Sr. Production Engineer
Synthomer · Jefferson Hills, PA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Production
- Experience asked
- 7+ years
- Industry
- Chemicals
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior production role at Synthomer (chemicals) in Jefferson Hills, PA.
- They ask for
- 7+ years
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Root cause, Painting / coating
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Production Engineer roles in Pennsylvania: typical posted base $110k–$147k.
Median of the low and high ends of 3 live postings that list pay, out of 13 production engineer openings in Pennsylvania, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Pennsylvania plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 12 other live production postings in Pennsylvania.
- Experience asked
- Typical (7+ years)
Similar roles usually ask 7+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Team leadership 46%
- ✓ Lean 38%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Root cause, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Production team at Synthomer
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Synthomer in Jefferson Hills
2 other open roles at this site.
- Process Improvement Engineer · Lean / CI
- Chemical Plant Quality Manager · Quality · Manager
Full description from SynthomerAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Qualifications
- ✓B. S. in Chemical Engineering
- ✓7+ years of chemical engineering/relevant experience
- ✓Must be comfortable in a manufacturing environment with large, continuous chemical processing equipment
- ✓Must have the ability to easily interface with operations and maintenance personnel and lead cross-functional teams
- ✓Must have good troubleshooting skills to analyze process data, understand equipment operations, and determine root causes of failures
- ✓Experience with any of the following systems would be an advantage:
- ✓Distributed Control systems
- ✓PI Vision
- ✓Statistical Analysis tools
- ✓Lean Manufacturing/Six Sigma
- ✓💰 Competitive, market-aligned compensation
- ✓🎯 Discretionary global bonus scheme
- ✓📈 Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – for senior positions
- ✓🚗 Company car or car allowance – varies by region and role
- ✓🩺 Healthcare – tailored to regional locations
- ✓👶 Parental leave and family support – maternity, paternity, adoption (aligned with regional policies)
- ✓🏡 Working options – flexibility where it matters, based on role and business needs
- ✓📚 Learning & development opportunities – training, online platforms, buddy/mentorship programs, Internal Synthomer University with L&D offers
- ✓💙 Wellbeing support – employee assistance program (EAP), mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives
- ✓🌱 Retirement / pension contributions – plans vary by country
- ✓🤝 Culture of Inclusion – where everyone can thrive
- ✓🏆 Performance culture, global reward & recognition programmes
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products.
At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
The Senior Production Engineer is accountable for the support of manufacturing units at Synthomer Jefferson Site, located in Jefferson Hills, PA (approximately 15 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA). The Senior Production Engineer will also provide technical support as needed to assist in maintaining safe and reliable manufacturing operations.
Job Description
- •Primary job function to provide day-to-day support to manufacturing units to ensure safe, stable and reliable operations.
- •Additional
Include
- •Monitoring operating data for assigned areas and provide analyses and troubleshooting as needed to achieve the operating plan
- •Review raw material quality data for product blend creation to ensure quality specifications are met
- •Identify and implement improvements to support business objectives (debottlenecking, plant trials, improved reliability) using the Management of Change process
- •Develop and review procedures and provide operator training as needed.
- •Lead incident investigations into process and equipment failures as appropriate
- •Serve as the Division Representative on capital projects to improve productivity and increase capacity in the manufacturing department.
- •Conduct Process Hazard Analyses and coordinate timely resolution plans to meet project deadlines.
- •Lead special project streams or initiatives for the area that include technology advancements, SHE improvements, debottlenecking efforts and expansion efforts.
- •Interface with SHES, Product Development, Maintenance, Process Improvement, and other supporting organizations to prioritize and initiate projects.
- •Mentor and support junior production engineers to better develop their skills to support plant needs