Supervisor - Production Engineering

American Water Works Association; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

American Water Works Association seeks a Senior Process/Production Engineer in Louisville, KY to manage production processes, train staff, and lead capital projects for water treatment operations. The role includes supervising contractors, ensuring regulatory compliance, and optimizing treatment facilities to meet safety and quality standards.

The position involves coordinating across hydraulics, water quality, and maintenance teams, developing procedures, and supporting emergency response and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or Civil Engineering; and

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering-level support for process and production projects
• Propose and manage capital projects to improve production efficiency
• Develop and implement training programs for water production personnel
• Interface with hydraulics, engineering, and water quality personnel on treatment and operations
• Audit and approve daily/monthly production reports
• Assist in development and tracking process measures for water quality and service

Skills

Water treatment knowledge

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Oracle Purchasing System

PeopleSoft

ElCom Publisher

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

Performs a variety of production and process engineering work. This includes field and office technical activities. This position is responsible for managing, developing, and implementing operator training programs, troubleshooting process control problems, responding to water production emergencies, reviewing water quality data, and recommending process adjustments, scheduling employees to maintain the required level of staffing for regulatory compliance and efficient operations. Also serve as Project Manager for water treatment chemical contracts, managing chemical inventories, orders and deliveries required to meet Production demands for the Company’s water treatment facilities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Provide engineering-level support for process and production projects for the treatment plants, distribution pumping stations, and other Louisville Water facilities.

Propose and manage capital projects to improve production efficiency.

Provide on-sight management of contractors performing engineering and processing activities.

Develop and implement procedures and tasks for water production personnel to ensure consistent reliable operations that meet current and future U.S. EPA Water Regulatory requirements.

Develop and implement training programs for water production personnel. Training includes daily water production activities, current and future regulatory compliance requirements, OSHA chemical safety requirements, and general equipment operations.

Interface with hydraulics, engineering, and water quality personnel to provide input on treatment, hydraulic and equipment issues, as well as developing new practices and procedures needed for changes to the treatment operation, the implementation of new pressure zones, tanks, pressure relief valves, or pump stations.

Participate in cross-functional teams with labor management, maintenance, or other specialized areas for developing or implementing new policies, procedures, or practices from department-wide to company-wide scope.

Investigate and resolve problems associated with production including equipment malfunctions, water quality data discrepancies, and safety incidents.

Respond to water production emergencies and, when applicable, develop procedures and processes to reduce future occurrences.

Manage the treatment of chemical inventory. Activities include developing technical specifications for chemical purchases, monitoring vendor compliance with the technical specifications, working with suppliers, purchasing and finance personnel to resolve delivery, technical and payment issues, daily monitoring of chemical usage, resolving feed rate discrepancies, ensuring chemicals are ordered to meet production demand, ensuring compliance with all applicable Federal and State regulations and ordering all field research related chemicals.

Interface with maintenance supervisors and maintenance personnel to provide input on equipment issues, schedule the availability of equipment for maintenance work and develop interim strategies for major repairs. In addition, serve as a backup for Maintenance Supervisors.

Audit and approve all reports prepared by Plant Operations employees and any additional daily/monthly production reports compiled by the Process.

Assist the Manager - Plant Operations with development of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual performance measures for operations personnel to ensure an elevated level of performance.

Assist the Manager - Plant Operations in development and tracking of process measures to ensure that goals for water quality and service are always maintained and that operations are conducted efficiently and cost –effectively.

Ensure operations personnel perform at a level to meet all U.S. EPA Water Regulatory Requirements.

Ensure operations personnel work with Water Quality and Research on maintaining Company standards concerning water quality, regulatory compliance, and treatment optimization.

Ensure OSHA required Process Safety Management (PSM) is implemented based upon Production Procedures and the PSM plan.

Develop, implement, and manage a $3.3 million chemical inventory budget.

Responsible for the implementation and application submittal for the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Partnership for Safe Drinking Water. Partnership for Safe Drinking Water is a standard that exceeds current U.S. EPA regulations concerning the quality of drinking water. Activities include the development and implementation of strategies to address water quality or data collections issues, coordination with Water Quality process personnel concerning treatment changes, review of weekly data analysis, resolve issues with the treatment process and submittal of annual reports to ensure compliance with Partnership requirements.

Maintain a knowledge and understanding of current and future water quality regulatory requirements. Keep abreast of new developments in drinking water treatment and maintain technical competence through continuous training, independent study, and self-improvement.

Develop, facilitate, and/or conduct training on the safe operation of equipment, chemical hazards, and daily required safety tasks.

Develop, review, and publish departmental work instructions and forms, as well as perform maintenance and upgrades required to keep these documents current.

Perform routine audits of GPS system data to monitor employee vehicle usage.

Assist in department intranet website administration in author and publisher roles: edit and upload documents and webpages, create links, etc.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Provides direct supervision of assigned employees and is responsible for work planning and assignment, training, coaching, performance management, and ensures work is completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with company policies and procedures.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Generally, work a 40-hour workweek in office, laboratory, plant, and field environments and may involve travel between work locations. Employees may be exposed to varying weather conditions, operational hazards, hazardous materials, equipment, and uneven terrain. Duties may require prolonged computer use, standing, walking, climbing, bending, and stooping. Positions may require on-call availability, work outside normal business hours, and response to planned work, emergencies, or operational disruptions. These positions may be designated as essential and required to work during emergencies, business disruptions, or inclement weather events.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or Civil Engineering; and
• Five (5) years’ experience in Process/Production Engineering/Plant Operation; and
• Ability to obtain Kentucky Class IV-A plant operator’s license within 18 months of placement in position; and
• 40-hr Hazardous Material Certificate or ability to obtain within 24 months of placement in position; and
• Valid driver’s license.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky or registered in another state and can obtain registration in Kentucky.
• Supervisory, team lead or experience coordinating the work of others.
• Kentucky Class IV-D water distribution license.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Familiarity with water treatment plant and distribution pumping operations.
• Working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Oracle Purchasing System, PeopleSoft, and ElCom Publisher as well as software used in water production and system distribution mapping and GPS.
• Understand, follow, and require employees to adhere to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Louisville Water Company and the Local Union 1683 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.
• Familiarity with basic contracting, accounting, and coordination.
• Demonstrated knowledge of water treatment, water quality, and distribution system hydraulics.
• Critical thinking skills involved in trouble shooting and investigation.
• Ability to read pipeline, construction, Piping and Instrumentation and one-line electrical drawings.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Familiarity with labor management/collective bargaining agreements.
• Familiarity with USEPA existing and upcoming drinking water regulations.
• Basic mechanical and electrical knowledge associated with water production.
• Ability to explain and train technical principles, regulations, etc. to employees with a limited technical background;
• Availability on short notice to respond to plant or personnel issues and emergencies; and
• Thorough knowledge of safety rules and regulations.