Senior Process Engineer Frontier (Pocatello, ID)

Simplot; Pocatello (ID); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Simplot Company is seeking a Senior Process Engineer for sulfuric acid production within its Mining & Manufacturing Division. The role provides technical leadership across sulfur burning, conversion, absorption, acid handling, steam generation, and emissions control, with emphasis on safety, reliability, and environmental compliance.

Collaboration with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams is essential to maximize throughput and energy efficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering or related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in sulfuric acid production or related heavy chemical manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of sulfur burning systems, gas conversion, absorption towers, and acid handling.
• Experience with OSHA Process Safety Management regulations and environmental permitting.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the division's technical authority for sulfuric acid production processes.
• Lead process optimization initiatives to improve safety, reliability, throughput, and energy use.
• Provide technical leadership during plant upsets and major reliability issues.
• Mentor and develop process engineers and operations personnel.
• Lead capital projects, debottlenecking, and major maintenance efforts.
• Support Process Safety Management activities and incident investigations.
• Provide day-to-day technical support to operations and maintenance teams.

Skills

Chemical engineering

Process optimization

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Operations support

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering

Tools

CHEMCAD

Aspen Plus

Aspen HYSYS

Job description

For more than 90 years, Simplot Company has grown as a family-owned, privately held global food and agriculture company. Our diverse businesses span agriculture, food production, manufacturing, mining, plant and animal sciences, ranching and cattle production, logistics, and transportation, connecting many of the essential steps that bring food from the earth to communities around the world.

That diversity creates strength, stability, and opportunity. Across our global business, employees can build new skills, explore different career paths, and contribute to meaningful work in a culture where safety is foundational.

Whatever your role, your work at Simplot contributes to something bigger. Join us to grow your career, make an impact, and help shape the future of food and agriculture.

Summary

The Senior Process Engineer - Sulfuric Acid, serves as the subject matter expert for sulfuric acid production within the Simplot Mining & Manufacturing Division. This position provides technical leadership and strategic support for sulfur burning, conversion, absorption, acid handling, steam generation, and emissions control systems across the organization. The primary responsibility is the development, implementation, and support of optimization, reliability, environmental, and process safety strategies that improve plant performance while ensuring safe and sustainable operations. The role works closely with operations, maintenance, reliability, environmental, and capital project teams to maximize throughput, energy efficiency, equipment reliability, and environmental compliance.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Serve as the division's technical authority for sulfuric acid production processes, including sulfur combustion, gas conversion, absorption systems, acid circulation, and associated utility systems.
• Develop and implement best practices for sulfuric acid production, handling, storage, and distribution across Mining & Manufacturing operations.
• Provide technical leadership during plant upsets, complex troubleshooting events, and major reliability issues.
• Mentor and develop process engineers and operations personnel.

Process Optimization & Reliability

• Evaluate process performance and identify opportunities to improve safety, reliability, throughput, energy efficiency, and product quality.
• Lead process optimization initiatives involving converter performance, acid plant energy recovery, steam systems, emissions reduction, and sulfur utilization efficiency.
• Monitor and evaluate key process metrics including sulfur conversion efficiency, SO₂/SO₃ emissions, acid strength, steam generation, and overall plant capability.
• Develop and support reliability improvement strategies for critical process equipment.
• Process Safety & Environmental Compliance

Process Safety & Environmental Compliance

• Provide technical leadership and support for Process Safety Management (PSM) activities, including:
  • Process Hazard Analyses (PHA)
  • Management of Change (MOC)
  • Incident Investigations
  • Process Safety Information (PSI)
• Operating Procedure Development
• Participate in root cause analyses and incident investigations.
• Support environmental permitting, compliance, and regulatory initiatives.
• Develop strategies to improve environmental performance and reduce plant emissions.

Capital Projects & Debottlenecking

• Lead process engineering support for capital projects, debottlenecking initiatives, and major maintenance efforts.
• Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
• Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
• Heat and Material Balances
• Equipment Specifications
• Control Narratives
• Operating Procedures
• Support project definition, detailed design, startup, commissioning, and performance testing activities.

Operations Support

• Provide day-to-day technical support to operations and maintenance personnel.
• Support turnaround planning and execution activities.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with site leadership to establish long‑term operating and reliability strategies.

Typical Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in sulfuric acid production or closely related heavy chemical manufacturing processes.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Sulfur burning systems
  • Gas conversion
  • Absorption towers
  • Acid circulation systems
  • Heat recovery and steam generation systems
  • Emissions control technologies
• Working knowledge of:
  • OSHA Process Safety Management regulations
  • Environmental compliance and permitting requirements
  • Root Cause Analysis methodologies
  • Process Hazard Analysis techniques

Other Information

Preferred:

• Experience with phosphoric acid manufacturing and sulfuric/phosphoric acid integration.
• Experience supporting large capital projects and plant startups.
• Proficiency with process simulation and modeling software such as CHEMCAD, Aspen Plus or Aspen HYSYS.
• Experience managing technical aspects of turnarounds and major outages.

Location / Travel:

• This position reports to the Director of Process Engineering based in Pocatello, Idaho.
• Primary work location will be the Don Plant in Pocatello, Idaho, and Rock Springs, WY.
• Position will provide support to sulfuric acid operations and related process units across the Mining & Manufacturing Division as needed.
• Travel is expected to be approximately 25-40%, depending on project assignments and facility support requirements.

**The Simplot Company is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status.