R&D Chemical Process Engineer

Description

This position requires a systems thinker with strong engineering, manufacturing, and project leadership capabilities. The professional will be responsible for developing and executing scale-up strategies that enable successful implementation of new products, process technologies, and manufacturing opportunities across Eastman businesses.

The R&D Chemical Process Engineer serves as a technical and execution leader responsible for integrating activities across product development, manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, procurement, and internal or external manufacturing partners to support successful scale-up and implementation efforts.
Projects may vary in scope from incremental process improvements to new products, manufacturing technologies, asset expansions, and toll manufacturing opportunities. 

The individual will provide leadership in manufacturing readiness, technology transfer, trial execution, implementation planning, and tolling readiness while helping strengthen Eastman's overall scale-up capability. The role is expected to influence decisions across organizational boundaries and serve as a trusted resource for scale-up strategy and execution without direct authority over project team members.

This position is located on-site at our Kingsport, TN headquarters.

Responsibilities

•    Ensure safety, environmental, quality, regulatory, and operational considerations are incorporated into scale-up planning. 
•    Develop both internal and external toll manufacturing readiness and scale-up plans for new products, technologies, and manufacturing opportunities by applying engineering fundamentals and practical manufacturing knowledge and maintaining integrates scale-up plans, critical paths, readiness assessments, and implementation timelines.
•    Assess manufacturing readiness and execution risks with scaling up products and technologies by identifying technical, operational, supply chain, quality, and organizational risks and gaps that could impact successful implementation.
•    Develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution of barriers to implementation.
•    Lead technology transfer efforts between laboratory, pilot, demonstration, tollers, and commercial manufacturing environments.
•    Build and maintain effective working relationships with internal stakeholders, tollers, suppliers, and external manufacturing partners.
•    Coordinate and support cross-functional resources and activities required for successful trial, qualification, startup, or manufacturing readiness execution.
•    Lead planning and execution of laboratory, pilot, demonstration, manufacturing, and qualification trials supporting scale-up objectives by defining trial objectives, success criteria, decision frameworks, and data collection requirements.
•    Capture and communicate key learnings throughout the scale-up process to improve future implementation efforts.
•    Develop recommendations that enable effective decision-making under uncertainty while balancing technical rigor, practicality, cost, schedule, and risk.
•    Communicate project status, risks, key decisions, and recommendations to leadership and project teams.
•    Contribute to the development and deployment of scale-up best practices, readiness frameworks, implementation methodologies, and project leadership capabilities; 
•    Proactively mentor less experienced scale-up leads; 
•    Support continuous improvement of Eastman’s scale up processes through lessons learned, technical documentation, and organizational knowledge sharing.

Qualifications

Education

•    BS in Chemical Engineering or related engineering discipline.

Experience
•    Minimum of 10 years of relevant industrial experience.
•    Demonstrated experience in manufacturing, process development, process engineering, technology implementation, scale-up, project leadership, or related technical roles.
•    Experience leading cross-functional technical projects.
•    Strong interpersonal, facilitation, influence, and communication skills.
•    Ability to work independently and effectively across organizational boundaries.
•    Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results in ambiguous environments.

Preferred Qualifications
•    Six Sigma Green Belt with knowledge of project management and risk management methodologies strongly preferred

•    Experience planning and executing pilot, demonstration, startup, or qualification campaigns either internally and/or at a toll manufacturer.
•    Experience working with external suppliers, tollers, or customers.
•    Experience supporting manufacturing startup and operational readiness activities.
•    Experience working across multiple businesses, functions, or global organizations.

Success in this role requires strong technical judgment, practical manufacturing perspective, project leadership skills, and the ability to identify and mitigate scale-up risks while navigating complex technical and organizational environments.