Senior Production Engineer

At Cheniere, we provide the world with safe, reliable energy. But more than that, we provide opportunities for our talented employees to impact their communities every day. Our diversity is key to our continued success and forges a path where our culture supports greater equity and inclusion for our employees, customers, and beyond.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior/Staff Production Engineer reports to the Engineering Superintendent, Production and is responsible for closely working with the Production/Operations, Maintenance, Commercial Operations, Gas Supply, Pipeline Gas Scheduling, Process Services, and Engineering Services departments to assist in supporting the safe and sustainable realization of facility production targets and other critical KPI’s.

This would include but not be limited to supporting the maintenance of facility production capacity curves, tactical plant optimization and monitoring tools specific to all sections of the LNG facility, supporting the maintenance of a facility loss accounting tool, assisting with Supply Chain Management, support the management of departmental KPIs, Production Reporting, and support the coordination of supply of catalysts and chemicals needed to operate the facility. 

The Senior/Staff Production Engineer will also provide mentoring and direction to other staff as needed.

This is a DOT position.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

The Senior/Staff Production Engineer is responsible for the following:     

Forecasting

• Review and validate forecasting and scheduling tools. Utilizing these tools, advise Production Management of limitations or deficiencies that may impact production.

• Lead the daily strategy planning with Production Management and work to overcome the limitations and deficiencies to ensure targets are met.

• Work with the turnaround planning organization as a technical resource.

• Support the monitoring and ordering of catalysts, refrigerants, and chemicals needed to manage the facility.

• Provide feed gas estimates, monitor pipeline operations, and manage LNG inventories.

  Energy Balance

• Maintain tools and energy balance models.

• Perform daily energy balance.

  Environmental

• Support with quantifying facility emissions to support environmental and compliance reporting.

• Assist with the development, maintenance, and utilization of appropriate tools used to calculate and track flared quantities to ensure compliance with Environmental Regulatory requirements.

• Assist with the development, maintenance, and utilization of appropriate Environmental Monitoring tools that monitor water injection rates into the gas turbines for emissions control. Validate deviations and assist with troubleshooting activities to minimize/prevent non-compliant operations.

  Reporting

• Maintain the daily Production status reports depicting all critical information and data for end users. This includes Inlet Feed Gas measurement and allocation, Power Consumption, LNG/NGL Production, Emissions and Waste measurements, and Efficiency monitoring.

• Develop, measure, and generate reports against Production KPIs.

• Assist with the development and maintenance of the Loss accounting summaries to allow for the identification or categorization of facility production losses into buckets or tiers.

  Technical Support / Production Optimization

• Support the preparation of production performance summaries for each process unit summarizing data on total production, capacity utilization, operating reliability, unit efficiency, production loss categories and quantities, and energy utilization.

• Assist with development and utilize scheduling tools that monitor process efficiency and make improvement recommendations that will increase productivity.

• Provides daily support to plant Production personnel in troubleshooting process issues and concerns.

• Assist with the development of computer process simulations in support of daily plant operations as necessary.

• Interact with Reliability, Engineering & Process Services engineers to define problems that need further study, design, and carry out tests in the interest of enhancing production or solving process problems.

  General

• Thoroughly understand the technical Management of Change (MOC) process and utilize it in support of facility changes.

• Participate in Pre Startup Safety Reviews (PSSR), Process Hazard Analysis (PHAs) and Regulatory Agency Audits.

• Participate in Incident Investigations.

• Support procedure development and training related to capital projects, temporary or new modes of operation, and compliance.

• Reinforce safety and environmental awareness through frequent job observations and by interfacing with plant personnel.

• Work with Engineering and Construction department to ensure O & M interests are represented on major projects.

• Manage components of the department budget.

• Train and develop Production Engineering staff.

• The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time, or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

Knowledge: Understands all facets of Feed Gas Allocation, and LNG/NGL production, storage, and shipping, including health, safety, governmental regulations, and associated codes and standards.

Strong knowledge of the principles of fluid flow, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and hydrocarbon process chemistry as applied to an operating process unit.  Familiar with the hazards of hydrocarbon processes and the methods used to keep process facilities safe. 

Knowledge of LNG process engineering.

Competent in the use of process simulation software.

Skills: 

• Strong analytical, leadership, and administrative abilities are required.

• An acute sensitivity to safety issues in a hazardous environment.

• Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. 

• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels of an organization and with individuals and groups from different disciplines, industries, and governmental agencies. 

• Able to work with a culturally diverse group of technical individuals whose skills cover the range required to engineer, operate, and maintain the LNG terminal and Liquefaction production facilities.

• Possess the personality and ability to relate to and establish a mutually respectful relationship with 1) management, 2) peers, and 3) the various facility level workers (Plant Manager, plant supervision, and plant workers) whom are all responsible for ensuring good operations.

• Organized, planning skills, able to manage multiple activities and programs in timely fashion and with a high degree of accuracy, able to meet work deadlines. 

• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills. 

• Accomplished public speaker, able to create and deliver industry-specific presentations. 

• Computer savvy including Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, Access, Project, and PowerPoint.

• Competent in use of specialized software including but not limited to PI, Process Book, Sigmafine, HYSYS, Pro-Treat, HTRI & Seeq

• Thorough understanding and interpretation of P&ID’s, HMB, and complex loops and control logic

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

Education, Training, and Certifications:Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Mechanical/Process/Chemical or Petroleum Engineering.  A Professional Engineer’s (PE) License is a plus but not required.

Experience:

Senior Engineer, Production: Five (5) years of demonstrable experience as a Production Engineer, Process Engineer, or Operations on an LNG Liquefaction Facility or equivalent applicable experience is required with a solid understanding of feed gas pre-treatment, NGL/Condensate management and Storage and loading. Other Operations-related experience in petrochemical, NGL, cryogenic natural gas processing, or other hydrocarbon processing experience is a plus.

Staff Engineer, Production: Ten (10) years of demonstrable experience as a Production Engineer, Process Engineer, or Operations on an LNG Liquefaction Facility or equivalent applicable experience is required with a solid understanding of feed gas pre-treatment, NGL/Condensate management and Storage and loading. Other Operations-related experience in petrochemical, NGL, cryogenic natural gas processing, or other hydrocarbon processing experience is a plus.

DIRECT REPORTS

There are no direct reports to this position.

FREEDOM TO ACT

The Senior/Staff Production Engineer requires minimal supervision.

WORK CONDITIONS 

• The job is performed in an industrial plant environment. 

• Occasionally, work may be performed from home, after normal work hours or on weekends.

• Limited travel required, as business conditions dictate.

• Subject to drug and alcohol testing, per applicable federal regulations or as required by Cheniere.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is often required to stand, walk, sit, climb stairs, work at height above ground on stairs and catwalks, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk or hear, smell, type, and write.  

• Must be able to board a ship via a gangway, climb to the top of a tank (200+ steps), scale vertical steel ladder up to 40 feet or more in height, and lift and move objects weighing up to 50 pounds.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will work indoors and outdoors, and be exposed to year-round weather conditions, ocean environment, and noise. There is a considerable amount of outdoor activities involved. 

• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

• Required to pass regularly scheduled physical examinations mandated by regulatory authorities.

• Required to obtain mandated certification by attending Company-sponsored training in basic first aid, CPR, and LNG firefighting.

ADA JOB REQUIREMENTS

Reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure that the essential functions of the job can be performed and not hinder the employee's performance due to physical or mental disability.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Cheniere Energy is an equal-opportunity workplace. All employment decisions are made without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected categories. This includes providing reasonable accommodation if requested for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices.