Kraton Corporation

Process Engineer

Kraton Corporation • $80K — $120K *
Galveston, TX 77550In-Person
Energy & Utilities
Less than 5 years of experience
1 week ago
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or related field
  • Experience in refining, petrochemical, or terminal operations, with a focus on crude distillation
  • Strong understanding of crude distillation operations and distillation curve interpretation
  • Proficiency in process simulation tools (e.g., HYSYS, Petro-SIM)
  • Familiarity with process safety standards like PSM, MOC, and HAZOP
  • Excellent problem-solving, communication, and organizational abilities
  • Capability to handle multiple priorities effectively.

Responsibilities

  • Monitor and troubleshoot crude splitter operations for optimal performance
  • Own and manage key performance indicators for process units
  • Conduct root cause analysis of process deviations
  • Maintain and update process models and monitoring tools
  • Interface with Operations and Commercial teams to translate assay variability
  • Drive margin improvement through optimization initiatives
  • Support capital projects from design to startup.

Benefits

  • Support for professional development and continuous learning
  • Collaborative work environment fostering innovation
  • Engagement in hands-on, impactful projects
  • Opportunities to influence significant operational and financial outcomes
  • Commitment to safety and regulatory compliance.
Full Job Description
Texas International Refining Company is seeking a Process Engineer to support crude splitter operations and contribute to capital projects across refinery and terminal assets. This role is responsible for maintaining safe, reliable, and optimized unit performance while ensuring projects are technically sound, operable, and economically aligned with business objectives.

This position is ideal for an engineer who enjoys hands-on operations support, problem-solving, and driving measurable improvements in both unit performance and capital execution.

Core Responsibilities

A. Production / Operations Support (Primary Accountability) - 30% of time
  • Deliver daily process monitoring and troubleshooting for the crude splitter:
    • Yield optimization vs. assay targets
    • Cut point control and fractionation performance
    • Energy efficiency (furnace, exchangers, heat integration)
  • Own process unit KPIs:
    • Throughput vs. nameplate
    • Yield recovery vs. plan
    • Energy intensity
    • Off-spec product incidents
  • Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for process upsets and deviations:
    • Identify failure mechanisms (equipment, control, feed quality)
    • Implement corrective actions with clear owners and deadlines
  • Maintain unit process models and monitoring tools:
    • Crude slate evaluation
    • Distillation curve interpretation
    • Real-time reconciliation of yields vs. expected
  • Interface daily with Operations, Lab, and Commercial/Trading:
    • Translate crude assay variability into operational adjustments
    • Ensure product specs meet commercial commitments
  • Provide on-call technical support for unit issues

B. Optimization & Continuous Improvement - 30% of time
  • Drive margin improvement initiatives:
    • Maximize high-value cut recovery
    • Minimize giveaway and reprocessing
  • Identify and implement debottleneck opportunities:
    • Hydraulic limits
    • Heat transfer constraints
    • Control system inefficiencies
  • Lead test runs and plant trials:
    • Define test objectives, success criteria, and data requirements
    • Analyze results and formalize recommendations
  • Maintain and update operating envelopes:
    • Document safe and optimal ranges for key process variables
  • Support digital/analytics tools for process optimization where applicable

C. Capital Projects Support (Refinery & Terminal) - 40% of time
  • Serve as process engineering representative for capital projects:
    • Concept development through startup
  • Develop and review process design deliverables:
    • Heat & material balances
    • PFDs / P&IDs
    • Equipment sizing and datasheets
  • Validate project economics and feasibility:
    • Tie process design to yield/value impact
    • Ensure alignment with commercial strategy
  • Ensure operability and maintainability are embedded in designs:
    • Participate in design reviews (HAZOP, PHA, model reviews)
  • Support construction, commissioning, and startup:
    • Develop startup procedures
    • Troubleshoot performance gaps post-startup
  • Coordinate with external engineering firms and vendors:
    • Hold vendors accountable for technical quality and timelines

Safety & Compliance
  • Maintain compliance with PSM and environmental requirements
  • Support and participate in MOC, PHA, LOPA, and HAZOP processes
  • Maintain accurate and up-to-date process documentation
  • Support incident investigations with clear technical findings

What Success Looks Like
  • Strong, consistent unit performance with minimal variability
  • Improved yields and measurable margin contribution
  • Effective RCA with no repeat process upsets
  • Successful capital project execution with smooth startups
  • Strong collaboration across operations, engineering, and commercial teams

Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or related field
  • Experience in refining, petrochemical, or terminal operations (crude distillation preferred)
  • Strong understanding of:
    • Crude distillation / splitter operations
    • Distillation curves (TBP/ASTM) and crude assay interpretation
    • Heat integration and energy optimization
  • Experience with process simulation tools (HYSYS, Petro-SIM, or similar)
  • Knowledge of process safety standards (PSM, MOC, HAZOP)
  • Strong problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities across operations and projects
  • Ability to connect process decisions to economic outcomes

About Kraton Corporation

Kraton Corporation is a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers, specialty polymers, and high-value performance products derived from pine wood pulping co-products. The company's polymers are used in a wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants, lubricants, medical, packaging, automotive, paving, roofing, and footwear. Kraton has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, France, Brazil, and Japan, and sells its products in over 70 countries. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Learn more about Kraton Corporation
Size
1,751 employees
Market Cap
$1.4 billion
Industry
Manufacturing & Automotive
Net Income
-$225.6 million
5 Year Trend
+2.5%
Revenue
$1.5 billion
NASDAQ
KRA
* Ladders Estimates

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