The Project Engineer position will be a critical part of a $1.3BB Circular Economy polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling decarbonization project that is located at the Eastman Longview site in northeast Texas. Eastman currently employs over 1,500 team members at the location and will be adding another 200 permanent employees after the project.

Eastman Chemicals was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for award negotiations of up to $375MM in investment to accelerate the demonstration of industry-leading, low-carbon-intensity PET with this project.

Reaching a collaborative agreement with the DOE expands the project scope. This will include the deployment of thermal heat batteries, on-site solar and next-generation technology. This scope achieves a step-change improvement in decarbonizing PET production.

Eastman will collaborate with Rondo Energy to deploy thermal batteries for the project. These are essentially modular units containing thousands of tons of brick and coils of metal that will transform intermittent renewable power — much of it from new, on-site solar at Eastman — into heat over 1,000°C. The brick batteries can store massive amounts of heat for up to 24 hours with very little loss.

By incorporating thermal batteries fed by renewable energy, Eastman will be able to recycle hard-to-recycle polyester waste with a much lower carbon footprint. This will produce new, recycled materials with up to 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than materials produced with fossil feedstocks.

The Project Engineer is responsible for leading the development of design deliverables needed to execute projects within budget, on schedule, and ensuring that the required operability is achieved.

Will collaborate with the Project Manager to mitigate risk, communicate progress, plan resources, and control costs. 

Interaction with operations, technology, business, and other corporate support organizations and senior management essential as part of the ongoing project.

• Translate business objectives into executable scope of design
• Engage engineering resources for each phase of the FEL process
• Lead internal engineering teams and external EPC teams throughout the FEL process to develop commercial scale design deliverables that meet the project objectives
• Regularly evaluate & mitigate issues that create risk to meeting project objectives
• Closely track and communicate project progress to stakeholders
• Promote use of Eastman Capital Process and implement the appropriate WWE&C Capital Processes, e.g. Value Improving Practice, Gates and Audits, Front-End Loading, etc
• Ensure involvement of appropriate personnel in the development & implementation of capital projects from Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operations, & Maintenance (EPCOM)
• Use strict change management protocol to manage scope & schedule impacts
• Work with Project Controls personnel and the Project Manager to monitor, report, and document the progress of work and provide feedback on budget and schedule deviations
• Provide feedback to Project Team on critical issues and action plans to preclude project problems

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• B.S. Chemical or Mechanical Engineering degree
• Experience out of manufacturing ideally in chemicals, petrochemical or refining with PSM knowledge
• Must have at least 5 years of experience in total with at least 3 years working as a Project Engineer on large capital projects in an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) process or appropriate comparable arrangement
• Must have a thorough understanding of capital processes, from project definition, scope through plant start-up
• Strong communication and project coordination skills; demonstrated team leadership skills
• Ability to manage multiple and changing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Must demonstrate a commitment to safety and dedication to implementing safe capital facilities
• Must be able to travel as needed based on project needs

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