Engineer- Wastewater and Recycling II

First Solar Inc.; Ohio; On-site; USD 69,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

First Solar Inc. is seeking an experienced engineer to monitor and improve process operations and equipment at the PGT site, focusing on recycling, process water and wastewater.

You will oversee contractors, ensure safety/environmental compliance, and drive process design improvements across all project phases. Responsibilities include startup of new processes, vendor coordination, and capital budgeting support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s engineering degree with 3-5 years’ experience in chemical process improvements.
• Experience in managing consultants, vendors, and contractors in chemical processes design upgrades.
• Material handling systems design, piping design and process control design experience.
• Managing plant equipment preventive maintenance programs.
• New plant start-up, process troubleshooting & hazardous material handling experience.
• Project management for chemical processes and/or mechanical systems, including managing scope, schedule, and cost.

Responsibilities

• Develop, evaluate & implement novel approaches to continuously improve water, wastewater & recycling plant processes to support solar panel manufacturing operations.
• Conduct plant process material balance studies & develop techniques to improve recovery rates of precious metals and to reduce Cd emissions in the effluent streams.
• Conduct process effluent stream sampling and process water consumption studies to support waste minimization & overall water consumption reduction projects.
• Lead to troubleshoot chemical process problems and implement corrective actions to improve process efficiency, product quality and to reduce the overall plant operating cost.
• Monitor and improve equipment up-time by managing equipment preventive maintenance program.
• Responsible for developing engineering process design specification package for vendor selection, construction project planning and oversight of recycling & wastewater projects.
• Work with purchasing to establish acceptable technical terms and conditions for global recycling & water treatment equipment and projects.
• Assist management to develop capital budgets and coordinate project activities, to ensure that all project deliverables are met on time and within budget.
• Work with site & corporate team to ensure that all safety & compliance goals are met.
• Lead startup of new processes and/or process modifications at existing/new plants sites.
• Develop new process operating procedures & train operations crew members including night shifts.
• Creating effective communications to foster team building.
• Strict adherence to all safety procedures and good housekeeping standards.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Job description subject to change at any time.

Skills

Process drawings

Statistical analysis

Idea-to-implementation

Project management

Coordination with vendors

Startup & commissioning

Mechanical & controls aptitude

MS Office & AutoCAD

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

MS Project

MS Excel

MS Word

MS Access

Job description

Description

First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.

Basic Job Functions

The primary responsibility of this job is to monitor and improve process operations and equipment in recycling, process water & wastewater plant at PGT site in accordance with First Solar and local/federal regulatory safety & environmental requirements. This person will conduct and coordinate process improvement activities and oversee project contractors and vendors to ensure that the process modifications are completed safely, on time and within the budget. They will be responsible for the safety and environmental compliance performance of the construction team during projects. This person will be responsible for ensuring corporate plant designs and specifications are being effectively attained during all phases of the process modification projects and that the process design intent is met. This person will also assist with new plant design concept development, detailed engineering design reviews, vendor selection, project planning and management, and plant startup/commissioning and/or process modifications/upgrades. International travel may be required.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor’s engineering degree with 3-5 years’ experience in chemical process improvements including product quality improvement, chemical process optimization, transitioning a R&D process into manufacturing & enhancing equipment life.
• Experience in managing consultants, vendors, and contractors in chemical processes design upgrades.
• Material handling systems design, piping design and process control design experience.
• Managing plant equipment preventive maintenance programs.
• New plant start-up, process troubleshooting & hazardous material handling experience.
• Project management for chemical processes and/or mechanical systems, including managing scope, schedule, and cost.

Required Skills/Competencies:

• Skills to read and interpret Process & Instrumentation Drawings, detailed engineering design drawings and bill of materials (electrical, mechanical, civil, process controls, etc.)
• Strong statistical analysis and chemical process development skills.
• Strong drive to transfer ideas to practical use in chemical process manufacturing environment through all stages of process development including process qualification.
• Project management skills to control project schedule & financial budget
• Chemical process operations skills with ability to coordinate process engineering activities with night shift operations crew members & multiple vendors / contractors.
• Industrial equipment erection, installation, start-up, and troubleshooting experience.
• Strong mechanical and process control aptitude with troubleshooting skills.
• Fluent computer skills in (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Project, MS Access, and AutoCAD).
• Strong communication skills.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Develop, evaluate & implement novel approaches to continuously improve water, wastewater & recycling plant processes to support solar panel manufacturing operations.
• Conduct plant process material balance studies & develop techniques to improve recovery rates of precious metals and to reduce Cd emissions in the effluent streams.
• Conduct process effluent stream sampling and process water consumption studies to support waste minimization & overall water consumption reduction projects.
• Take lead to troubleshoot chemical process problems and implement corrective actions to improve process efficiency, product quality and to reduce the overall plant operating cost.
• Monitor and improve equipment up-time by managing equipment preventive maintenance program.
• Responsible for developing engineering process design specification package for vendor selection, construction project planning and oversight of recycling & wastewater projects.
• Work with purchasing to establish acceptable technical terms and conditions for global recycling & water treatment equipment and projects.
• Assist management to develop capital budgets and coordinate project activities, to ensure that all project deliverables are met on time and within budget.
• Work with site & corporate team to ensure that all safety & compliance goals are met.
• Lead startup of new processes and/or process modifications at existing/new plants sites.
• Develop new process operating procedures & train operations crew members including night shifts.
• Creating effective communications to foster team building.
• Strict adherence to all safety procedures and good housekeeping standards.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Job description subject to change at any time.

Travel:

• 10%-20%
• International travel may be required.

Estimated Salary Range:

• $68,800 - $98,000 Annually

US Physical Requirements:

• Will sit, stand, or walk short distances for up to 12 hours per day.
• Will climb stairs on an occasional basis.
• Will exert up to 58 pounds of force to lift, push or pull on a seldom basis.
• Will lift, push, or pull up to 37 pounds on a frequent basis.
• Required to use hands to grasp, lift, handle, carry or feel objects repetitively on a frequent basis.
• 20/40 vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required.
• Must be able to comply with all safety standards and procedures.
• May reach above shoulder heights and below the waist on a frequent basis.
• May stoop, kneel, or bend, on an occasional basis.
• Ability to wear personal protective equipment is required (including but not limited to, steel toed shoes, gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, protective jacket or apron and arm guards)
• All associates working on the production floor may be required to wear a respirator at any given time and thus, the ability to wear a respirator is a condition of employment and continued employment (requires little or no facial hair)

Office Physical Requirements:

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. To best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.

Potential candidates will meet the education and experience requirements provided on the above job description and excel in completing the listed responsibilities for this role. All candidates receiving an offer of employment must successfully complete a background check and any other tests that may be required.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: First Solar is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.