Process Engineer

Name of Employer:               Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc.

Position Title:                        Process Engineer  

Position Location:                 150 Columbia Street, Reading, PA 19601

Summary of Duties: Position focuses on optimizing the chemical composition/chemistry of the company’s powder coating chemical products. Monitor and improve processes to maintain or enhance quality, HSE, service and costs level by troubleshooting (Root Cause) manufacturing processes. Responsible for industrialization of new products and new manufacturing processes on a manufacturing site, including transfers, MOCs (Management of Change), NPIs (New Product Introduction), project commissioning and start-up. Monitor process performance through metrics such as RFT, MME, OEE, cost productivity, customer complaints, waste indices and act as required to correct adverse trends, performing plant-based process investigations. Develop plans to improve above performance through focused improvement activities (in conjunction with the operations group) along with capital project and other CI/ALPS initiatives. Interface with off-site functions such as R&D/marketing/supply chain and central engineering for industrialization of new products, new raw materials, new packaging and recipe changes ensuring changes on-site are controlled and managed. Provide expertise for on-site operations group during process related troubleshooting issues. Hands-on with production operators/quality techs. Develop process standardization (where applicable) and contribute to reduce variability on different site processes. Responsible for manufacturing related NPI activity coordination. Promote quality system through adhering to elements of and being familiar with philosophy, quality statement, quality manual, and procedures. Promotes health, safety and environmental regulations by ensuring standards, policies, and procedures are adhered to in compliance with corporate, federal, state, and local requirements.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or related field of study and 3 years of experience in a manufacturing support role in the Powder Coatings Industry.

Applicants must have demonstrated experience with the following:

1. Operation and maintenance of process equipment including extruders, mills, mixers, utilities (air compressor, chiller, boiler, etc.), sieves, and curing ovens and using these items to produce powder at a laboratory scale.
2. Coatings operations or continuous manufacturing operations.
3. Formulating powder coatings to affect the following properties: gloss, color, adhesion, hardness, flexibility, and corrosion resistance.
4. Formulating powder coatings to address the weatherability of polyester, polyurethanes, and epoxy chemistries.
5. Formulating powder coatings for application on metallic products.
6. Working with resin and pigment types to impact color development, opacity, and stability in powder coatings.
7. Working with additives and curing agents to affect their interaction in powder coating formulations.
8. Working with chemical reactions, polymerization mechanisms, and cross-linked processes for powder coating chemistry.
9. Applying color theory principles to powder coating formulation, including hue, saturation, brightness, color harmony, color mixing, color measurement systems, color spaces, and colorimetry.
10. Using color models CIE Lab*, RGB, and CMYK to formulate powder coatings.
11. Matching and formulating colors for powder coatings based on factors that influence color vision, including lighting conditions and observer variability.
12. Ensuring color consistency across batches and substrates of powder coatings. 

Position offered by Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc.

CONTACT:  Individuals interested in applying for the position may email a resume with Job #BG0414 to ta.us@akzonobel.com or apply directly.