Koch Industries

Senior Process Engineer

Koch Industries$95K — $115K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Paper Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
  • 7+ years of experience in process engineering within paper, pulp, packaging, or continuous manufacturing.
  • Ability to leverage data for complex operational problem solving.
  • Experience in leading trials and cross-functional improvement projects.
  • Knowledge of safety and quality requirements in an industrial setting.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and production reporting systems.
  • Strong communication skills for influencing diverse teams.

Responsibilities

  • Lead initiatives to boost productivity and quality in the linerboard facility.
  • Analyze various data to uncover trends and improvement opportunities.
  • Troubleshoot issues with production quality and chemical use.
  • Conduct root cause analysis with Operations and Maintenance teams.
  • Plan and execute trials for process improvements.
  • Support grade development and ensure compliance with quality standards.
  • Mentor team members on process fundamentals and best practices.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, and vision.
  • Flexible spending and health savings accounts.
  • Life insurance and disability coverage.
  • Retirement savings plan options.
  • Paid vacation and time off.
  • Educational assistance programs.
  • Potential support for infertility, parental leave, and adoption.
Full Job Description
Your Job

The Senior Process Engineer provides technical leadership for safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of a Kraft linerboard facility. This role drives process optimization, quality improvement, production efficiency, waste reduction, and operating discipline across mill systems. The position partners with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Quality, Environmental, and Capital Projects teams to solve chronic issues and implement sustainable improvements

What You Will Do
• Lead process improvement efforts to increase productivity, runnability, first-pass quality, yield, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Analyze process, production, quality, and DCS data to identify trends, losses, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities.
• Troubleshoot issues related to basis weight, moisture, strength, formation, drainage, pressing, drying, chemical usage, broke handling, and sheet defects.
• Partner with Operations and Maintenance to conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Plan, execute, and document trials to improve fiber utilization, chemical performance, energy efficiency, water usage, productivity, and quality.
• Support grade development, customer quality requirements, process capability improvements, and operating standardization.
• Use structured problem-solving, statistical analysis, and process control tools to reduce variability and stabilize operations.
• Maintain process documentation, control plans, operating guidelines, and training materials.
• Mentor engineers, technical resources, operators, and team members on process fundamentals and best practices.
• Support capital projects through scope development, design review, commissioning, startup, and optimization.
• Ensure process changes meet safety, environmental, quality, and regulatory expectations.
• Track and communicate KPIs such as production rate, downtime, waste, reject rates, energy, chemical cost, and quality performance.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Paper Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
• Seven or more years of process engineering, production, or technical experience in paper, pulp, packaging, or continuous manufacturing.
• Demonstrated ability to use data to solve complex operational problems and deliver measurable results.
• Experience leading trials, process changes, root cause analysis, and cross-functional improvement projects.
• Working knowledge of safety, environmental, quality, and process control requirements in an industrial setting.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, DCS, historian, quality, and production reporting systems.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence operations, maintenance, technical, and leadership teams.

What Will Put You Ahead
• Kraft linerboard or containerboard mill experience.
• Knowledge of fiberline operations, OCC systems, additives, starch, steam, vacuum, and water balance management.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, statistical process control, design of experiments, or structured improvement methods.
• Exposure to capital project development, process design, equipment installation, commissioning, and startup support.
• Demonstrated success mentoring engineers, technical specialists, or operating teams.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here .

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

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About Koch Industries

Koch Industries, Inc. is an American privately-held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas. Its subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching, finance, commodities trading, and investing. Koch owns Infor, Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Molex, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals, Matador Cattle Company, i360, and Guardian Industries. The firm employs 120,000 people in 60 countries, with about half of its business in the United States. The company is the largest non-Canadian landowner in the Athabasca oil sands. With annual revenues of $110 billion by 2014, the company is the largest privately held company in the United States. In 2007, it was ranked as the largest privately held company. If Koch Industries had been a public company in 2013, it would have ranked 17th in the Fortune 500. The company was founded by its namesake, Fred C. Koch, in 1940 after he developed an innovative crude oil refining process. Fred C. Koch died in 1967 and his majority interest in the company was split amongst his four sons. In June 1983, after a bitter legal and boardroom battle, the stakes of Frederick R. Koch and William "Bill" Koch were bought out for $1.1 billion and Charles Koch and David Koch became majority owners in the company. Charles owns 42% of the company; trusts for the benefit of Elaine Tettemer Marshall and Elaine's children, Preston Marshall and E. Pierce Marshall Jr., own 16% of the company. The heirs of David Koch, who died on August 23, 2019, own the balance, 42%, of the corporation.
Learn more about Koch Industries
Industry
Founded
1940

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