Senior Engineer - Process Research & Development

Roquette; Michigan; On-site; USD 135,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work options

Organizational flexibility

Career growth opportunities

Job summary

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients, seeks a Senior Engineer – Process Research and Development for an on-site role in Midland, Michigan, USA. You will drive process technology development and asset strategy within Health & Pharma Solutions, scaling from lab to pilot to commercial production while mentoring teammates and growing into leadership roles.

You will collaborate across R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing, and Sales to improve capacity, cost, and

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics or materials science with 3+ years industrial exp.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree candidates with substantial industrial experience may also qualify.
• Fluent in English; travel <10% expected.

Responsibilities

• Lead scale-up activities from lab to pilot scale.
• Support implementation in commercial-scale production.
• Collaborate with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing and Sales.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements.
• Mentor colleagues and develop leadership skills over time.

Skills

Communication

Multicultural collaboration

Leadership potential

Independent work

Time management

Education

PhD in chemistry/chemical engineering/physics/materials science

Bachelor's or master's with substantial industrial experience

Job description

Roquette is a family-owned global leader in plant-based ingredients and a leading provider of pharmaceutical excipients. Want to help us make a difference? Using plant-based resources, we collaborate with our customers and partners to imagine and offer ingredients to better feed people and treat patients. Each of our ingredients responds to unique and essential needs, and they enable healthier lifestyles.

The Role:

To support Roquette’s growth ambitions in the Health & Pharma Business Group, we are looking for our next Senior Engineer – Process Research and Development. This is an on-site role based in Midland, Michigan, USA.

Compensation:

The current salary range for this role is estimated to be $135,000- $182,000. In addition, this position may also be eligible to earn performance-based incentive compensation. The specific compensation offered to a candidate will be influenced by a variety of factors including but not limited to skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Your daily mission?

In this role, you will work cross-functionally with Research & Development, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing, and Sales to support and drive Process Technology development and asset strategy within the Health and Pharma Solutions product family. You will apply strong chemical and engineering principles to identify opportunities for process improvements, define and evaluate critical success criteria, lead scale-up activities from laboratory to pilot scale, and support implementation in commercial-scale production. Beyond your technical expertise, you are expected to actively contribute to building organizational capability. This role offers a clear pathway toward future people leadership, and we seek candidates who demonstrate the ambition and potential to grow into a managerial career track. You will progressively take on responsibilities that include mentoring colleagues, fostering collaboration, and developing leadership skills, with the long-term objective of assuming formal personnel responsibility and leading teams.

Your Experience and Talents Will Make the Difference in:

• Becoming an expert in production processes for Roquette® products like METHOCEL™, ETHOCEL™, POLYOX™, AVICELÒ, Ac-Di-SolÒ, and ALUBRAÒ.
• Applying chemistry and engineering principles to identify and generate new process technology with improved capacity, cost and / or performance.
• Applying strong knowledge of chemical reactions at lab and pilot scale to implement improvements at production scale.
• Applying and developing on-line or off-line analytical techniques to support the evaluation of processes including key performance attributes, product defects, and by-products.
• Leveraging historical production data and on-line process analysis tools to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Supporting manufacturing by resolving process technology problems and issues to improve first pass target, prime yield, capacity, and manufacturing cost.
• Creating innovative solutions and delivering new process technology to achieve business-valued targets.
• Demonstrating the ambition and potential to grow beyond a purely technical expert role into a future people leader.
• Over time, you are expected to take on increasing responsibility in team development and organizational leadership, with the goal of transitioning into a formal managerial position.

What We Will Love About You

Above all, you are recognized for your deep scientific problem-solving ideally as a subject matter expert, and for your ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly and effectively. You excel at building strong connections and thrive in multicultural environments across different regions. In addition, you bring the ambition and potential to grow into a people leadership role, demonstrating early leadership traits such as mentoring others, fostering collaboration, and contributing to a positive and high-performing team culture.

What you’ll need:

• Education Doctorate degree (PhD) in a relevant discipline such as chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, materials science, and 3+ years of related industrial experience.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree candidates with substantial industrial experience may also qualify.

Experience and skills

• You have excellent communication and relationship-building skills, thriving in multicultural settings and with both technical and commercial counterparts.
• You are proactive, energetic, and resilient when facing challenges.
• You work independently, know how to prioritize, manage several topics at once, and maintain a sense of urgency.
• You are fluent in English The position requires being open to business travel on a limited basis (<10%) You have demonstrated the potential growing beyond a purely technical expert role into a future people leader.

What we offer:

• Opportunities to learn and grow within an entrepreneurial environment that fosters innovation.
• A highly collaborative team environment with ample room for exponential career growth.
• Access to our internal mobility policy.
• The ability to balance work and personal life, notably through remote work options and organizational flexibility.

Roquette is proud to be a global company where you can find personal and professional growth through multiple diverse experiences.

Roquette strives to create a dynamic workforce while remaining firmly committed to equal opportunity by complying with EEO laws. As we continue to grow, Roquette understands that to be successful we must always be inclusive in our approach.

To find out more about our products, values and sustainable development ambitions visit us at www.roquette.com and at www.sustainability.roquette.com.

Roquette is a global leader in sustainable plant-based solutions, driving innovation and strong partnerships that are shaping the future of nutrition, health, and bioindustry. The company harnesses natural resources such as wheat, corn, seaweed, and cellulose to craft high-performance ingredients used in everyday foods, oral medications, advanced biopharmaceuticals, and a range of bio-based products. A family-owned company with over 90 years of expertise and 11,000 employees, Roquette serves clients in over 150 countries and is committed to creating lasting value for customers, patients, consumers, and society. Together, we turn the potential of nature into the essentials of life.

Discover more about Roquette here.