Full-Time
Mechanical Maintenance Engineer
Posted on 8/7/2025
Braskem
10,001+ employees
Produces thermoplastic resins and biopolymers globally
No salary listed
Houston, TX, USA + 1 more
More locations: La Porte, TX, USA
In Person
Multiple office locations listed; job is based in Texas with 0-5% travel.
 Mechanical Engineering (1) |
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- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field, Mechanical Engineering is preferred.
- Must be available during off-hours to support unexpected plant equipment issues and downtime.
- Must have a minimum of 5 years of applicable industry experience.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to coordinate activities with other departments.
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI, Teams, etc.)
- Provide day-to-day technical support to area (craft & planners) for mechanical issues & projects
- Troubleshoot and diagnose equipment failures/defects for job planning, either for improvements or repairs, or assist craftsmen in charge of doing so.
- Manage (approve/reject) Preventive Maintenance (PM) and inspection deferrals as required per site procedure
- Own and manage the maintenance procedures assigned
- Ensure that equipment Files, spare parts, and Bill of Materials (BOMs) are constantly updated and appropriately filed.
- Issue Add/Change/Delete forms to properly stock spare parts in stores, ensuring the site has all necessary parts needed to meet reliability and maintainability expectations, including the definition of inspection requirements.
- Assist warehouse with inspection of materials received and provide technical support to warehouse/procurement enquiries, ensuring materials are available in stores when needed.
- Understand obsolescence and upgrade requirements for equipment and spare parts, ensuring information is up to date in SAP or equipment files.
- Develop/complete required MOCs for maintenance activities (temporary piping repairs, obsolete material upgrades, coupling/seal modifications), where applicable
- Develop/complete required MOCs for plant equipment modifications, where applicable
- Review and approve MOCs, as needed
- Field oversight, and sometimes lead, for critical activities executed by craftsmen/outside contractors, especially when involving critical equipment.
- Support turnaround activities, be it scope development, planning, or execution
- Support and/or facilitate craftsmen training and development.
- Issue Inspection and Testing Plans (ITPs) for outside shop equipment repairs and review them with the vendor, assisted by Procurement.
- Provide technical support/expertise within your discipline in the design and installation stages of projects for new assets and modification of existing assets to minimize life cycle cost and maximize asset availability/reliability.
- Participate in the development of design and installation specifications and commissioning plans.
- Participate in the development of criteria for an evaluation of equipment and technical MRO suppliers and technical maintenance service providers. Develop acceptance tests and inspection criteria
- Maintain awareness of emerging technology, assessing applicability to improve reliability and performance, or to reduce maintenance cost
- Create and lead maintenance capital projects for equipment rebuilds or reliability improvements, utilizing the Clarity tool and following Braskem’s Capital Project Work Process.
- Conduct or assist with continuous improvement projects and/or reliability initiatives.
- Propose and forecast maintenance capital investment needs and update the Capital 10-year plan
- Attend daily production meetings and monitor production KPIs as needed
- Assist production engineers in evaluating IEG losses and allocate causes to the appropriate categories
- Assist with QA/QC for outside shop repairs as needed
- Participating in Improvement Teams and RCAs that are related to equipment failure
- Lead RCAs related to equipment failures in his area of responsibility, as required. Formally issue the reports
- Review operator round 'exception reports' and PLEs for accurate target values and associated responses
- Meet with Pd.M. tech regularly and assist with routine troubleshooting for mechanical equipment
- Knowledge and understanding of sound engineering practices and principles relating to mechanical equipment.
- Knowledge of rotating equipment design, installation, and maintenance, including hands-on troubleshooting of pumps, compressors, extruders, and other rotating equipment commonly used in chemical plants.
- Knowledge and understanding of Predictive technologies, including vibration, thermography, lubrication analysis, and ultrasonic.
- Knowledge of fixed equipment design, installation, and maintenance, including tanks, vessels, piping, etc.
- Assist the Mechanical Integrity inspector on day-to-day issues, as needed.
- Polypropylene or Polyethylene Plant experience is a plus
- Experience with SAP and Maximo is a plus
- RCA Methodology training is a plus (Taproot, Logic Tree, etc.)
Braskem is a major petrochemical producer with plants in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, supplying thermoplastic resins like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC, plus other chemicals. It also makes biopolymers, including green polyethylene derived from sugarcane ethanol, using renewable feedstocks. Its products serve industries such as packaging, construction, automotive, and consumer goods in more than 70 countries, sold to manufacturers for further processing. The company differentiates itself as Latin America's largest petrochemical producer with a strong focus on sustainable solutions and renewable materials, and aims to expand its global manufacturing network and increase the share of low-carbon materials in its product line.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
São Paulo, Brazil
Founded
2002
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- IG4 Capital acquires 50.1% voting control via R$20B debt-to-equity swap resolving disputes.
- Philadelphia Eagles Tackling STEM program reaches 15,000 students since 2018.
- Holds 4.5% US market share in plastic and resin manufacturing with 8,482 employees.
What critics are saying
- R$51.8B debt and negative cash flow trigger bankruptcy filing by mid-2026.
- Maceió land sinking exceeds R$7B in costs, forcing asset sales immediately.
- Auditors flag going-concern doubt; stock drops 10% amid restructuring failures.
What makes Braskem unique
- Braskem produces world's first green polyethylene from sugarcane ethanol at 200,000 tons annually.
- Leads US polypropylene production with 1.5 million tons capacity across five plants.
- Showcases post-consumer recycled portfolio with bio-circular solutions at PRSE 2025.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
Flexible Work Hours
Maternity and Paternity Leave
Teladoc
Pet Insurance
Legal and ID Theft Insurance
Retirement Benefits
Company News
April 9, 2026 - Control Station names Braskem's Neal Plant industry leader in PID performance. * By Control Guru * April 9, 2026 Integration of PlantESP and Asset Intellect helps manufacturers turn control loop diagnostics into faster operational decisions Control Station, Inc., today named Braskem's Neal Plant as the recipient of its inaugural Top Performing Facility Award. The recognition honors the Braskem facility's exceptional performance in achieving world-class PID control loop effectiveness as measured by Overall Controller Effectiveness (OCE). As process manufacturers increasingly adopt data-driven performance metrics to improve reliability and efficiency, benchmarking control loop effectiveness has become a critical component of operational excellence. Located in Kenova, West Virginia, the Neal Plant distinguished itself from more than 150 production facilities by achieving the highest average benchmark for plant-wide regulatory controller performance during calendar year 2025. Through proactive monitoring and analysis of PID control loops, the site achieved industry-leading OCE scores that reflect superior controller utilization, minimized variability, and sustained operational excellence. "Braskem's Neal Plant exemplifies what is possible when organizations prioritize their control infrastructure as a strategic asset," said Dennis Nash, President of Control Station. "Their commitment to continuously monitoring and improving control loop effectiveness has delivered measurable gains in stability, throughput, and efficiency. This data-driven approach to optimization is precisely what the Top Performing Facility Award was created to celebrate." The award was based on a year-long, data-driven evaluation of OCE scores collected monthly from a diverse set of global manufacturing sites using Control Station's PlantESP Loop Performance Monitoring solution. As an analogue to Overall Equipment Effectiveness, OCE provides a holistic measure of controller health by assessing factors that characterize an individual PID loop's availability, performance, and quality. Because OCE is computed using normalized values, performance can be compared across different loop types and aggregated seamlessly from loop to unit, plant, and even enterprise levels. This approach is helping establish OCE as a standard benchmark for control performance across the process industries. Braskem's achievement reflects a sustained focus on best practices in loop tuning, performance monitoring, and proactive maintenance. By leveraging advanced analytics and standardized workflows, the Neal Plant has improved process stability and reduced operator intervention, unlocking incremental production capacity and delivering measurable improvements in cost efficiency and operational reliability. "Achieving world-class regulatory control performance requires both the right technology and a culture of continuous improvement," commented Bob Rice, PhD, Control Station's Vice President of Engineering. "Braskem's Neal Plant has demonstrated leadership in both areas, delivering measurable gains in operational performance and overall efficiency."
Brazilian investment firm IG4 buying Braskem. Brazilian materials leader Braskem is being acquired by financial firm IG4 Capital. Plastikos Medical is expanding its ISO Class 7 clean room capacity with the addition of three Arburg injection molding machines to support growing demand from medical device OEMs.
Brazilian asset manager IG4 Capital has moved to assume control of petrochemical company Braskem after major creditor banks agreed to transfer shares pledged as collateral by Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) to a fund advised by IG4. The parties have agreed to a 60-day exclusivity period to complete the transaction, which requires approval from Brazilian antitrust authority Cade. Itaú, Bradesco, Santander, Banco do Brasil and BNDES, holding approximately R$20 billion in credits against Novonor backed by Braskem shares, are participating in the deal. IG4 will hold 50.1% of voting capital and 34.3% of total capital, sharing control with Petrobras. Novonor will retain 4% in preferred shares without governance rights. The agreement resolves a protracted dispute and paves the way for a new shareholders' agreement with Petrobras.
Novonor SA is nearing a deal to sell its controlling stake in Braskem SA to a fund managed by IG4 Capital. This transaction involves one of the world's largest petrochemical companies, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Braskem SA, the Brazilian chemical giant, said it tapped the entirety of a $1 billion credit line amid an industry downturn and mounting investor concern.