Product Line Engineer - Powder Manufacturing

Supports the production of key Global Advanced Metals Tantalum Powder product lines by providing the technical expertise to control the quality, yield, and manufacturability of the assigned products. Leads the development and implementation of key manufacturing improvement initiatives.

Essential Functions

• Owner and responsible for the accuracy and efficacy of the Production Control Plans, Recipes, Raw Material Specifications, and Standard Operating Procedures for assigned product lines.
• Responsible for the evaluation and mitigation of risk via Failure Mode and Effect Analysis of assigned product lines and production units.
• Provides technical leadership to the facility for problem solving and troubleshooting.
• Ensures appropriate systems are in place to initiate, modify, review and communicate manufacturing specifications in line with customer requirements and machine capability.
• Serves as lead developer of implementation plans to achieve plant objectives, transfer of technology, best practices, quality improvements, and other improvement efforts.
• Ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to maintain the integrity of the manufacturing and management of change processes, including formulation changes, change of technical specification, new products/materials in production, and engineering changes.
• Supports product line capital investment projects linked to capability/capacity up to completion.
• Ability to work cross-functionally, coordinating with other manufacturing departments or maintenance personnel with excellent communication skills.
• Reviews processes and procedures to ensure consistent product quality, meeting or exceeding first pass yield targets.
• Works closely with operations personnel in a team environment to support knowledge sharing to empower manufacturing personnel to make informed decisions, as well as being receptive to feedback from personnel for identification of manufacturing improvement opportunities.
• Integrates safety into every decision to ensure strong adherence to GAM’s safety values.

Key Areas of Responsibility - Safety, Health and Environment (SHE)

• Directly accountable for SHE performance and capability within their organization.
• Ensures prompt and effective incident/injury/illness reporting, classification, investigation, and management within their organization.
• Ensures effective self-audits and investigations for learning, prevention, and improvement within their organization.
• Areas of focus include: proactive SHE risk management, creating a safe working environment that improves injury and illness performance and prevention, process safety management performance, compliance with operating permits and other regulatory requirements, implementation of policies and standards, and contractor safety.
• Adopts consistent leader behavior and actions that ensure incident prevention and employee connection to our safety culture.
• Sets the right tone and priority for SHE within their organization – has high expectations, gives abundant praise and recognition, engages in solution focused dialog when performance gaps exist, demonstrates clear personal ownership and accountability for outcomes.

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications:

• Technical knowledge of process and product technology.
• Experience with metal powder processing technologies (milling, crushing, screening, hydride/dehydride, heat treatment) and metal powder handling safety.
• Knowledge of the control and monitoring of powder handling processes, such as blending, sieving, transport and packaging including product property measurement.
• Ability to apply statistical analysis in a manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge and understanding of statistical process control.
• Familiarity with Recipe Management.
• Familiarity with various analytical techniques and data interpretation, i.e. ICP, SEM, powder particle size, flow, and density testing methods, powder surface area and porosity, XRF, and other powder quality analytical methods.
• In addition to Powder Metallurgy experience, ideal candidate has basic understanding of diverse chemical plant operations including metal digestion, liquid/liquid extraction, and crystallization.
• Ability to apply Lean Six Sigma analytical methods.
• Experience in Root Cause and Failure Analysis.
• Planning, organization and problem-solving skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Bachelors or Master’s degree in Materials, Metallurgy, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.
• Minimum seven plus (7+) years’ experience in powder processing or chemical manufacturing.
• Adheres to all intellectual property standards; safety, health and environmental guidelines, policies and procedures and encourages/requires other personnel to do the same as appropriate.
• Lives the GAM Values (Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Responsibility).

Company Description

Global Advanced Metals is one of the world's leading suppliers of tantalum products. We are committed to the responsible supply of tantalum in all its forms and operate to high standards of sustainable development. We also trade tantalum on international markets, and manufacture niobium metal products. We are a world leader in the production, development and sustainable supply of tantalum for a range of industries.