem solving and helping our employees grow.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.

• an on-site FREE health clinic
• casual attire and/or uniforms
• paid vacation and holidays

Did we mention our aim is to "Stay in business forever and have fun!"

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.