Process Technology Lead

Planet Group; Pawtucket (RI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Strong 401(k) plan with company match

Company-funded HSA contributions

Preventive medical care

Wellness incentives

Life/Disability insurance

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Planet Group in Pawtucket, RI seeks a Process Technology Lead to head and develop the Process Technology Group, while continuing to contribute technically on priority process development and CI projects. You will mentor engineers, set objectives, and oversee project intake with value-based gates across sites.

The role requires a strong Six Sigma background, plastics compounding experience, and a proven ability to manage a project portfolio for financial and operational impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Industrial Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in process engineering, R&D, or continuous improvement within process or discrete manufacturing, including proven experience leading or supervising technical staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing a project portfolio against financial and operational value criteria.
• Plastics Compounding experience preferred
• Six Sigma Black Belt required (or commitment to obtain within one year).
• Root cause analysis certification/training.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop the Process Technology Group -- Process Engineers, Senior Associates, and Senior R&D Process Engineers -- providing day-to-day direction, coaching, performance management, and career development.
• Set individual and team objectives aligned to the group's continuous improvement, cost-savings, and process-capability goals.
• Serve as mentor and escalation point for complex technical and process challenges; act as a training resource for less experienced engineers and associates.
• Own project intake and prioritization for the Process Technology Group; require every proposed initiative to articulate a clear line of sight to process improvement, ease of deployment or scalability across sites, and/or quantified financial benefit before work begins.
• Establish and maintain a lightweight business-case and value-validation gate -- problem statement, expected KPI impact, deployment complexity, and financial impact -- that all team projects must pass at kickoff and demonstrate at close-out.
• Track and report the realized value of the team's project portfolio, including cost savings, yield and quality improvement, cycle-time reduction, and deployment adoption, to the Global Director of Operational Excellence, the Steering Committee, and plant and business leadership.
• Re-scope or stop projects that cannot demonstrate a credible path to value, protecting the team's capacity for high-impact work.
• Personally lead or co-lead a portfolio of high-priority process improvement, continuous improvement, and new or alternative raw material projects for selected grades and value chains, using lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC/DMADV), root cause analysis, and process modeling methods.

Skills

Six Sigma Black Belt

Root cause analysis

Project portfolio management

Staff mentoring/supervision

Education

Bachelor's degree in chemistry/chemical engineering or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Lean methods

DMAIC/DMADV

Job description

A Process Technology Lead responsible for leading and developing the Process Technology Group, including Process Engineers, Senior Associates, and Senior R&D Process Engineers. Remaining a hands-on technical contributor on the team's highest-priority process development and continuous improvement work.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Industrial Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in process engineering, R&D, or continuous improvement within process or discrete manufacturing, including proven experience leading or supervising technical staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing a project portfolio against financial and operational value criteria.
• Plastics Compounding experience preferred
• Six Sigma Black Belt required (or commitment to obtain within one year).
• Root cause analysis certification/training.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, manage, and develop the Process Technology Group -- Process Engineers, Senior Associates, and Senior R&D Process Engineers -- providing day-to-day direction, coaching, performance management, and career development.
• Set individual and team objectives aligned to the group's continuous improvement, cost-savings, and process-capability goals.
• Serve as mentor and escalation point for complex technical and process challenges; act as a training resource for less experienced engineers and associates.
• Own project intake and prioritization for the Process Technology Group; require every proposed initiative to articulate a clear line of sight to process improvement, ease of deployment or scalability across sites, and/or quantified financial benefit before work begins.
• Establish and maintain a lightweight business-case and value-validation gate -- problem statement, expected KPI impact, deployment complexity, and financial impact -- that all team projects must pass at kickoff and demonstrate at close-out.
• Track and report the realized value of the team's project portfolio, including cost savings, yield and quality improvement, cycle-time reduction, and deployment adoption, to the Global Director of Operational Excellence, the Steering Committee, and plant and business leadership.
• Re-scope or stop projects that cannot demonstrate a credible path to value, protecting the team's capacity for high-impact work.
• Personally lead or co-lead a portfolio of high-priority process improvement, continuous improvement, and new or alternative raw material projects for selected grades and value chains, using lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC/DMADV), root cause analysis, and process modeling methods.
• Conduct hands-on process analysis and optimization: identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, document undefined processes, establish KPIs, and drive projects from the define phase through full implementation.
• Lead Management of Change (MOC) protocols, including related software workflows, for assigned projects.
• Provide technical mentorship and quality review of process documentation, data analysis, and technical reports produced across the team.
• Partner with Manufacturing, R&D, the Digital Management Group, Reliability, and Lean/CI functions to align Process Technology work with Company's broader Operational Excellence strategy.
• Benchmark internal and industry best practices; keep the team current on new methodologies, tools, and technologies.
• Ensure all process improvements and changes comply with safety, environmental, and quality (ISO 9000) standards.
• This description is a summary of principal responsibilities and is not intended to include all duties that may be assigned.

Benefits Highlights

• Strong 401(k) plan with up to 4% company match plus an additional automatic 3% company contribution
• Company-funded HSA contributions of up to $2,000 annually for family coverage
• Preventive medical care and many preventive prescriptions covered at 100% in-network
• Earn up to $400 yearly through wellness programs and healthy activity incentives
• Company-paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
• Tuition reimbursement available for undergraduate and graduate coursework related to career growth

Salary: $120K - $150K