What are the responsibilities and job description for the Air Separation Specialist position at Channel Personnel Services?
- Serve as the technical expert for the site's cryogenic Air Separation Unit (O₂, N₂, and Ar production).
- Provide daily process engineering support to operations while ensuring product purity and reliable production.
- Troubleshoot complex process upsets and lead safe recovery during plant disturbances and unplanned shutdowns.
- Optimize operating parameters including temperatures, pressures, flow rates, and energy consumption.
- Lead and support plant startups, shutdowns, cool-downs, and load changes.
- Develop, maintain, and improve operating procedures and best practices.
- Train, mentor, and qualify operators while improving technical knowledge throughout the organization.
- Standardize startup, shutdown, and upset recovery procedures.
- Develop maintenance strategies for critical ASU assets including:
- Cryogenic distillation columns
- Molecular sieve purification systems
- Turbo-expanders
- Centrifugal compressors
- Pumps
- Valves
- Product purification equipment
- Analyze operating data to identify performance trends and reliability improvement opportunities.
- Support debottlenecking projects, capacity improvements, and energy optimization initiatives.
- Participate in outage planning, turnarounds, and major maintenance activities.
- Lead or participate in Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA), and other reliability initiatives.
- Partner with maintenance and operations teams to prioritize equipment repairs and improve long-term asset performance.
- Participate in HAZOPs, Process Safety Management (PSM) activities, risk assessments, and compliance audits.
- Promote a strong culture of process safety and operational excellence.
QUALIFICATIONS / REQUIREMENTS
- Direct experience supporting or operating a cryogenic Air Separation Unit (ASU) is required.
- One of the following:
- Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field with approximately 5-8 years of ASU experience, or
- High school diploma or technical training with 15-20 years of extensive hands-on ASU experience.
- Strong technical understanding of:
- Cryogenic distillation systems
- Molecular sieve purification beds
- Turbo-expanders
- Rotating equipment including compressors and pumps
- Experience working with Distributed Control Systems (DCS).
- Ability to troubleshoot complex process and equipment issues in a continuous manufacturing environment.
- Ability to read and interpret:
- P&IDs
- Electrical schematics
- Process flow diagrams
- Thermodynamic flow charts
- Experience with reliability methodologies such as RCFA and FMEA is preferred.
- Knowledge of OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM), industrial safety practices, and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Experience using SAP and Microsoft Office.
- Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Six Sigma or other continuous improvement training is a plus.