Materials Engineer – Compounding & Process Innovation

Westlake Royal Building Products; Bristol (TN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Westlake Royal Building Products in Bristol, TN is seeking a Materials Engineer to drive formulation innovation, process improvement, and manufacturing performance. You will work with operations, R&D, suppliers, and leaders to optimize compounds and support new product development.

This hands-on role emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration, data‑driven decisions, and improving quality, efficiency, and product performance on extrusion and compounding platforms.

Qualifications

• ABET-accredited degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Plastics Engineering.
• 3–5 years of hands-on plastics compounding experience, ideally in PVC extrusion or similar manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, testing, and implementation of new material compounds to support productivity, quality, and business goals.
• Develop standard work and scalable evaluation processes for compounding changes across production platforms.
• Use DOE and other analyses to assess formulation changes and their impact on manufacturing performance.
• Partner with operations, R&D, and leadership to solve production issues, improve processes, and support product development.
• Coordinate laboratory work, pilot trials, and production trials to improve product performance and reduce scrap.
• Analyze data using statistical tools and communicate findings to technical and operational stakeholders.
• Collaborate with suppliers to stay current on raw materials, equipment, and industry developments.
• Support formulation cost analysis, capital planning, and process improvement initiatives.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Statistical analysis

Project management

Communication skills

Education

ABET-accredited Bachelors in Mechanical/Chemical/Materials/Plastics Engineering

Tools

DOE methods

Statistical software (e.g., Minitab/JMP)

Job description

Westlake Royal Building Products in Bristol, TN is seeking a Materials Engineer to drive formulation innovation, process improvement, and manufacturing performance. You will work with operations, R&D, suppliers, and leaders to optimize compounds and support new product development.

This hands-on role emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration, data‑driven decisions, and improving quality, efficiency, and product performance on extrusion and compounding platforms.