Rotating Reliability Engineer

Ashland Inc.; Hopewell (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision starting on

401(k) plan with company match

Job summary

Ashland Inc. in Hopewell, VA, seeks a Rotating Reliability Engineer to own strategies for pumps, gearboxes, compressors, and other rotating equipment, and to lead condition-monitoring programs with Operations and Maintenance.

Candidates should have 5–10 years in rotating reliability engineering, a Mechanical Engineering degree, Vibration Cat Lvl 3 certification, and RCA training. You will drive root-cause analyses, defect elimination, and reliability improvements across the site.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years in Rotating Reliability Engineering.
• Mechanical Engineering degree or technical equivalent.
• Vibration Cat Lvl 3 certification and RCA training required.

Responsibilities

• Own rotating equipment reliability strategies for pumps, gearboxes, compressors, centrifuges, agitators, fans, blowers, and seals.
• Lead condition-monitoring programs and determine escalation criteria.
• Perform RCAs for significant or repetitive failures and implement countermeasures.
• Maintain equipment standards and lifecycle plans; support outages and turnarounds.
• Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and Supply Chain to drive improvements.
• Provide reliability input to capital projects and design reviews.

Skills

Rotating equipment reliability

Vibration analysis

RCA / root cause analysis

Maintenance coordination

Education

Mechanical Engineering degree

Vibration Cat Lvl 3 certification

RCA Training

Tools

Vibration measurement tools

Job description

## Rotating Reliability EngineerApply: US-VA-HOPEWELL: Full time: Posted Today: 2026 - 0679Ashland Specialty Ingredients, GPRotating Reliability EngineerAre you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?Are you always solving?Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us. Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Rotating Reliability Engineer to join our Ashland LLC, Specialty Ingredients business at our Hopewell, VA site. This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the Maintenance function. This position will report to the Maintenance Manager.**The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:*** **Rotating Equipment Strategy Owner** + Create and own reliability strategies for pumps, compressors, gearboxes, centrifuges, agitators, fans, blowers, and seals + Develop asset criticality + Define repair-versus-replace recommendations and lifecycle plans + Maintain equipment standards, preferred designs, and application guidance* **Condition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance Leader** + Lead vibration, lubrication, thermography, ultrasound, oiling, and performance-monitoring programs + Set monitoring routes, alarm limits, collection frequencies, and escalation criteria + Review condition-monitoring findings and convert them into prioritized actions + Ensure monitoring technologies are matched to equipment failure modes* **Defect Elimination & Root Cause Leader** + Lead or support RCAs for significant or repetitive rotating-equipment failures + Analyze failure history, repair records, vibration data, and operating conditions + Identify physical, human, and system causes and develop sustainable countermeasures + Track corrective actions and verify effectiveness after implementation* **Bad Actor & Reliability Improvement Manager** + Maintain a ranked bad-actor list using downtime, cost, frequency, risk, and production impact + Build business cases for reliability improvements and equipment upgrades + Facilitate cross-functional improvement plans with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and Supply Chain + Quantify benefits and sustainment requirements for completed improvements* **Maintenance Strategy & Work Quality Partner** + Optimize preventive and predictive maintenance tasks using failure modes and equipment history + Provide technical scope for inspections, repairs, overhauls, precision installation, alignment, and balancing + Review repair quality, tolerance documentation, and post-maintenance acceptance data + Partner with planners, supervisors, technicians, and vendors on complex rotating-equipment work* **Troubleshooting & Technical Response Engineer** + Provide field response for equipment vibration, seal leakage, bearing temperature, lubrication, and performance issues + Integrate process conditions with mechanical data during troubleshooting + Define safe operating limits, temporary controls, and escalation needs with appropriate stakeholders + Communicate technical findings, risk, and recommended actions clearly* **Turnaround, Outage & Project Reliability Support** + Define rotating-equipment inspection and overhaul scopes for outages and turnarounds + Identify critical spares, special tools, vendor support, and quality checkpoints + Support equipment commissioning, startup readiness, and post-startup monitoring + Provide reliability input to capital projects, MOC reviews, design reviews, and PSSRs* **Reliability Data, Standards & Capability Developer** + Maintain accurate equipment histories, failure coding, technical files, and reliability dashboards + Track rotating-equipment KPIs and communicate trends, risks, and priorities + Develop technical standards, troubleshooting guides, and training for site personnel + Support spare-parts strategies and vendor performance reviews for critical equipment* Actively contribute to the organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals, and focusing on performance and safety* Improve the organization's capacity and capabilities through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and utilizing positive communications and influence with others**In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:*** 5-10 years in Rotating Reliability Engineering experience* Mechanical Engineering Degree or technical degree* Vibration Cat Lvl 3 certification* RCA Training and Coordination* Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times **Perks of working at Ashland:*** Comprehensive Benefit package, Medical, Dental and Vision starting on Day 1 for you AND your family* 401(k) plan with company match