Foam Process EngineerPut your process expertise to work where it makes an impact. As a Foam Process Engineer, you'll optimize polyurethane foam production processes, troubleshoot equipment and material challenges, and use data to drive improvements in quality, consistency, safety, and productivity. Working hands-on with resin and isocyanate systems, you'll partner across Manufacturing, Quality, and Engineering to solve problems and continuously improve performance.
What a Day in Your Life Looks Like:
- Process Control: Monitor and optimize polyurethane foam dispensing and mixing processes, including resin/isocyanate ratios, temperatures, pressures, flow rates, and shot weights.
- Equipment Performance: Audit foam processing equipment, troubleshoot issues with Maintenance, and establish preventive maintenance and calibration standards.
- Quality Assurance: Ensure foam meets established density, adhesion, dimensional stability, fill, and performance requirements.
- Root Cause & CAPA: Investigate foam defects-including voids, shrinkage, adhesion, density, fill, and delamination issues-and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
- Process Optimization: Improve formulations, application methods, and process parameters to increase yield, material utilization, cycle time, scrap performance, and process capability.
- Data & Validation: Analyze production and quality trends, conduct capability studies, and support process validation activities.
- Materials & Suppliers: Partner with suppliers to evaluate raw material performance, resolve resin and isocyanate issues, and qualify new chemicals, suppliers, and equipment.
- New Product Support: Provide foam process expertise for new product development, trials, and manufacturing implementation.
- Documentation & Compliance: Maintain SOPs, work instructions, control plans, specifications, and quality records while ensuring compliance with chemical-handling and EHS requirements.
- Technical Leadership: Serve as the polyurethane foam subject matter expert, providing hands-on troubleshooting, training, and technical support to Production, Maintenance, and Engineering teams.
What You Bring to the Table:
- Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Materials Engineering, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent education and relevant experience considered.
- Foam Process Expertise: 5+ years of experience with polyurethane foam systems, chemical processing, or automated dispensing equipment preferred.
- Polyurethane Knowledge: Understanding of polyurethane chemistry, resin/isocyanate systems, and foam manufacturing processes.
- Equipment & Controls: Experience with meter-mix-dispense systems, PLC-controlled equipment, and process monitoring, including troubleshooting mixing and dispensing systems.
- Data & Problem Solving: Ability to analyze process data, apply statistical methods, and use root cause analysis to solve manufacturing challenges.
- Manufacturing Experience: Experience in transportation, automotive, construction products, refrigeration, or a similar manufacturing environment preferred.
- Systems & Technology: Proficiency with Microsoft Office and manufacturing data systems.
- Travel: Ability to travel approximately 50% across manufacturing locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Physical Requirements:- Work in an active manufacturing plant environment where hands-on tasks keep you engaged! This role requires working in a non-climate-controlled setting, with regular talking and listening. You'll frequently stand, walk, and use your hands to handle, feel, and reach as you complete your daily duties with precision. Occasionally lifting up to 25 lbs.
We offer:
- Competitive pay and full benefits package (medical, dental, vision, life)- your health matters
- 401(k) with company match - because your future matters
- Tuition reimbursement and leadership development to boost your career
- Paid holidays and vacation time - we know balance is key
- Exclusive discounts on footwear, eyewear, and safety gear- because we care about your safety
Join a team where your impact is real, your growth is limitless, and your work fuels the future of transportation!
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