Plant Engineer

Norsk Hydro; The Dalles (OR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Retirement Savings Plan

Education Assistance

Bonus Plan Eligibility

Parental Leave

Referral Bonuses

Job summary

Hydro Extrusions North America, part of Hydro, seeks a Plant Engineer to support operation and maintenance of a large aluminum casting plant in Oregon. The role focuses on developing knowledge across plant systems, leading improvement projects, and partnering with production to boost throughput, uptime, and energy efficiency while maintaining safety.

The position requires a Bachelor's in Engineering and 5+ years of project engineering experience in an industrial environment, with strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering required.
• At least 5 years of project engineering experience in a manufacturing/industrial environment required.
• Experience applying reliability engineering to improve equipment performance and uptime desired.
• Experience leading plant improvement projects from planning through implementation preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive improvements in speed, waste reduction, cost, and quality.
• Identify areas for engineering and financial improvement; justify capital priorities.
• Ensure safe and effective introduction of new equipment and process improvements.
• Plan, direct, and coordinate activities for design, construction, modification and maintenance of equipment.
• Manage engineering budgets, forecasts, and plans.
• Provide engineering oversight to facility infrastructure.
• Lead plant improvement projects in collaboration with production and maintenance.
• Address daily maintenance and facility needs to extend asset life.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Cross-functional collaboration

Plant improvement

Capital projects

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial or Electrical)

Tools

PLC controls

Hydraulics

Pneumatics

Natural gas systems

Combustion systems

Job description

Hydro Extrusions is a world-leading aluminium extrusion business counting around 100 production sites in 40 countries and employing 20,000 people. Through our unique combination of local expertise, global network, and unmatched R&D capabilities, we can offer everything from standards profiles to advanced development and manufacturing for most industries. Since 1905, Hydro has turned natural resources into valuable products for people and businesses with focus on a safe and good workplace for our 30,000 employees in more than 140 locations.

PEL123

What we offer you

• Medical, Rx, Dental, Disability, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts
• Retirement Savings Plan
• Education Assistance
• Bonus Plan Eligibility
• Referral Bonuses
• Parental Leave

What you will be doing

The Plant Engineer supports the operation and maintenance of the plant through the development of knowledge across multiple aspects of plant operations, equipment, and systems. This position develops, implements, and manages projects, as well as providing support for plant outages. Working closely with production and maintenance, the Plant Engineer identifies opportunities to improve production throughput, equipment reliability, effective uptime, and energy efficiency while maintaining a strong focus on safety. The Plant Engineer develops skills in plant support systems and supports managers and operators/technicians, applying a broad understanding of systems such as combustion and natural gas, PLC controls, hydraulics, and pneumatics to support troubleshooting and root cause identification. The Plant Engineer supports efforts to ensure the reliability and maintainability of equipment, processes, and facilities with minimal supervision. This highly autonomous role includes supporting the maintenance team, leading plant improvement projects, partnering with production to implement improvements, addressing daily maintenance and facility needs, and extending the economic life of plant assets.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Implements project improvements that drive manufacturing performance in speed, waste reduction, cost reduction and quality.
• Identifies areas for engineering and financial improvement and makes recommendations for the prioritization of capital projects.
• Ensures the safe and effective introduction of new equipment and process improvement technologies.
• Determines training requirements and ensures adequate training plans for all new equipment and process improvements.
• Prepares and manages engineering budgets, forecasts, and plans.
• Provides engineering oversight to the facility infrastructure.
• Plans, directs, and coordinates activities concerned with design, construction, modification and maintenance of equipment and machinery in an industrial aluminum casting plant.
• Assures improvements to the plant comply with Federal, State and Corporate environmental laws.
• Troubleshoots equipment operating issues and recommends short-term and longer-term resolutions.
• Defines and resolves process problems through individual and team-based continuous improvement activities and structured problem-solving methods.
• Observes and measures in addition to collecting and interpreting data from the other technical and operating staff involved in order to develop and implement process improvement.

Required Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial or Electrical)
• At least 5 years of project engineering experience in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

Preferred Skills/Qualifications

• Experience applying reliability engineering principles to improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and increase effective uptime in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience partnering with production and maintenance teams to improve throughput, troubleshoot recurring issues, identify root causes, and implement sustainable improvements.
• Broad knowledge of industrial equipment and plant systems, including PLC-controlled equipment, hydraulics, pneumatics, natural gas, and combustion systems.
• Experience leading plant improvement, equipment, or capital projects from planning through implementation.

Equal opportunities

Hydro in North America is an Equal Opportunity Employer where all phases of employment are based strictly upon the qualifications of the individual as related to the work requirements of the position. This policy is applied without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, marital status or any other category protected by law. We strive to provide equal opportunities for all to contribute and succeed with us.

As part of our recruitment process, we may use job-related assessments in selected roles. These tools help us better understand work-related strengths and support a fair and consistent hiring process. Any assessment results are reviewed together with your experience, qualifications, and interviews, and are never used as the sole basis for hiring decisions.

If you need an accommodation in order to complete the application, please contact Hydro Recruiting via email at [e-mail]