Are you ready to move your career forward and help shape our company’s and customers’ futures?
If you aspire to challenge yourself, work with the best in the industry and join a successful team where you can make a meaningful contribution, then we invite you to join us at Ketjen Corporation, a provider of advanced catalyst solutions to leading producers in the petrochemical, refining, and specialty chemicals industries. Together, we can create a legacy marked by innovation, excitement, and energy.
Ketjen is hiring a senior leader to build its data, analytics, and AI capability. The final title and level will be set by Human Resources based on the candidate’s background and scope. Today, Ketjen’s analytics sit across separate tools: plant historians, equipment analytics, and early automation and AI pilots. This leader will connect those efforts, help select the right data and analytics platform, and create a practical way to pilot and scale AI. This is a build role for someone who wants to shape a function, works well with plant teams, and can present a clear data strategy to executives.
REPORTING AND KEY RELATIONSHIPS
This role reports to Chief Information Officer and works closely with Applications, Infrastructure and Cybersecurity, plant and manufacturing leadership, and functional leaders across finance, supply chain, commercial, and R&D.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Data and Analytics Strategy
Assess current data, analytics, and AI capabilities, including plant floor tools, and decide what to keep, retire, or build.
Set the data and analytics strategy and roadmap, with executive alignment on priority investments.
Design the target data platform, including reporting, dashboards, data engineering, pipelines, and advanced analytics, once the platform direction is selected.
Retire or replace point tools where a unified platform is better, while preserving what works.
IT & OT Data Integration
Connect enterprise system data with plant floor data from historians and equipment sensors.
Partner with manufacturing and engineering to improve yield, reliability, and maintenance planning.
Ensure plant-to-enterprise data flows are secure and do not create operational technology risk.
AI Strategy and Piloting
Identify AI and automation use cases based on business value and feasibility.
Run focused pilots, prove value quickly, and scale only where there is a clear case.
Build on existing automation and AI work and extend proven ideas into manufacturing, supply chain, and commercial operations.
Set practical AI guardrails for privacy, security, and human oversight.
Data Governance and Quality
Establish data ownership, quality standards, and master data practices across functions.
Define reporting standards so key metrics mean the same thing across functions and sites.
Build a data catalog and access model that makes trusted data easier to find and use securely.
Business Partnership and Value
Work with plant, finance, supply chain, and commercial leaders to target decisions where better data can improve outcomes.
Partner with business leads to define the right KPIs, measurement rules, and dashboards.
Report business value from data, analytics, and AI initiatives in executive terms.
Advise executives on what AI can and cannot do for Ketjen now.
Team Building
Hire and lead a small team of data engineers and analysts who can work across IT and OT.
Decide what to build in-house versus source through partners, and manage key vendor relationships.
EXPERIENCE
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in data science, computer science, engineering, or a related field.
Substantial experience building or leading enterprise data, analytics, or AI functions.
Experience with modern BI, data engineering, and analytics platforms, including evaluating options and recommending the right fit.
Experience working with both information technology and operational technology data in a manufacturing or industrial setting.
A track record of piloting AI or automation initiatives and moving them into real production use.
Strong understanding of current AI technology stacks, including generative AI, agentic patterns, orchestration, integration, and secure enterprise deployment.
Strong stakeholder management skills, from plant managers to finance executives.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in chemicals, manufacturing, or another process industry with continuous operations.
Familiarity with plant historian platforms and equipment or process analytics tools.
Experience building an early-stage data or analytics function.
Experience in a private equity owned or sponsor-backed company.
Familiarity with responsible AI governance and data privacy practices.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
A builder who wants to shape a new function.
Someone who treats plant floor data with the same seriousness as financial data.
A practical AI leader who proves real use cases rather than chasing every new tool.
A confident communicator who can make the business case for data investment.
LOCATION AND TRAVEL
Based at Ketjen's headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Travel to manufacturing sites as needed to understand plant data and support use case development.
Benefits of Joining Ketjen
Competitive compensation
Comprehensive benefits package
A diverse array of resources to support you professionally and personally.
Apply today and help Ketjen unleash the POTENTIAL of advanced chemistry for industries that power the world.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in data science, computer science, engineering, or a related field
- Substantial experience building or leading enterprise data, analytics, or AI functions
- Experience with modern BI, data engineering, and analytics platforms, including evaluating and recommending solutions
- Experience working with both information technology and operational technology data in a manufacturing or industrial setting
- Track record of piloting AI or automation initiatives and moving them into production use
- Strong understanding of current AI technology stacks, including generative AI, agentic patterns, orchestration, integration, and secure enterprise deployment
- Strong stakeholder management skills across plant, finance, supply chain, commercial, and executive leaders
- Experience in chemicals, manufacturing, or another process industry with continuous operations
- Familiarity with plant historian platforms and equipment or process analytics tools
- Experience building an early-stage data or analytics function
- Experience in a private equity owned or sponsor-backed company
- Familiarity with responsible AI governance and data privacy practices
Albemarle Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Albemarle Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Albemarle Corporation.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as a standout element of the total rewards package, including a 401(k) with matching contributions and an additional automatic employer contribution with immediate vesting. This structure meaningfully boosts total compensation beyond base pay and is repeatedly emphasized as a differentiator.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental and family support appears robust, including up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for either parent and financial support for adoption and surrogacy. Family-related programs extend into fertility and broader parenting support, reinforcing the depth of benefits beyond traditional medical coverage.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing and lifestyle benefits include dedicated wellness days, mental-health access with coaching and therapy support for employees and dependents, and a broad Employee Assistance Program. These offerings suggest the rewards package is designed to support health, resilience, and work-life needs alongside pay.
Albemarle Corporation Insights
What We Do
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is a global specialty chemicals company with leading positions in lithium, bromine, and refining catalysts. We power the potential of companies in many of the world’s largest and most critical industries, from energy and communications to transportation and electronics. Working with our customers, we develop and customize solutions using the finest technology and ingredients with the knowledge and know-how of our highly experienced and talented team of operators, scientists, and engineers. Discovering and implementing new and better performance-based sustainable solutions motivates all of us. We think beyond business-as-usual to drive innovations that create lasting value. Realize your POTENTIAL with Albemarle. At Albemarle, we believe that our people make us successful. It’s that simple. We embrace the diversity of experience, talent, and thought. We work hard to create an inclusive work environment that empowers you to openly and honestly communicate, create and innovate. Your career will reach an international reach from the United States to Australia. Your decision to join our team will be rewarded with a positive, team-oriented workplace that inspires personal and professional growth. We will make every effort to support your career goals and create opportunities for you to realize your full potential. This is our culture. This is our commitment. AS PART OF OUR GLOBAL TEAM, YOU’LL EXPERIENCE: • Competitive compensation and benefits • Hands-on technical experience • Job variety and career flexibility • Collaboration with seasoned employees at every level • A proven record of innovation • Company-wide focus on economic and environmental sustainability • Deep commitment to our communities, education and social development • Concern and compassion for fellow employees • Among the best safety records in the industry The bottom line: no matter where you apply your talent and training, Albemarle
