Manufacturing Engineer (Chemical industry)

HTI is recruiting for an experienced Manufacturing Engineer for a chemical/food additive manufacturer in Augusta, GA. This is a full-time, direct hire, salaried position. The salary range is $90,000 - $125,000 / year, depending on experience.

Job Summary:

This is a hands-on role across multiple production lines, with a focus on safety, efficiency, and compliance. The ME will support manufacturing operations and drive continuous improvement. They will work closely with Operations, EHS, Quality, and Maintenance to support capital projects, resolve issues, and implement process improvements.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Chemical or Mechanical preferred)
• 3 years of experience as a Manufacturing Engineer in a similar role and facility
• Experience with SAP, ASPEN or Data Historian Application is preferred
• Strong mathematical skills (arithmetic, geometry and algebra, with some requirements for calculus and differential equations)
• Must be able to analyze data, develop equations and perform mass and energy balance calculations
• Must have experience in technical troubleshooting/mechanical skills, as well as knowledge of chemistry/material science; basic electrical/instrumentation experience is preferred
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship (now or in the future)

Job Duties:

Performance Monitoring/Operational Support

• Provide hands-on technical support to production teams across all manufacturing lines.
• Monitor shift logs, yields, and KPIs to identify and address performance gaps.
• Analyze process data (e.g., throughput, OEE, material losses, energy use) and recommend improvements.
• Participate in daily production meetings and contribute to short- and mid-term planning.
• Maintain and update dashboards and performance tracking tools.

EHS/Quality Compliance

• Ensure operational compliance with safety, health, environmental, quality, and food safety standards.
• Participate in incident investigations, audits, and deviation reviews.
• Lead the coordination and follow-up of preventive and corrective action plans.
• Support audit readiness and contribute to documentation and procedural updates.

Continuous Improvement & Reliability

• Lead or support root cause analysis of downtime, quality issues, and other manufacturing or process deviations.
• Identify, propose and prioritize technical or strategic opportunities for improvement, implement low-cost, high-impact improvements.
• Collaborate with Maintenance and EHS to address recurring issues and improve reliability.
• Ensure standard operating procedures and production instructions are maintained and updated.
• Train operators and supervisors on process changes and best practices.
• Pilot industrial trials and action plans.

Support execution of plant upgrades and MOCs

• Provide production data and technical input for MOC justifications and project scopes.
• Evaluate the risks associated with projects and prioritize accordingly
• Communicate operational needs to project teams and validate proposed solutions.
• Support project execution, including commissioning, documentation revision, PSSR, and end-user training.
• Track project-related performance metrics and contribute to post-implementation reviews.

This is not a supervisory role, but this team member will support managers and plant leaders in overseeing, mentoring, and coaching the hourly team. This position may require being on call at times to support 24/7 production.