Senior Engineer - Process Research & Development

Roquette Group; Midland, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Internal mobility policy

Flexible work options

Collaborative team environment

Job summary

Roquette Group in Midland, Michigan, is seeking a Senior Engineer – Process Research and Development to support growth in Health & Pharma Solutions. You will apply chemical engineering principles to drive process technology development and scale-up from laboratory to pilot and into commercial production.

Cross-functional collaboration with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing and Sales is essential, as is mentoring colleagues and developing leadership skills toward a future

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, materials science, or related field with 3+ years of industrial experience; Bachelor's or master's with substantial experience may qualify.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills in multicultural settings.
• Proactive, energetic, and resilient; ability to prioritize and manage multiple topics with urgency.
• Fluent in English.
• Willing to travel up to 10%.

Responsibilities

• Lead process technology development and asset strategy within Health and Pharma Solutions product family.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and define critical success criteria.
• Lead scale-up activities from laboratory to pilot scale and support implementation in commercial production.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to leadership development toward a managerial career track.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing and Sales.
• Apply analytical techniques to evaluate processes and product attributes and to support process improvements.
• Leverage historical production data and online/offline tools to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Resolve process technology issues to improve yield, capacity, and cost.

Skills

Communication skills

Multicultural collaboration

Independent work

English fluency

Travel willingness

Education

PhD in chemistry/chemical engineering

Bachelor's or Master's with substantial industry experience

Job description

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 isan 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.