Main PurposeTrafigura is seeking an
Optimization Engineer to join its Refining Technical team in Houston, reporting to the Refining Technical Manager. This is a hybrid technical-commercial role split roughly evenly between (i) day-to-day optimization and optionality analysis on Trafigura's splitter asset, and (ii) commercial support to M&A activity, with a particular focus on the Power business - including technical due diligence, HSEC assessment, and commercial evaluation of prospective asset acquisitions. This role is well suited to a process/project engineer with early-career power and/or oil asset experience, looking to transition into a more commercially oriented career path, working closely with trading, business development, and third-party counterparties.
Key ResponsibilitiesSplitter Asset Optimization (approx. 50%)
- Run and maintain LP-based optimization models for the splitter asset to identify margin-maximizing feed selection, product yields, and operating configurations.
- Evaluate operational and structural optionality on the asset - including feedstock flexibility, product placement, and configuration changes - and quantify the associated commercial value.
- Work closely with the Refining Technical Manager and plant operations to translate technical constraints (unit capacity, feed quality, operating limits) into actionable optimization inputs.
- Provide regular margin capture, yield, and sensitivity analysis to support trading and planning decisions on the asset.
- Identify and evaluate capital or operational improvement opportunities that enhance asset value.
Commercial / M&A and Power Business Support (approx. 50%)
- Support M&A activity across the business, with a focus on both the Oil & Power business, including screening, evaluating, and progressing prospective asset acquisitions.
- Lead or contribute to technical due diligence on power and other prospective assets - assessing technical condition, operating performance, and integration/optionality potential.
- Conduct HSEC due diligence on prospective acquisitions, working with internal HSEC teams and external advisors to identify risks and liabilities.
- Build commercial and technical value cases for prospective transactions, working alongside deal teams, commercial leads, and external advisors.
- Interface directly with third parties - including asset owners, technical advisors, consultants, and counterparties - representing Trafigura credibly in diligence and negotiation settings.
- Support post-acquisition integration and asset optimization planning where relevant.
Required Qualifications- Combined exposure to both power and oil/refining assets - e.g. a power engineer with early project delivery experience (outage support, capital project scoping, maintenance/reliability programs) who also has some downstream/refining exposure, or vice versa.
- Early-career project engineering or project management experience on plant capital projects, even at modest scale.
- Prior exposure to M&A processes, technical due diligence, or transaction support (in-house or via consulting).
- HSEC due diligence experience or familiarity with HSEC risk assessment frameworks.
- Experience working directly with trading or business development teams.
Preferred Qualifications- Approximately 3 years' experience as a process, plant, or project engineer within a power generation asset (fossil, nuclear, or renewables) or a refining/petrochemical facility - with direct exposure to plant operations, outage/turnaround support, or capital project execution.
- Approximately 3 years' experience in LP-based optimization (e.g. Aspen PIMS/PIMS-AO, Honeywell RPMS/GRTMPS, Haverly GRTMPS, or equivalent) within a power, refining, or trading environment.
- Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, or Power Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated ability to translate technical/engineering analysis into commercial value and decision-support material.
- Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to interface confidently and credibly with third parties, including external counterparties, advisors, and acquisition targets.
- Clear intent and aptitude to transition from a technical engineering career path toward a more commercial role.
Attributes for Success- Comfortable operating across both deep technical analysis and commercial/deal-oriented work.
- Strong communicator, able to distill technical findings into clear commercial implications for non-technical stakeholders.
- Confident and professional when representing Trafigura externally with third parties, advisors, and counterparties.
- Self-motivated and able to manage competing priorities across asset optimization and deal-driven M&A timelines.
- Genuine curiosity about how technical assets create commercial value, with ambition to grow into broader commercial responsibility over time.
