Process Engineer - Environmental Operations

Interested in a career that matters?

Join our Environmental Operations team as a Process Engineer and play a critical role in ensuring reliable, sustainable wastewater treatment operations that support uninterrupted manufacturing. This position provides technical leadership across process wastewater treatment and residual solids handling while driving process optimization, operational excellence, and environmental compliance. As our site continues to expand water reuse capabilities and treatment capacity, this role will be instrumental in maintaining system reliability and supporting future growth.

The Role & Your Impact

As a Process Engineer, you will serve as a technical expert supporting wastewater treatment operations and associated process equipment. You will lead continuous improvement efforts, troubleshoot operational challenges, and identify opportunities to improve quality, reliability, and cost performance.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Maintain process control of wastewater treatment systems that support uninterrupted production operations.
• Provide hands-on technical support for wastewater treatment and residual solids handling processes.
• Optimize treatment efficiency with a focus on quality improvements, reliability, and cost avoidance.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal quality standards.
• Monitor and analyze system performance to identify risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead and support process improvement initiatives related to wastewater treatment technologies.
• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to resolve process-related issues.
• Recommend and implement short- and long-term process changes that support site objectives and capacity growth.
• Develop expertise in membrane bioreactor (MBR), reverse osmosis (RO), and related treatment technologies while supporting equipment reliability.

What You'll Need to Be Successful in This Role

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 0-1+ years of relevant engineering experience.
• Knowledge of industrial process wastewater treatment operations.
• Experience or understanding of filtration systems, particularly reverse osmosis and membrane bioreactor technologies.
• Practical knowledge of clean-in-place (CIP) systems and hygienic design principles.
• Familiarity with Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), and PI data systems.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple functions.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting industrial wastewater treatment systems.
• Experience in manufacturing, biotech, food, fermentation, pharmaceutical, or chemical processing environments.
• Continuous improvement or process optimization experience.
• Familiarity with environmental compliance requirements.

Why Join Us

In this role, you will help support critical environmental infrastructure that enables continued production growth and water reuse initiatives. This position offers the opportunity to gain deep technical expertise, work on impactful sustainability projects, and contribute directly to operational excellence across the site.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to work with advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse technologies.
• Exposure to cross-functional engineering, operations, and environmental initiatives.
• Professional development and career growth opportunities.
• Collaborative and purpose-driven work environment.

Benefits & Compensation:

Expected pay range: $80,000-$100,000

Benefits you will enjoy:

• 401(k) with up to a 9% company contribution
• Minimum of 3 weeks of vacation plus 12 holidays and 2 weeks of Wellness Time
• Health, Dental, Vision & Life insurance
• Healthcare savings account option with generous employer contribution
• Employee assistance program
• Parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement
• All benefits begin on your first day

Additional Information

Location: Franklinton, North Carolina (On-site)

On-Call/Weekend Expectations: Once the initial training period has been completed, this role will require participation in an on-call rotation to provide support for process upsets, equipment issues, and other operational needs that may arise outside of normal working hours.

Application Deadline: October 14, 2026

Our purpose guides the way

In Novonesis, we know that solutions rooted in biology can help solve humanity's biggest challenges. Since we began more than a century ago, this has been our guide. It's how we've gotten so far. And it's how we'll impact the future. Now, more than ever, the world needs change. And with biosolutions, the possibilities for transformation are endless. If our purpose resonates with you, we encourage you to apply.

Opportunities for everyone

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and equal opportunity for all applicants. Therefore we ask you to apply without a cover letter or photo and instead include a few sentences in your CV explaining your motivation for applying.

We make all employment decisions based on business needs and welcome candidates with a wide range of backgrounds, including ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status.

Explore other openings

If this position isn't the right fit, you may still find other opportunities with us. You're welcome to explore open roles or create a job agent to stay connected with future opportunities at novonesis.com/Career