SABINE - Assistant Plant Manager

Aquatech; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquatech is seeking an organized and technically skilled Assistant Manager O&M for our Sabine, LA area. The role leads water treatment operations, ensuring maximum uptime, safety, and regulatory compliance, while guiding a team and coordinating with contractors.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in water chemistry and plant operations, plus experience with Maximo and a willingness to travel up to 50%. Relocation to anywhere in the US is expected as needed.

Qualifications

• BS or AS in Chemistry, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering.
• Six years of experience in operation and maintenance of an industrial water treatment facility or a water utility plant in a supervisory role.
• Deep understanding of water chemistry and water analysis techniques.
• Experience in operation and maintenance of water treatment plants.
• Experience with clarifiers, chemical precipitation, media filtration, pre-filters, ion exchange systems, and solids handling.
• Experience with wastewater discharge permits and monitoring wastewater quality.
• Experience supervising shift operators, chemists, mechanics, electricians, and control technicians.
• OSHA-10 certification preferred; safety culture experience.
• Experience scheduling and maintaining the Maximo platform.
• Ability to prioritize critical work and justify resources to the IWS manager.
• Developing a safety-focused environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage WTP/WWTP operation to maximize uptime and ensure water quality and quantity.
• Schedule plant activities such as water analysis, ion exchange regeneration, and filter press cleaning.
• Ensure operations staff conduct water analysis and maintain logs.
• Guide maintenance crew and ensure tools and parts availability.
• Plan maintenance schedules and track spare parts inventory.
• Train employees on safety, process, automation, and chemistry.
• Conduct daily morning meetings and Job Safety Analysis.
• Develop safety and teamwork culture with discipline among staff.
• Coordinate with contractors for IWS system work and plan shutdowns for upgrades.
• Participate in design reviews for proposed system upgrades and sustainability input.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Chemistry knowledge

Water treatment equipment

Thermal process equipment

Manpower management

Team player / leadership

Learning water treatment tech

MS Office / MS Excel / PowerPoint

Willing to travel 50%

Willing to relocate US

OEM experience welcome

Education

BS or AS in Chemistry, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Maximo

Job description

At Aquatech, we tackle the challenges of water scarcity and complexity by leveraging technology, expertise, and financing to deliver comprehensive solutions that reduce carbon and recycled water footprint. As a leading global provider of water and process technology solutions, we help the world's most recognized companies achieve their sustainability and operational goals by implementing innovative approaches for water reuse, desalination, minimal and zero liquid discharge, and critical minerals recovery. Our work catalyzes the transition toward a more sustainable future and showcases our commitment to addressing water's role in climate adaptation. Learn more at www.aquatech.com

Aquatech has an immediate need for a full-time Assistant Manager O&M to work in our Sabine, LA, location. The Assistant Manager O&M will perform the duties described in the job description below and will be considered an Exempt employee.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, technically knowledgeable, a good communicator, a problem solver, team-oriented, able to delegate, and customer service-driven. This candidate will also have previous experience in managing team members in an industrial setting or a similar environment.

Job Description

• The job duties for this position include the following, but are not limited to:
• Manage WTP-WWTP plant operation that includes ensuring maximum plant up time, monitoring incoming and outgoing water quality,y and quantity of water produced
• Schedule plant activities such as water analysis, ion exchange regeneration, a nd filter press cleaning
• Ensure operations staff conduct water analysis at a pre-defined frequency and maintain logs
• Guide the maintenance crew and ensure all tools and parts are available
• Plan maintenance schedules and track inventory of spare parts
• Train employees on safety, process, automation, and chemistry
• Ensure housekeeping in the plant
• Ensure that all safety protocols are followed by the O&M staff (for example, chemical hazards, confined space entry, Lockout-Tagout, etc.), and electrical safety.
• Conduct daily morning meetings with O&M staff to plan the day’s work and Job Safety Analysis
• Develop a safety and teamwork culture and ensure discipline among all employees
• Conducting experiments in support of the Technology development objective
• Develop a training document
• Advanced problem solving and investigations of complex issues or excursions
• Implementation of corrective actions from system excursions
• Coordinate construction activities with contractors working on IWS systems
• Plan and execute system shutdowns in support of module or factory upgrades
• Participate in design reviews for proposed system upgrades and provide input on system sustainability
• Other duties as assigned

Skill Requirements

• Basic knowledge of chemistry, with the ability to quickly learn water chemistry
• Experience with water treatment equipment such as filters, membrane systems, ion exchange resin systems, clarifiers, softening equipment, and sludge handling equipment
• Experience with thermal process equipment,t such as heat exchangers, evaporators, crystallizers, and condensers, is desired but not required. Ability to quickly learn these processes, however, is required.
• Experienced in handling manpower to manage plants and projects
• Ability to demonstrate he or she is a team player who can manage manpower, provide technical guidance, nd ensurethe profitabilityy of operations.
• Aptitude for learning water treatment technology and Industrial / Municipal markets
• Software skills: MS Office, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, ec.
• Responsive and presentable individual who respects customer relationships
• Willingness to travel as much as 50% of the time
• Willingness to relocate anywhere in the US is required.
• Candidates with similar skills from other chemical industries can also be considered for this position.
• Engineers with OEM firms that deal in water treatment will also be considered for this position.

Essential Functions

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above and below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Job Demands

Lifting/carrying/moving lbs, may need to climb ladders, and cannot be afraid of heights, and will need to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while on site. Involves sitting at a desk for extended periods of time. Needs a high degree of concentration in a busy area.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications/ Experience

• BS or Associate's in Chemistry,r Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering
• Six (6) years of experience in the operation and maintenance of an industrial water treatment facility or a water utility plant in a supervisory role is desirable.
• In-depth understanding of water chemistry and water analysis techniques
• Experienced in the operation and Maintenance of water treatment plants
• Experienced in clarifiers, chemical precipitation processes, media filtration, pre-filters, ion exchange systems, and various analytical instruments and solids handling systems,m along with chemical injection
• Experienced in wastewater discharge permits and/or monitoring wastewater quality
• Experienced in working/supervising closely with shift operators, chemists, mechanics, electricians, and control technicians
• Prior experience in material handling, inventory,y and procurement
• OSHA-10 certified prefer,y able to foster a culture that promotes safety
• Experienced in scheduling and managing maintenance on the Maximo platform
• Proven ability to implement and execute daily scheduled work with maintenance. Ensuring the most critical work is prioritized and assigned.
• Familiar with the budget process and assist the O&M manager in budgeting and prioritizing resource funding.
• Ability to provide input on employee personal development, and assist the O&M manager in articulating developmental needs and justifying resources to the IWS manager.
• Developing and fostering an environment where safety is the highest priority and where individual safety is a mindset.