At Bakelite, you'll help us create a better tomorrow with sustainable and innovative chemistry today.

We're Everywhere. Everywhere you look, you'll find products enabled by Bakelite, from stronger homes to safer automobiles and everywhere in between. With more than 100 years of history and strong customer relationships, we boldly engineer sustainable products to tackle our world's most challenging demands.

Join Our Team and Help Us Build a Stronger, Safer, Better World.

It's Better with Bakelite.

Technical Leader - Chemical Manufacturing: The Impact You'll Have On The Organization and World

As our Technical Leader you'll be responsible for leading technical teams, optimizing production processes, ensuring safety and compliance with environmental standards, and driving continuous improvement (OpEx) initiatives.
You will supervise technical subordinates and manage cross-functional teams to ensure manufacturing operations run efficiently, safely, and in accordance with the highest quality and environmental standards.
You will leverage your strong technical expertise in chemical engineering and leadership as you drive innovation and process improvement.
You will support leadership in advanced quality engineering at the local plant while maintaining accurate well organized records in an ISO 9001 compliant program.

It's Better with Bakelite: Our Commitment Back to You

You'll Help Shape Our Future. As a Bakelite associate, you're part of a diverse, global population creating the next generation of the company and we expect you to put your fingerprint on it.

We Champion Our Associates. At Bakelite, you don't just climb the career ladder - you pave your personal path through continued learning and development.
Together, We Will Protect the Planet. From our processes to our products, we are focusing on the opportunities that both grow our profitability as a company, and improve and protect the planet.
Safety is a Core Value. At Bakelite, safety is a 24/7 mindset. We are all safe today to ensure we are able to show up tomorrow - for our families and friends, for each other and for our communities.
We Care. Plain and simple, we care about our associates. From the top on down, we place a high value on our culture and the associate experience. We offer competitive compensation, robust benefits and support our associates every step of their career.

Life in Beaver Creek: Located in northern central Michigan, Grayling is just a few hours from the state's largest cities, including Detroit, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

Grayling is surrounded by scenic rivers, forests and state parks, with lots of opportunities for outdoor recreation, including fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, snow sports and more. Grayling is noted as the "Canoe Capital of the World" and is the starting point for the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, one of three races that constitute canoe racing's Triple Crown.
Grayling is just a day trip away from picturesque Traverse City or the Great Lakes that surround the state.
Local educational institutions include Kirtland Community College, located just half a mile from the Bakelite plant, and Grayling High School, which is in the top five high schools in Michigan.
Love to travel? You'll be close to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, so you can hop a flight to anywhere in the world.

Learn more about Grayling

What Does a Typical Day Look Like? Here are your primary responsibilities:

Lead the technical team in the optimization and troubleshooting of chemical manufacturing processes.
Monitor plant operations to ensure adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and identify opportunities for process improvements.
Oversee the commissioning of new equipment and technologies.
Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers, technicians, and other technical staff.
Provide training and development programs to ensure team members stay up to date with the latest industry trends and technologies.
Foster a collaborative team environment focused on problem-solving and continuous improvement.
Facilitate teams using team building techniques and address performance problems with appropriate root cause failure analysis along with corrective and preventive action techniques.
Build bench strength and promote Analytic Excellence throughout the organization.
Coordinate Interactions between Plant personnel, R&D, Sales and Supply Chain to best serve internal and external customers.
Coordinate Quality Department Maintenance Efforts, training personnel on housekeeping and physical condition standards, instrument and kettle readiness, as well as troubleshooting methodology.
Guide team members in meeting Corporate Guidelines and ensure Regulatory Compliance in the manufacture and shipment of goods and samples, as well as storage and safe handling of finished goods and raw materials.
Ensure all plant operations comply with safety regulations, environmental standards, and company policies.
Collaborate with the EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) team to conduct regular safety audits and risk assessments.
Develop and enforce safety protocols, ensuring a safe working environment for all employees.
Lead or participate in projects aimed at plant expansions, equipment upgrades, and process optimization.
Manage timelines, budgets, and resources to ensure successful project completion.
Coordinate with stakeholders across departments, including production, maintenance, quality, and procurement, to meet project goals.
Champion Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies to identify areas of improvement in production processes.
Drive innovation by researching and recommending new technologies, techniques, or materials to improve plant operations.
Implement changes in line with industry best practices to increase operational efficiency and product quality.
Provide technical guidance and support to the production team to improve process efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance product quality.
Develop and implement process control strategies to ensure product consistency and minimize variability.
Lead Data Analysis efforts and provide guidance to others.
Collect, analyze, and interpret data on plant performance to identify trends, variances, and opportunities for improvement.
Report on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as throughput, yield, downtime, and quality metrics.
Develop data-driven action plans to address any issues affecting production efficiency or product quality.

What is Needed to be Successful in this Role (Required Skills/Abilities):

BS in Chemical Engineering or related field, or 5+ years in chemicals manufacturing, with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
Strong communication, organizational and interpersonal skills, able to interface with many functions, lead teams and manage cross-functional projects.
Solid understanding of quality tools, statistics and their process improvement applications.
Understands regulatory requirements (OSHA, EPA, etc.) related to chemical manufacturing.
Excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skills in complex processes.
Experience in computers, sophisticated analytical instrumentation and related test equipment.
Experience in implementing automation and digital transformation initiatives in a chemical manufacturing environment.
Certification in Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt or higher).
Knowledge of advanced process control systems (DCS/PLC/SCADA).
Solid understanding of Chemistry including organic, inorganic, qualitative/quantitative analysis, Physical Chemistry and analytical Chemistry that enables the person to work advanced lab techniques, i.e., Gas Chromatograph (GC), Titrators or related equipment programming, and test equipment maintenance.
Strong technical expertise in chemical processes, equipment, and manufacturing troubleshooting techniques.
Primarily based in a manufacturing plant environment.
Regular exposure to chemical processes, equipment noise, and other operational hazards.
Must wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment as required and promote safety for all.

Are you ready to help us build a better tomorrow and put your fingerprints on the world? Apply for this exciting opportunity, and learn more about our hiring process, insights from our global associates, our robust benefits and more at Bakelite.com/careers.

We are an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, minority status, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any characteristic protected by law.

In order to be considered for this position candidates are required to submit an application for employment through our career site, be at least 18 years or age, willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation as part of the selection process, as well as additional periodic background checks as required by the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) or regulations adopted by the Department of Homeland Security or other regulatory agencies. Candidates are required to have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States. This company participates in E-Verify. For additional details, click HERE.

If currently an employee of the Company, you must have satisfactory work performance. Disclaimer: We are not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms/employment agencies for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails to an employee about this position. All resumes submitted by search firms/employment agencies to any employee of the Company via email, the Internet or in any other form and/or method without a valid written search firm agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of the Company; no fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by the Company as a result of the unsolicited referral or through other means.

Bakelite Synthetics

New Jobs

Technical Leader