Senior Refining Process Consultant

Our world demands low carbon energy solutions to achieve a Net Zero future

And as we look to transition from traditional energy sources to adopt more renewable alternatives, you can play a key role in enabling and accelerating this change. 

We’ll support you every step of the way as you join us in finding sustainable energy solutions to make a positive impact that will last for generations. 

Who are we looking for?   

We are looking for a Senior Refining Process Consultant to serve as a trusted partner and work with refinery sites along the Gulf Coast toaddress complex challenges, optimize operations, reduce costs, enhance safety, and support site achievement of strategic goals in a competitive and ever-evolving industry. 

Working with an energetic and high performing team, this position offers a variety of work and will see you involved in: 

In your role as a Senior Refining Process Consultant, you leverage specialized process knowledge and expertise in refinery operations to develop design solutions, optimize unit operations, and enhance safety across the refinery—from crude distillation and catalytic cracking to hydrotreating and reforming. As a strategic advisor, you will collaborate with site functional teams—including operations and engineering —to recommend process improvements to align operational performance with broader business goals. By leveraging extensive experience and up-to-date industry knowledge, you introduce best practices and value-added innovative solutions that contribute to safer, more reliable and more profitable refinery operations. 

This strategic advisory role resides in our Energy Services Team in Houston, TX and reports to the Director of Process Engineering and Technology Readiness.

Candidate must have valid employment authorization in the U.S. and must not require visa sponsorship now or in the future. This position is not open for non-immigrant visa sponsorship.

This position will be part-time, and on a hybrid, remote work schedule. 

What you will bring to the Team:

• Process Optimization and Efficiency Solutions: Apply expertise in refining processes to identify opportunities to address operational inefficiencies, optimize unit performance, and generate cost savings. Evaluate constraints impacting throughput and develop options to eliminate production bottlenecks. Advise on the scope of process improvements and support implementation. 
• Energy and cost reduction strategies: Evaluate energy consumption trends, benchmark performance against industry standards, and propose targeted strategies to enhance energy efficiency. Identify and recommend solutions to eliminate operational inefficiencies, increase throughput, improve product quality, and generate cost savings. 
• Process Improvement Projects: Review refinery operations and identify opportunities to introduce the latest advancements in process technology, digital automation, catalyst and chemical systems, and other targeted improvements. Ensure designs comply with safety standards, environmental regulations, and quality specifications. Contribute to development and updating of process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). Assess current instrumentation and approaches to advanced control and identify improvements to support strategic gains in unit operational performance.
• Winning Work and Growing Customer Base: Assist in crafting GHD’s Downstream engagement strategy and support the development of proposals and presentations aimed at securing new business opportunities. Participate in market analysis conversations and introduce actionable recommendations to enhance customer engagement and business growth.
• Leveraging Relationships and Reputation: Leverage a strong network of key client contacts, industry connections, and professional reputation to initiate new customer engagements and accelerate invitations for onsite introductory meetings. These meetings enable focused dialogue around site needs, helping to position GHD’s offerings to deliver value and measurable business results.
• Engineering Solutions Design: Review engineering solutions and the associated validation process to enable the realization of a design brief (for example, in terms of functionality, performance, and cost) that conforms to organizational and/or regulatory standards.
• Knowledge Management System: Work within established knowledge management systems to deliver preset outcomes for an area of responsibility.
• Solution Development: Define and deliver services that meet customer needs by selecting the best possible approaches available within established systems.
• Personal Safety: Ability to wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
• Industry Knowledge: 
  • Knowledge of process safety considerations and impacts on equipment and project designs.
  • Extensive knowledge of industry design codes and standards. 
  • Strong understanding of safety practices and procedures for operating sites to ensure own personal safety in a refinery operating environment. 
• Travel: Ability to travel to operating sites in Texas and Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from a recognized university. 
• Professional Engineering license (a plus but not required).

Experience

• Extensive experience in the Oil and Gas industry, with strong understanding of refinery processes and unit operations.
• Minimum of 20 years of experience in the refining sector, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Minimum 15 years of experience at a refinery location, with extensive knowledge of refinery processes and operations, refinery facilities and equipment, and engineering technical support.
• Experience successfully partnering with refinery site leadership and managing high-level stakeholder relationships.

Abilities

• Highly motivated self-starter skilled in balancing multiple priorities and delivering consistent results.
• Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills with a strategic mindset.
• Exceptional communication skills with demonstrated ability in making presentations to customers and management.
• Ability to foster trust through a customer-centric mindset and build strong professional relationships.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with teams and stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Acts in alignment with overall business strategy, GHD’s best practices and Code of Conduct.

As a multicultural organization, we encourage individual achievement and recognize the strength of a diverse workforce. GHD is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race; color; religion; genetic information; national origin; sex (including same sex); sexual orientation; gender identity; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; age; disability or handicap; citizenship status; service member status; or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

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