Researcher

Job description / Role

About the Position:
- To initiate, lead and deliver R&D projects in chemical processes in order to meet the Company’s technology requirements as established by its innovation and Corporate strategy.

Major Duties/ Responsibilities:
- Develops deep understanding of Sipchem’s chemical processes.
- In collaboration with the department Manager, identifies technical research needs within process development internal to Sipchem by consulting with company departments to determine the technology requirements needed to meet Sipchem innovation and corporate strategies.
- In collaboration with concerned staff from Strategy & Business Development and Technology Center, participate in the evaluation of new Technology, review license agreements and intellectual properties.
- Build and assess modeling and simulation platform tools to increase products yields, optimize chemical process, increase revenue, minimize operating costs, and resolve complex technical problems.
- Utilize online and historic process data, inspection and reliability data, modelling and experimental data to improve chemical and polymer products specifications, enhance process and equipment reliability, optimize energy, develop predative maintenance worksheet.
- Build data analytical models and translate large scale process data into optimally parameterized models and predictive models to deploy solutions and generate measurable values for business.
- Help and support operations and process engineers to establish and use self-service analytical tools to solve day issues toward operational excellence.
- Generate market analysis trend for Sipchem chemicals and polymers products.
- Assist the company long term growth strategy development in terms of situational analysis. Macro/micro trends, interviewing internal stakeholders, Benchmark studies, etc…
- Support operation and R&D experimental researchers by modeling to understand reaction kinetics, separation, equilibrium, transport phenomena and fundamental mechanisms
- Identifies and promotes potential joint technical research projects with other partners and universities.
- Prepares technical reports, internal documentations, patents and publications related to process modeling and simulation, data analytics, optimization, process troubleshooting and best practice.
- Ability to plan, lead and execute multiple tasks with minimal supervision.
- Initiates and lead R&D projects; identify the objectives and manage projects stages, tasks, milestones and deliverables.

Requirements

About the Candidate:
- M.Sc. in chemical engineering or related discipline, Ph.D. desirable.
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience related to process technology, process modeling, simulation and optimization.
- Demonstrate experience with process engineering models, (e.g., Aspen Plus, Aspen Hysys, ProSim, Comsol etc)
- Demonstrate experience with data analytical models, machine learning fundamentals, (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB, Java, etc)
- Hands-on experience in data sources viz. Platts, ICIS, Gartner, Forrester, Hoovers, Factiva, Onesource, Thomson Research, Google, internal KM database, etc

About the Company

Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) is a Saudi joint stock company owned jointly by private sector investors from Saudi Arabia and GCC countries. The company was established on 22/12/1999, with a total capital of SR 500 milion (currently SR 1.5 billion).

Sipchem actively invests in petrochemical and chemical industries, both basic and intermediate to produce chemicals used to manufacture a multitude of products that improve the lives of people worldwide.

Through its affiliates, International Methanol Company (IMC) and Gulf Advanced Chemical Industries Company (GACIC), Sipchem produces one million mtpa of methanol and 75 thousand mtpa of butanediol.

For the attainment of sustainable growth according to a special strategy that links the company's present with its future, Sipchem continuously explores the prospects of development and renovation to facilitate the process of desired growth and expansion. In the second half of 2006, Sipchem started construction of Acetyl Complex which consists of Acetic Acid plant (460 thousand mtpa), Vinyl Acetate Monomer plant (330 thousand mtpa) and Carbon Monoxide plant (345 thousand mtpa). Commercial operation of these plants is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2009. The launch of these additional facilities demonstrates the company's aggressive expansion program, which aims to make it one of the largest, fully-integrated, petrochemical complexes in the Middle East, owned and operated by the private sector.

In conducting its activities, Sipchem maintains strict adherence to the highest product quality standard without compromising its commitment to the environment and the safety of its employees and the community.