Technical Manager

About Us

Ambercycle is a materials company founded in 2015 to create a circular supply chain for the apparel industry, making decarbonized raw materials across industry verticals. We're doing this by developing and deploying new technologies to increase the scope and scale of regenerated materials in the global apparel supply chain, and reduce the use of raw agricultural and petroleum resources. Our products avoid the use of new raw materials and go into the highest quality applications, exceeding the expectations of end customers with a fraction of the environmental footprint. Our success is the result of the talent, curiosity, and drive of our people. They bring solutions every day to realize our vision to improve humanity’s relationship with the material world. Visit ambercycle.com to learn more.

The Job

This role will be critical to the engineering of our flagship commercial project during the design and construction phase and serve as the technical leader during operations of the plant. You will work in collaboration with the Operations Manager, Project Director, EPC company, and various vendors to ensure successful project execution as well as technical excellence of the plant during the startup and continuous operations. In the beginning the role will be based in Jakarta for the beginning of the EPC project, and then transition to the project site at Gresik, East Java, Indonesia for startup and operations. 

Purpose

To lead, set priorities, and motivate engineers/technicians to achieve or exceed company objectives, especially in the areas of safety, gross margin improvement, operational expense reduction, reliability, and product quality. This involves monitoring plant units, troubleshooting, and making modifications to improve performance, equipment monitoring, and providing guidelines for proper operation to enhance fixed and rotating equipment reliability. Additionally, it includes providing technical support to all departments, offering lab test services, ensuring product quality meets customer specifications, and continually improving the plant to boost technology and company performance.

Responsibilities Overview

Quality Workforce

- Provide training and development for Managers and Engineers on safe design and process evaluation of the units, equipment, and facilities.

- Provide performance feedback of Managers and Engineers at least biannually.

- Review and adopt Best Practices to improve unit performance.

- Train and develop anchor technical positions to support AC to be less reliant on third-party engineering companies.

- Evaluate the competency level of engineers and formulate a plan to close the gap.

- Evaluate QA/QC engineers/technician inspection reports and plan the next turnaround activities.

Operations

- Provide technical support to Operations on plant optimization, energy management, raw materials usage, plant modification/addition, equipment inspection/protection, product qualities, production rate, storage and blending, and cargo discharge/loading.

- Work closely with Maintenance and provide guidelines on all methods of monitoring, inspecting, and repairing fixed and rotating equipment to meet the highest international industry practices and in accordance with manufacturing specifications and tolerances.

- Provide technical support to Operations during plant upset and plant emergency.

- Provide technical support for HAZOP study of plant modification and vapor relief load.

- Provide technical support to Operations for the evaluation of equipment/unit to ensure operation is safe and environmentally sound.

Environment, Health, Safety, and Quality

- Work closely with the SHE department on safety and environmental matters.

- Communicate and enforce AC’s policies and safety regulations.

- Follow up on Corrective Action Report (CAR) and implement recommendations.

- Ensure all work is carried out safely.

- Monitor product quality and work with Operations to resolve any product and feed quality issues.

- Monitor the effectiveness of energy conservation and yield optimization programs and revise guidelines if required to achieve program objectives.

Administration

- Evaluate feed and raw materials supply vendors and recommend accordingly.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, polymer engineering, or mechanical engineering.
• 20+ years of experience in the petrochemical, polymers, or specialty chemicals industries.
• Experience in implementing and operating a complex project in the petrochemical or polymer industry.

Preferred Qualifications

• Effectively communicates to all employees in a manner that promotes understanding, commitment, and teamwork.
• Listens effectively, is skillful at one-on-one counseling, and values abilities and contributions of all people.
• Willingly accepts accountability for results.
• Empowers people, inspires commitment to promote teamwork, leads by example, and sets high standards.
• Upholds project and plant safety and environmental standards. 
• Is enthusiastic about scaling up a first of a kind decarbonized technology 
• Demonstrates integrity, inspires trust, builds consensus, and respects others and their ideas.
• Shows enthusiasm and unwavering passion to do the right thing.
• Strives for continuous improvement as well as takes initiative and ownership.
• Develops and releases employees for training and development.
• Rewards performance and is firm with non-performers.
• Encourages cooperation and shares knowledge and best practices openly.
• Shows concern for effectiveness and takes and supports calculated risks.
• Has diverse technical skills and effective problem-solving abilities.
• Communicates effectively and interfaces well with other departments.
• Has intimate knowledge of SHE regulations.
• Resolves grievances expeditiously and amicably.

Project Phases

EPC PHASE

Engineering:

- Review the PFD/P&IDs and sign off on engineering design and documents.

Procurement:

- Review the technical data sheets of various equipment and utilities and sign off on such data sheets.

- Evaluate vendors and arrange the inspection of the equipment at various stages during manufacturing.

Construction:

- Provide inputs to the construction team for the installation of equipment, piping, etc., as per the manufacturer's instructions and engineering documentation.

Operating Manual including start-up and shut-down manual:

- Assist in the preparation of such manuals as per the process package and engineering documents.

- Coordinate with other departments in the preparation of the HAZOP manuals and best practices.

Training and Leadership:

- Lead and mentor the discipline engineers who will form the plant technical department.

- Help to hire and train a team of process engineers, mechanical engineers, etc., that will be involved in the technical department.

PROJECT COMMISSIONING PHASE

- Plan for the commissioning schedule along with other departments.

- Assist the Manufacturing Team in the smooth commissioning of the plant and collect all the technical, material, and process-related data.

- Optimize the performance of the plant and utilities to achieve stable operations in a short period.

POST-COMMISSIONING PHASE

Plant:

- Monitor the operating conditions of the plant to optimize plant performance in terms of maximizing production and minimizing energy, utilities, and raw materials consumption.

- Recommend and implement plant modifications to improve performance and achieve higher production rates meeting AC objectives.

- Assist other departments to troubleshoot and provide guidelines to rectify any operational and equipment problems.

- Monitor environmental quality and support the SHE department to uphold proper operating standards.

- Support the Planning section by providing quarterly updates on plant constraints and unit’s max/min rate.

Feedstock and Product: 

- Coordinate and evaluate third-party licensors and suppliers on feed, raw materials, and technical engineering services/qualities. 

- Provide product testing of feed, products, and intermediates to ensure they meet customer and manufacturing specifications. 

- Investigate and advise Operations to resolve product quality issues.

Team: 

- Identify, train, and develop high-potential engineers and technicians for management posts and as technical specialists. 

- Create a high-performance climate where creativity and measured risk are part of doing business.

OPERATING PHASE / OPERATIONS RELIABILITY 

- Lead and direct a team of reliability engineers/technicians:

- Provide instructions and direction to other departments on all methods of monitoring, inspecting, and repairing fixed and rotating equipment to meet the highest industrial practices and in accordance with manufacturing specifications and tolerances.

- Monitor and claim under warranty and guarantee from equipment vendors.

- Develop equipment operating envelopes and provide guidelines to operations to avoid exceeding operating parameters limits that would lead to damage of fixed and rotating equipment.

- Recommend timely repair or replacement of fixed and rotating equipment.

- Provide inspection and recommendation for repair, modification, and material upgrade of piping and fixed equipment.

- Provide IE support to maintenance and operations departments, especially on switching 20 kV power, and liaise with the site and electrical utility on all electrical matters.