Process Engineering Leader

Georgia-Pacific LLC; Big Island (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Education assistance

Paid vacation/time off

Job summary

Georgia-Pacific LLC in Big Island, Virginia, seeks a Process Engineering Leader to guide the site process engineering team and partner across Operations, Reliability, Maintenance, and Environmental to drive performance improvements.

You will lead process trials, capital project activities, and structured problem-solving while developing engineers and co-ops. This role reports to the site Engineering Manager and includes a competitive base salary with bonus eligibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, paper science, chemistry, or a related technical field.
• Process engineering or manufacturing experience in a pulp and paper facility or another continuous‑process industry.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, supervising, or developing technical employees.
• Experience identifying, analyzing, and resolving complex process or manufacturing problems.

Responsibilities

• Advance our Principle Based Management culture by applying principles and setting clear expectations.
• Lead, coach, and develop process engineers and interns.
• Prioritize work based on safety, environmental risk, reliability, quality, production, and value.
• Partner with Operations to identify opportunities, troubleshoot gaps, and implement improvements.
• Reduce process variability by improving operating strategies, equipment performance, and controls.
• Lead or support process trials, grade development, equipment evaluations, and new technologies.
• Provide technical leadership for capital projects from opportunity development to startup and verification.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching/mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Root cause analysis

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Job description

Your Job

Georgia-Pacific has an exciting opportunity for a Process Engineering Leader at our Big Island, Virginia, Containerboard facility. This position will lead, coach, and develop the site process engineering team while partnering with Operations, Reliability, Maintenance, Process Control, Environmental, and Engineering to improve mill performance and create long-term value.

The Process Engineering Leader is accountable for establishing clear priorities, building team capability, and aligning resources with the mill's highest-value opportunities. The team supports process optimization, structured troubleshooting, process trials, capital-project development and startup, process-control improvement, and reduction of process variability. This position reports to the site Engineering Manager.

Our Team

For this role, we anticipate paying $110,000 - $130,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

The Big Island facility is a containerboard paper manufacturing mill located near Lynchburg, Virginia. The facility employs approximately 330 employees and produces both medium and linerboard to serve packaging and box plant customers. Our engineering team works across the mill to advance safe, reliable, and competitive operations through disciplined problem-solving, technical capability, and effective project execution.

What You Will Do

• Advance our Principle Based Management™ culture by applying principles, establishing clear expectations, and helping employees maximize their contributions.
• Lead, coach, and develop process engineers and co-ops/interns while strengthening the site's technical and leadership capability.
• Prioritize the process engineering team's work based on safety, environmental risk, reliability, quality, production, and economic value.
• Partner with Operations and other mill functions to identify opportunities, troubleshoot performance gaps, determine root causes, and implement sustainable improvements.
• Reduce process variability by improving operating strategies, equipment performance, process controls, instrumentation, and standard work.
• Lead or support process trials, grade development, equipment evaluations, and implementation of new technologies.
• Provide technical leadership for capital projects, including opportunity development, design reviews, process requirements, commissioning, startup, and performance verification.
• Lead small process-improvement projects executed internally, through third‑party partners, or in collaboration with corporate teams.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, operating targets, technical calculations, standards, and lessons learned.
• Support Management of Change and other applicable risk‑management processes for modifications to mill systems.
• Demonstrate visible leadership and personal ownership of the mill's safety and environmental expectations.
• Participate as a member of a mill duty team, providing off‑hours leadership and support as scheduled, with the potential to develop into a Duty Team Leader role in the future.
• Build strong working relationships across Operations, Reliability, Maintenance, Process Control, Environmental, Engineering, and corporate technical resources.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, paper science, chemistry, or a related technical field.
• Process engineering or manufacturing experience in a pulp and paper facility or another continuous‑process industry.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, supervising, or developing technical employees.
• Experience identifying, analyzing, and resolving complex process or manufacturing problems.
• Experience working cross‑functionally with operations, maintenance, reliability, engineering, or technical teams.
• Willingness and ability to participate in the mill duty rotation and provide off‑hours support as scheduled.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Bachelor's degree or higher in chemical engineering or paper science.
• Leadership experience in a pulp and paper manufacturing environment.
• Experience with paper machine operations, stock preparation, utilities, wastewater treatment, or other supporting mill processes.
• Experience planning and executing process trials, process optimization efforts, or equipment upgrades.
• Experience supporting capital‑project development, commissioning, and startup.
• Experience applying structured problem‑solving or root cause analysis methods.
• Experience developing engineers, interns, or co‑ops for positions of increasing responsibility.

Yearly base compensation is $110,000 to $130,000; commensurate with experience.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a Koch company and a leading manufacturer of bath tissue, paper towels, paper‑based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products and much more, Georgia‑Pacific works to meet evolving needs of customers worldwide with quality products. In addition to the products we make, we operate one of the largest recycling businesses. Our more than 30,000 employees in over 150 locations are empowered to innovate every day – to make everyday products even better.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).