Operations Engineer

Graham Packaging Company; Lancaster (Lancaster County); On-site; USD 94,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

Graham Packaging Company is seeking an Operations Engineer to enhance operational excellence across its North American plants. The ideal candidate will drive maintenance strategies, solve complex problems using advanced engineering practices, and engage in significant project management. This role demands a B.S. in Engineering, strong analytical skills, and extensive industry experience.

Benefits

401K Employee Saving Plan

Employee Wellness Program

Medical and Dental Insurance

Paid Time Off

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years in operations engineering or similar role.
• Experience with extrusion blow molding and injection molding equipment.
• Strong understanding of industrial safety policies.

Responsibilities

• Continuously monitor system performance and implement improvements.
• Conduct root cause analysis and document troubleshooting procedures.
• Collaborate with teams to solve operational challenges.

Skills

Problem Solving

Systems Administration

Communication

Analytical Skills

Education

B.S. in Engineering or related field

8+ years experience in relevant positions

Tools

Linux

AWS

Azure

Job description

Company Statement

Graham Packaging is a people, planet and values-based company and a leader in sustainable packaging manufacturing. From the kitchen to the laundry room, Graham Packaging is part of your everyday life. For employees at Graham, our Blue Culture is part of their everyday lives, too. In other words, Blue is how we do things here. At Graham, we are united by a clear vision. We know our part and help those around us know theirs, encouraging one another to continuously improve. We create a safe, challenging environment to innovate by supporting creative ideas and new ways of thinking. We take the initiative to cultivate our individual growth and help others do the same, while keeping ourselves and one another accountable. And we actively promote cooperation, collaboration, integrity and respect across regions and teams to foster an engaged, diverse and connected workforce. We value our employees, and a Blue Culture allows for the most rewarding employee experience as part of the Graham family. Blue is how we feel about what we do—together—to create a better tomorrow. Working at Graham means you lead constructively with clear goals, use diverse thinking to drive excellence, accountability, innovation, as well as demonstrating collaboration, embracing learning, and taking action for continuous improvement and growth.

Overview

Working across the North American plant network, the Operations Engineer will work with the plant operations staff of each assigned plant to drive operations excellence and assist the plant with reaching its operational goals, strategies and metrics. Specific focus will be in the Maintenance & Reliability Execution Element of the Graham Operating System which includes proactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance as well as optimizing and replicating best practices. Active engagement, training and development of the plant Technical Teams will be critical the success.

Job requires a high level of discipline in the development and execution of impactful projects to deliver the required results in the assigned plants. Use of and development of scope of work, bidding, business case, time lines and project tracking is critical to the role.

The Operations Engineer will also be asked to solve complex problems through the use of critical problem solving tools such as the A3 and 8D processes.

Responsibilities

• System Monitoring & Optimization: Continuously monitors and assesses the performance of our systems, identifying areas for improvement and implementing optimization strategies to enhance efficiency.
• Advanced Troubleshooting: Employs advanced diagnostic techniques to identify, analyze, and resolve complex operational issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring system stability.
• Root Cause Analysis: Conducts thorough investigations into recurring issues, determining underlying causes, and implementing corrective actions to prevent future occurrences.
• Automation & Scripting: Develops and maintains scripts and automation tools to streamline operational processes, reduce manual intervention, and improve system reliability.
• Collaboration: Works closely with cross-functional teams, including development, support, and infrastructure, to address operational challenges and implement best practices.
• Documentation: Maintains comprehensive documentation of systems, processes, and troubleshooting procedures to ensure knowledge sharing and continuity.
• Continuous Improvement: Stays abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies, proactively recommending and implementing enhancements to our operational workflows.
• Acts as leader for assigned plant reviews by GPC’s leadership.
• Works with Teams to shape and develop strategic decisions.
• Utilizes Engineering Fundamentals of design to develop specification and scope of work documents.
• Works with assigned plants to develop capital spending plans to exceed the plants AOP commitments.
• Develops scope of work, bid documents, and assembles and presents business case to GPC leadership for key plant improvement initiatives.
• Uses project management tools such as FMEA, MS Excel, MS Project, and action lists to track successful project execution to project closure including clear delivery of the project commitments and lessons learned.
• Manage projects, including timelines, resources and budgets
• Develops positive working relationships to effectively coordinate work activities.
• Use strong influencing and communication skills to understand unique site needs and to effectively partner in delivering solutions.
• Demonstrates effective oral and written communication skills.
• Documents issues and creates action plans to solve issues in a short term and long term manner.
• Work with OEM, and third party equipment vendors to develop technical solutions to persistent mechanical, quality, and process issues.
• Participate in Maintenance Standardization efforts across the business units.
• Analyze equipment and functional location work history data in the SAPPM system to assess opportunities to increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs; Predictive Maintenance.
• Assess and execute technical solutions to improve machine efficiency and effectiveness and/or reduce downtime.
• Ensure maintenance managers are engaged in the PM/PdM process and understand the options available from the Operations Engineering.
• Create training programs to address specific needs of individuals and groups in plants.
• Train in one on one and group environments, both on the floor and in the classroom.
• Coach and mentor plant maintenance personnel.
• Evaluates/validates the impact of corrective actions that impact availability and/or reliability and leverages solutions across plants/site if appropriate.
• Use data effectively to track progress and sustain results.
• Travel up to 90% of the time, some international travel may be required

Qualifications

Education, Skills and/or Work Experience Requirements

• B.S.in Engineering, or a related field, with a minimum of 5 years of experience in operations engineering or a similar role.
• 8 + yrs experience as a maintenance manager, process engineer, project manager, plant engineer or equivalent
• Prior work experience with the following equipment:

Extrusion Blow Molding; Blow Molders (Wheel), IML, and other automated downstream equipment.

Injection Molding: Huskies/Uniloy, Robots, Dryers, Resin Conveying, Blending systems

Stretch Blow Molding; Single Stage and Two Stage equipment

Container handling: Conveyors, Palletizers, Strappers, Wrappers, Bottle Unscramblers

Utilities support systems; Compressors, Pumps, Chillers, Towers, Water Treatment

Inspection Systems: Vision, Leak Detection

Labeling Systems: PML, Heat Transfer, Silk Screen

• Proficient in systems administration (Linux/Windows), networking, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud).
• Demonstrated experience in diagnosing and resolving complex system issues using systemic approaches and tools
• Proficient in problem solving and decision making, 8D, A3, RCA, FMEA
• Must possess excellent understanding of industrial safety policies and practices
• Strong working knowledge of statistics and analytical tools associated with quality systems
• Ability to write technical documents and create step by step instruction sets for complex operation
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment.

The standard compensation for this role is $94,600 - 141,900. Salary offers will be determined based on final candidate qualifications, experience, skillset, and other relevant factors.

Compensation Statement

The expected salary range for the position described in this posting is made in accordance with the legal mandates of certain jurisdictions within the United States. The final agreed-upon compensation is based on individual qualifications and experience.

Benefits Statement

Benefits include medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in the company’s 401K Employee Saving Plan and may participate in its Employee Wellness Program. Employees will also receive paid time off in accordance with company policy and state law requirements.

EEO Disclaimer

Graham Packaging is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, religion, creed, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.