Director, Pilot Plant Manufacturing

Buckman; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckman is seeking a Director of Pilot Plant Manufacturing to lead pilot plant operations, scale-up, and commercialization support. This role manages process safety, continuous improvement, and technology transfer from R&D to manufacturing, ensuring safe and efficient transition of chemistries to pilot and commercial production.

The ideal candidate has a chemical engineering or chemistry background with extensive experience in pilot plant operations, scale-up, and regulatory/compliance

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry with significant manufacturing experience.
• 10+ years leading pilot plant, chemical manufacturing, or process development operations.
• 5+ years in people leadership within a manufacturing/technical setting.
• Proven experience in process scale-up, commercialization, and technology transfer.
• Experience with specialty/industrial chemicals and strong process safety knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead pilot plant operations to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient execution of development and production campaigns.
• Prioritize and schedule pilot-scale trials, experiments, and production activities.
• Manage equipment reliability, preventative maintenance, and capital improvement projects.
• Develop and maintain operating procedures, P&IDs, and process documentation.
• Lead Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to improve safety, quality, productivity, and cost performance.

Skills

Pilot plant operations

Process scale-up

Process safety management

Regulatory compliance

Lean Six Sigma

Project management

Financial acumen

Education

Chemical Engineering degree

Chemistry degree with manufacturing experience

Job description

Buckman is a privately held, global specialty chemical company with headquarters in Memphis, TN, USA, committed to safeguarding the environment, maintaining safety in the workplace, and promoting sustainable development. Buckman delivers exceptional service and innovative solutions to our customers globally in the pulp and paper, leather, and water treatment sectors to help boost productivity, reduce risk, improve product quality, and provide a measurable return on investment.

Position Summary

The Director, Pilot Plant Manufacturing is a strategic and hands-on leader responsible for pilot plant operations, process scale-up, commercialization support, process safety, continuous improvement, and technical leadership. This role serves as the critical link between Research & Development and Manufacturing, ensuring innovative technologies are safely, efficiently, and successfully transitioned from laboratory development to commercial production.

The ideal candidate is a chemical engineering or manufacturing leader with deep expertise in pilot plant operations, process safety, scale-up, and operational excellence within the chemical, specialty chemical, or related manufacturing industries.

Key Outcomes/Responsibilities

• Lead all pilot plant operations to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient execution of development and production campaigns.
• Prioritize and schedule pilot-scale trials, experiments, and production activities.
• Manage equipment reliability, preventative maintenance, and capital improvement projects.
• Develop and maintain operating procedures, P&IDs, and process documentation.

Process Safety, Compliance & Quality

• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, PSM, EHS, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Lead Process Hazard Analyses (PHA), Management of Change (MOC), Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSR), incident investigations, and Job Hazard Analyses (JHA).
• Translate laboratory-developed chemistries into pilot-scale and manufacturing-ready processes.
• Lead scale-up planning, including mass and energy balances, equipment sizing, and process optimization.
• Support technology transfer to manufacturing sites and provide preliminary cost estimates for business case evaluations.

Continuous Improvement & Manufacturing Support

• Lead Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to improve safety, quality, productivity, and cost performance.
• Facilitate cross-functional problem-solving and root cause analysis efforts.
• Utilize operational data to improve yield, reliability, and process performance.

Strategic Sourcing Support

• Provide technical expertise in evaluating alternate and replacement raw materials.
• Conduct bench and pilot-scale testing to assess feasibility, quality, and operational impact.

SOP Governance & Document Management

• Lead the Corporate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) program and document management system.
• Ensure manufacturing sites comply with corporate document control standards and approval workflows.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering required; Chemistry degree considered with significant manufacturing and process engineering experience.
• 10+ years of experience leading pilot plant, chemical manufacturing, or process development operations.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience within a manufacturing or technical environment.
• Proven experience in process scale-up, commercialization, and technology transfer.
• Experience with specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals, or related manufacturing industries.
• Strong understanding of process safety management, hazard analysis, and regulatory compliance.
• Fundamental understanding of regulatory space, particularly FIFRA, TSCA, and RCRA
• Lean Six Sigma / Design for Six Sigma background is a plus
• Financial acumen (MBA degree a plus)

We appreciate the interest of recruitment partners, but we are not engaging external agencies for this role.