OpEx Advanced Controls Lead

Location

Allentown, PA | United States

Job description

Job Description and Qualifications

At Air Products, our purpose is to bring people together to reimagine what’s possible, collaborate and innovate solutions to the world’s most significant energy and environmental sustainability challenges. Grow with us as we embark on building tomorrow together by being the safest, most diverse, and most profitable industrial gas company in the world.

Reimagine What’s Possible

Roles and Responsibilities:

We are seeking an Advanced Controls Lead to join the Operational Excellence (OpEx) team will at our Global Headquarters in Allentown, PA.

This position will provide needed support across projects for both Air Products fully Owned and Operated plants as well as Joint Venture operating plants, and is responsible for building and implementing Advanced Control applications for our new operating facilities, globally. These applications are used to perform on-line model predictive optimization of our operating facilities and are implemented using a combination of Regulatory and Model Predictive Control techniques.

As a member of the Operational Excellence HQ team, the Advanced Controls Lead provides project implementation to new plants to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations. The facilities range across multiple technologies such as Air Separation (ASU), traditional and low carbon intensity Hydrogen and CO production (Grey, Blue and Green HYCO), Gasification, Syngas Purification and Helium.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Safety:

• Maintain a safe work environment and proper documentation required for safety related activities.
• Ensure the safety of all operations personnel by applying the Air Products Basic Safety Practice program, which includes Management of Change, Safety Work Permits, LOTO, etc. The position will be a transparent presence to build the safety culture into new operating assets.

Technical and Operations:

• Lead Advanced Control projects which perform on-line plant optimization based on the engineering and optimization principles for new plant implementations.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary engineering and operations team to identify optimization strategies for new facilities. Develop project scope, budgets and implementation plans aligned with new plant commissioning and startup schedules.
• Work closely with the facility operations team and support them to ensure optimal plant operation after handover of the control functions to regional support teams. Training of the site team in the application is a key aspect of ensuring its adoption and open communication when issues arise or changes occur.
• Advise the operating teams on routine maintenance for the applications as necessary, updating the plant models, implementing modifications to the optimization strategy, incorporating standard processes, and installing software updates.
• Provide support to Plant Process Engineering and Plant Operations teams to fix and resolve process operating problems including product quality, plant efficiency, reliability, and operability issues.
• Work with regional Advanced Control operations personnel to develop standard practices and deploy into new projects. Collaborate on approaches and techniques with other members in the advanced controls community.
• Work with engineering project teams, DCS automation technology managers, cyber security teams and Digital Technology to create safe, secure and easy to maintain advanced controls architectures.
• Provide engineering support & guidance during commissioning or modifications to existing assets. Maintain accurate document control and monitor quality assurance initiatives.
• Provide technical support for MOC’s and technical feedback to Root Cause Analysis to identify & implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Collaborate with the Process Controls Engineers to define appropriate DCS interface requirements, and jointly design, implement and assess those interfaces. Support DCS/PLC external connectivity projects required as part of productivity improvement projects.
• Support new plant advanced control startup globally with approximately 25% travel to operating facilities.

Education & Experience

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's in chemical engineering.
• 5+ years of Process Controls Engineering experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree or PhD with specialization in chemical or controls engineering
• Understanding of hydrogen or syngas production and purification, or Air Separation Unit plant design and operation.
• Fundamental understanding of Operational Technology networks, including modern cyber security requirements, is desirable. Candidates should possess demonstrated fixing and critical thinking skills, an ability to think logically and systematically.
• Aspen DMC3 software or equivalent applications to build and deploy Advanced Control applications.
• Experience using commercially available steady state and dynamic flowsheet simulation and modeling software such as Matlab and Simulink to design and validate proposed control strategies.

We are the world’s largest hydrogen producer with over 80 years of industrial gas experience. We are hydrogen experts delivering safe, end-to-end solutions, investing in real, clean energy projects at scale, and driving the industry forward to generate a cleaner future.

At Air Products, we work in an environment where we put safety first, diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. To learn more, visit About Air Products.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including paid holidays and vacation, affordable medical, dental, life insurance, retirement plans/401(k), and sick time. You will be eligible for benefits and also be 100% vested in your retirement benefits on your first day of employment!

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (U.S.). You will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, citizenship, gender, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or veteran status.

Air Products is committed to working with and providing a reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability and you believe you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or to submit an online application, please e-mail us at [email protected] . General application status inquiries are not answered by this mailbox rather you’ll receive an e-mail directly from our Career Center and/or the Talent Acquisition Specialist.

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