Engineer - Entry Level

Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products.

At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.

• Strong commitment to personal and process safety; willing to intervene and advocate for actions that reduce risk.

• Lead multidisciplinary teams to execute technical projects and production trials at a manufacturing scale aligned with business objectives.

• Project examples include yield improvements, waste & energy reduction, debottlenecking, raw material qualifications.

• Exhibit a high level of initiative, drive, and leadership; able to overcome barriers through collaboration and innovative thinking.

• Results-oriented individual capable of defining and solving complex chemical manufacturing problems and implementing lasting solutions.

• Work effectively with all levels and individual disciplines of the broader organization, including other engineers, operators, technicians, technical experts, and organizational leaders.

• Communicate effectively and gain organizational buy-in for improvements.

• Document best practices and share results from completed projects to ensure favorable impacts are real and sustained.

• Primary job function to provide day-to-day support to manufacturing units to ensure safe, stable and reliable operations. 

• Additional Responsibilities Include: 

  • Monitoring operating data for assigned areas and provide analyses and troubleshooting as needed to achieve the operating plan.

  • Identify and implement improvements to support business objectives (debottlenecking, plant trials, improved reliability) using the Management of Change process.

  • Develop and review procedures and provide operator training as needed.

  • Lead incident investigations into process and equipment failures as appropriate.

  • Serve as the Division Representative on capital projects to improve productivity and increase capacity in the manufacturing department.

  • Conduct Process Hazard Analyses and coordinate timely resolution plans to meet project deadlines.

  • Interface with HSES, Product Development, Maintenance, Process Improvement, and other supporting organizations to prioritize and initiate projects.

Skillsets

Strong project leadership, defined as:

• Communicate & collaborate effectively

• Analytically-minded

• Effectively define problems & implement data-driven solutions

• Driven & energetic

• Lead multiple projects in parallel

• Results-oriented & execution-focused

• Build effective teams with the right expertise & resources

• Structured approach to project leadership (agreement on goals, milestone planning, gate reviews, etc.)

• Ability to easily interface with operations and maintenance personnel and lead cross-functional teams

Qualifications

• Candidates must have B.S. or M.S. in Chemical Engineering or related discipline from an accredited college or university.

• Experience with any of the following systems is an advantage:

  • Statistical analysis software

  • PI Vision

  • Distributed Control Systems

  • Lean Manufacturing/Six Sigma

• 2 - 5 years of chemical engineering/relevant experience 

• Must be comfortable in a manufacturing environment with large, continuous chemical processing equipment

• Must have good troubleshooting skills to analyze process data, understand equipment operations and determine root causes of failures 

🌍 Global Benefits Overview

• 💰 Competitive, market-aligned compensation

• 🎯 Discretionary global bonus scheme

• 📈 Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – for senior positions

• 🚗 Company car or car allowance – varies by region and role

• 🩺 Healthcare – tailored to regional locations

• 👶 Parental leave and family support – maternity, paternity, adoption (aligned with regional policies)

• 🏡 Working options – flexibility where it matters, based on role and business needs

• 📚 Learning & development opportunities – training, online platforms, buddy/mentorship programs, Internal Synthomer University with L&D offers

• 💙 Wellbeing support – employee assistance program (EAP), mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives

• 🌱 Retirement / pension contributions – plans vary by country

• 🤝 Culture of Inclusion – where everyone can thrive

• 🏆 Performance culture, global reward & recognition programmes