Global Capital Project Start-Up & Commissioning Leader

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Global Capital Project Start-Up & Commissioning Leader to shape and lead commissioning, readiness-to-operate (RTO), turnover, start-up, and operational stabilization excellence across our global capital project portfolio.

This is a role for an experienced capital projects professional who knows what it takes to successfully move a major industrial project from construction completion into safe, reliable, sustainable manufacturing operations.

Serving as the enterprise subject matter expert for commissioning and start-up, you will establish the standards, work processes, capabilities, and governance that help project teams execute successful start-ups, manage operational risk, and accelerate value realization from capital investments.

Reporting to the Capital Projects Director, you will partner across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Maintenance, EHS, Quality, and business leadership globally.

Location: This position may be based at major DuPont manufacturing facilities in North America and requires global travel as needed to support project planning, readiness reviews, commissioning, and start-up activities.

What You’ll Do

Set the global standard for commissioning and start-up

• Establish global strategies and best practices for commissioning, turnover, RTO, start-up, and operational stabilization.
• Develop and maintain standards, procedures, tools, and governance processes that enable consistent execution across regions and businesses.
• Provide subject matter expertise and coaching throughout FEL, design, construction, commissioning, and start-up.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety, reliability, operational readiness, and schedule performance.

Provide leadership across major capital projects

• Provide functional leadership for commissioning and start-up activities across the global capital portfolio.
• Participate in project gate reviews and assess readiness for major projects.
• Partner with Project Team Leaders to develop commissioning execution plans, turnover strategies, resource plans, and integrated start-up schedules.
• Identify and mitigate risks that could impact safety, quality, cost, schedule, or business outcomes.
• Provide clear recommendations on project status, risks, readiness, and critical decisions to senior project leadership.

Drive readiness-to-operate

• Define expectations for RTO, systemization, turnover packages, acceptance criteria, and phased handover.
• Ensure readiness plans address staffing, training, procedures, maintenance systems, spare parts, technical documentation, quality, and supply readiness.
• Lead readiness reviews and drive closure of critical gaps, punch-list priorities, and action items.
• Align Engineering, Construction, Operations, Maintenance, EHS, Quality, and business stakeholders ahead of facility start-up.

Champion safe and disciplined execution

• Promote a zero-incident culture throughout commissioning and start-up.
• Ensure alignment with Process Safety Management, environmental, regulatory, quality, and company requirements.
• Strengthen commissioning and start-up risk-management practices.
• Support Pre-Startup Safety Reviews and operational readiness verification for major projects.
• Ensure critical safeguards, interlocks, alarms, protective systems, and required documentation are verified before start-up.

Build capability across the organization

• Develop commissioning and start-up competency programs for engineering and manufacturing organizations.
• Establish communities of practice for commissioning and operational readiness professionals.
• Coach commissioning leaders and project teams.
• Capture and deploy lessons learned from major projects.
• Build a strong global pipeline of commissioning and start-up expertise.

What You’ll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or a related engineering discipline.
• 15+ years of experience across manufacturing, operations, maintenance, engineering, commissioning, start-up, or capital project execution.
• 10+ years of leadership responsibility supporting major capital projects.
• Demonstrated experience successfully leading commissioning and start-up for significant industrial capital projects.
• Strong knowledge of commissioning, turnover, readiness-to-operate, process safety, manufacturing operations, reliability, and risk management.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams within a global matrix organization.

Global travel required 25-30%

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with complex capital projects, including greenfield, brownfield, expansion, debottlenecking, and technology deployment projects.
• Experience across multiple manufacturing technologies, businesses, or geographic regions.
• Deep understanding of industry-standard capital project work processes, Front-End Loading (FEL), and project governance.

Why This Role Matters

Successful capital projects do not end when construction is complete. They deliver value when new assets transition safely and effectively into reliable operations.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to shape how major capital projects are commissioned and started up globally, developing the standards and capabilities that help teams reduce risk, strengthen operational readiness, and successfully transition capital investments into sustainable manufacturing performance.

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