Senior Planning & Optimization Advisor/Engineer

4500 Marathon Petroleum Company LP; Findlay (OH); On-site; USD 141,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

Paid time off

401k matching

Annual bonus

Educational reimbursement

Job summary

Marathon Petroleum Corporation in Findlay, Ohio is seeking a Cross-Regional Planning & Optimization Advisor/Engineer to align commercial strategy with regional operations and market dynamics. You will drive economically optimized decisions across multiple refineries and regions, using advanced modeling to translate outputs into actionable planning guidance.

In this role you will partner with Logistics, Commercial, and Planning teams, mentor junior engineers, and lead end-to-end optimization

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required.
• Five years of related experience in refinery planning/optimization.
• Aspen PIMS experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Performs scenario and sensitivity analyses to evaluate impacts of changing market conditions and constraints.
• Partners with Operations, Commercial, Logistics, and Planning teams to align plans across horizons and regions.
• Leads planning studies and optimization projects independently while guiding junior Advisors/Engineers.
• Manages cross-regional commercial aspects including feedstock selection and supply chain optimization.
• Demonstrates advanced understanding of refinery operations, economics, and market dynamics cross-regionally.
• Mentors junior engineers in planning and optimization strategies.
• Leads collaboration meetings to discuss cross-regional economic drivers.
• Changes cross-regional modeling constraints to reflect real operating constraints.
• Evaluates buy-or-make cases from data gathering to final recommendation.
• Develops economic models and sensitivity analyses to assess risk and uncertainty.
• Collaborates with trading to align strategies and optimize outcomes.
• Communicates recommendations to regional leadership for alignment.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Optimization modeling

Scenario planning

Data analysis

Decision support

Stakeholder engagement

Systems thinking

Leadership

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Aspen PIMS

Job description

An exciting career awaits you At MPC, we’re committed to being a great place to work – one that welcomes new ideas, encourages diverse perspectives, develops our people, and fosters a collaborative team environment.

Position Summary The Value Chain Optimization (VCO) team has an opening for a Cross-Regional Planning & Optimization Advisor/Engineer. The Cross-Regional Planning & Optimization Advisor/Engineer plays a critical role in enabling enterprise-wide value optimization by aligning commercial strategy, operational constraints, and market dynamics across multiple regions. Reporting to the Cross Regional Optimization Director, this role operates at the intersection of planning, logistics, and commercial teams to drive consistent, economically optimized decision-making across the value chain. This individual serves as a highly collaborative and energetic integrator, partnering closely with logistics and commercial stakeholders. They facilitate cross-regional alignment, communicate complex concepts in a clear and actionable way, and influence outcomes across diverse stakeholder groups without direct authority. Leveraging strong analytical skills and hands‑on experience with linear programming models, including PIMS, the Cross-Regional Planning & Optimization Engineer evaluates scenarios, validates plans, and identifies opportunities to improve value capture across the system. They translate optimization outputs into actionable insights while ensuring consistency in how models are applied and embedded into planning and execution processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Performs scenario and sensitivity analyses to evaluate impacts of changing market conditions, operational constraints, disruptions, and strategic initiatives.
• Partners with Operations, Commercial, Logistics, and Planning teams to align plans across planning horizons, refineries and regions and supports execution of operating strategies.
• Leads planning studies and optimization projects independently while providing technical guidance to less experienced advisors.
• Manages the commercial aspects of cross-regional operations, including cross-regional feedstock selection, product and intermediate placement, supply chain optimization, and market analysis.
• Demonstrates an advanced understanding of refinery operations, economics, and market dynamics cross-regionally.
• Able to mentor junior engineers in planning and optimization strategies.
• Leads collaboration meetings within the value chain to discuss cross-regional economic drivers.
• Understands how regional plans for multiple refineries are developed, optimized, and executed for using linear programming simulation models.
• Accurately changes cross-regional modeling constraints to match real life operating constraints.
• Leads end-to-end evaluation of cross-regional buy-or-make cases, from data gathering to final recommendation.
• Develops sophisticated economic models and sensitivity analyses to assess risk and uncertainty.
• Collaborates with trading to align strategies and optimize outcomes.
• Interfaces with regional leadership to communicate recommendations and gain alignment.
• Manages project support cases independently.
• Possesses a deep understanding of refinery processes and commercial implications.
• Capable of analyzing complex data, identifying trends, and proposing solutions autonomously.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required.
• A Bachelor's degree in another field may be considered with five (5) years of experience in refinery planning, optimization, value chain, operations, commercial, logistics or related technical experience required.
• Four (4) years of refinery planning, optimization, value chain analysis, operations, commercial, logistics, or related experience required.
• Aspen PIMS linear programming user background preferred.

Skills

• Analytical Thinking: Strong problem-solving skills to identify architectural challenges, analyze requirements, evaluate options, and propose effective solutions.
• Building Partnerships: Developing and leveraging relationships within and across work groups to achieve results.
• Business Acumen: Applies knowledge of MPC’s business, industry and the marketplace to advance the organization’s goals. Makes decisions and recommendations clearly linked to MPC’s strategy.
• Business Domain Knowledge: Understanding of business processes, industry trends, and market dynamics to provide relevant and actionable insights for strategic decision-making.
• Commodity Market Analysis: Applies knowledge of commodity markets, price dynamics, and supply-demand fundamentals to inform planning, optimization, and commercial decision-making.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Identifies and leads opportunities for continuous improvement and value creation, both incremental and largescale.
• Data Analysis: Data Analysis is the process of identifying, evaluating, interpreting and organizing data so that it can be used for business decisions. It includes sorting through data to identify patterns and establish relationships.
• Decision Support Analytics: Leverages analytics, reporting, and decision frameworks to generate insights, evaluate alternatives, and support informed, data-driven decision-making.
• Influencing Others: The ability to garner support for initiatives by gaining the respect of others and inspiring trust and confidence.
• Integrated Planning & Optimization: Designs and manages integrated planning processes that align supply, demand, and operational constraints to optimize value across the enterprise value chain.
• Metrics Management: The process of monitoring performance indicators that demonstrate how effectively a unit/ business/ function/ company is achieving key objectives.
• Optimization Modeling: Applies optimization models and quantitative techniques to evaluate scenarios, improve system performance, and support complex operational and commercial decisions.
• Scenario Planning: Design and evaluate alternative future states to stress-test strategies and inform resilient decision-making.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build alignment across internal and external stakeholders to support shared objectives.
• Systems Thinking: The ability to analyze complex systems and understand their interdependencies, considering both technical and business aspects, to develop comprehensive and scalable architectures.

As an energy industry leader, our career opportunities fuel personal and professional growth.

Location

Findlay, Ohio

Job Requisition ID: 00024486

Pay Min/Max: $141,300.00 - $212,000.00

Salary Grade: 13

Location Address: 539 S Main St

Additional locations: Anacortes, Washington, Canton, Ohio, Carson, California, Catlettsburg, Kentucky, Detroit, Michigan, Dickinson, North Dakota, El Paso, Texas, Garyville, Louisiana, Houston, Texas, Kenai, Alaska, Mandan, North Dakota, Martinez, California, Robinson, Illinois, Salt Lake City, Utah, San Antonio, Texas, St Paul Park, Minnesota, Texas City, Texas, Wilmington, California

Education: Employee Group: Full time Employee Subgroup: Regular

Marathon Petroleum offers a total rewards program which includes, but is not limited to, access to health, vision, and dental insurance, paid time off, 401k matching program, paid parental leave, and educational reimbursement. Detailed benefit information is available at mympcbenefits.com.

The hired candidate will also be eligible for a discretionary company-sponsored annual bonus program.

MPC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive health decision-making, age, mental or physical disability, medical condition or AIDS/HIV status, ancestry, national origin, genetic information, military, veteran status, marital status, citizenship or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process at Marathon Petroleum LP, please contact our Human Resources Department at [e-mail]. Please specify the reasonable accommodation you are requesting, along with the job posting number in which you may be interested. A Human Resources representative will review your request and contact you to discuss a reasonable accommodation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Veteran / Disability

We will consider all qualified Applicants for employment, including those with arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws. In reviewing criminal history in connection with a conditional offer of employment, Marathon will consider the key responsibilities of the role.

About Marathon Petroleum Corporation

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation’s largest refining system. MPC’s marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets. MPC also owns the general partner and majority limited partner interest in MPLX LP, a midstream company that owns and operates gathering, processing, and fractionation assets, as well as crude oil and light product transportation and logistics infrastructure.