Technical Engineer, Furnaces

INEOS Belgium; Alvin (TX); On-site; USD 104,900 - 178,570; Full time

Job summary

INEOS is seeking a Furnace Engineer at Chocolate Bayou Works in Alvin, TX to lead ethylene cracking furnace technology, ensuring safe, reliable and economically optimized operation of CBW's Olefins furnaces, and to support long‑term asset strategy.

You will own furnace performance, asset integrity, process safety leadership, and cross‑functional collaboration with Operations, Production Engineering and Capital Projects to drive energy efficiency and reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering required or strongly preferred.
• Minimum 4 years of petrochemical, refining, fired‑equipment, or process engineering experience.
• Preferred experience includes ethylene plant operation, olefins technology, furnace optimization, and capital project development.

Responsibilities

• Furnace Technology Ownership: CBW technical authority for ethylene cracking furnace technologies and maintain design basis docs.
• Furnace Performance Optimization: drive yield, conversion, energy efficiency and operating strategy improvements.
• Asset Integrity & Reliability: provide technical support for tube life management and investigations into failures or upsets.
• Process Safety Leadership: support PHA, HAZOP, LOPA, MOC and incident investigations; maintain operating envelope limits.
• Operations & Production Engineering Support: troubleshoot startups, shutdowns, and capacity constraints; guide operator decisions.
• Capital Project Development & Execution: identify opportunities, develop business cases, support FELs and project execution.
• Environmental & Sustainability Leadership: reduce fuel consumption and emissions; support compliance and decarbonization options.

Skills

Petrochemical experience

Fired equipment

Process engineering

Capital projects

Education

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering considered

Job description

Interested in joining a winning team? A team whose employees are empowered to make a difference?

Job Location: Chocolate Bayou Works (CBW) in Alvin, TX

Offer Range: $104,900 - $178,570 (commensurate with experience)

Organizational Context and Job Purpose

The Olefins & Polymers USA division of INEOS is one of the largest producers of olefins and polyolefins in North America. From its manufacturing locations at Chocolate Bayou and the Battleground Manufacturing Complex, it is a merchant marketer of butadiene, ethylene, polypropylene and high-density polyethylene with annual revenue of over $4B.

The Chocolate Bayou Site is located in southeastern Texas about 40 miles south of Houston and consists of two Olefins units that produce approximately 4bn pounds/year of ethylene, two Polypropylene units that produce approximately 1B pounds/year of polypropylene, and the Light Ends storage & transfer facilities at Stratton Ridge.

The Furnace Engineer is the site subject matter expert for ethylene cracking furnace technology and provides technical leadership for safe, reliable, environmentally compliant, and economically optimized operation of CBW's Olefins furnaces. The Furnace Engineer is a critical technical leadership role for CBW, protecting the integrity of high-value furnace assets, improving olefins profitability through better conversion and energy performance, reducing process safety and reliability risk, and providing the technical foundation for long‑term furnace replacement, revamp, and modernization decisions.

The Furnace Engineer develops and sustains CBW's long‑term furnace strategy, maintains furnace technical standards, optimizes furnace performance, supports capital projects, and helps protect the mechanical integrity of fired equipment. The role directly supports CBW objectives for process safety excellence, operational reliability, ethylene production optimization, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and long‑term asset stewardship.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Furnace Technology Ownership

• Serve as CBW technical authority for ethylene cracking furnace technologies
• Maintain furnace design basis documentation, technical standards, operating guidelines, and engineering best practices
• Evaluate emerging furnace technologies and support long‑term technology screening, feasibility studies, and strategic planning
• Interface with licensors, OEMs, EPC contractors, inspection specialists, and industry networks to preserve and advance CBW furnace knowledge

Furnace Performance Optimization

• Drive improvements in ethylene yield, conversion, selectivity, utilization, feed flexibility, and furnace capacity
• Reduce variable cost through improved severity discipline, fuel efficiency, steam usage, decoke timing, and operating strategy
• Develop and maintain performance indicators for COT, coil pressure drop, run length, decoke frequency, choke rates, conversion, selectivity, energy efficiency, CO2 intensity, and furnace availability
• Support furnace models, performance dashboards, benchmarking, and optimization studies

Asset Integrity & Reliability

• Provide technical support for tube life management
• Lead or support investigations involving tube failures, coke formation, burner issues, refractory deterioration, TLE failures, flame instability, process upsets, and reliability losses
• Develop long‑range furnace replacement, revamp, and upgrade strategies based on risk, production impact, mechanical condition, and business value

Process Safety Leadership

• Provide furnace technical support for PHA, HAZOP, LOPA, MOC, risk ranking, and incident investigation processes
• Maintain furnace operating envelope limits
• Support corrective action development and closure for furnace‑related process safety findings
• Serve as technical lead for initiatives involving furnace safeguards, permissives, trips, flame safety, decoke safety, and safe operating limits

Operations & Production Engineering Support

• Provide technical troubleshooting support for startups, shutdowns, unit upsets, furnace trips, feed changes, decokes, emergency events, and capacity constraints
• Provide recommendations for severity management, feed allocation, decoke timing, coil operation, operating limits, reliability risks, and production optimization
• Develop operator training materials, technical guidance, and lessons learned to strengthen furnace operating capability
• Partner with Operations, Production Engineering, Process Control, and Reliability to convert data into practical operating decisions

Capital Project Development & Execution

• Identify furnace improvement opportunities and develop business cases that integrate safety, reliability, yield, energy, emissions, and production value
• Support FEL development, design basis definition, technology selection, scope development, project reviews, commissioning, and startup
• Typical project areas include furnace replacements, revamps, coil upgrades, burner upgrades, safety system improvements, emissions reduction, heat recovery, and decoke system improvements
• Provide technical governance for furnace‑related capital strategy, including multi‑year portfolio planning and value realization

Environmental & Sustainability Leadership

• Support reduction of fuel consumption, CO2 intensity, NOx emissions, flaring, and other furnace‑related environmental impacts
• Evaluate furnace operating strategies and capital options that improve energy efficiency and sustainability performance
• Support environmental compliance, permit‑related technical input, and future decarbonization technology evaluation where applicable

Skills and Knowledge Required

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering required or strongly preferred
• Mechanical Engineering or related engineering degree may be considered with significant fired‑equipment, olefins, or petrochemical furnace experience

Experience

• Minimum 4 years of petrochemical, refining, fired‑equipment, or process engineering experience
• Preferred experience includes ethylene plant operation, olefins technology, furnace optimization, and capital project development

Our culture is one of honesty and integrity with an emphasis on safety, health and environmental performance. On our team, people are acknowledged for embracing new practices that help create real value for customers.