Engineer Principal - Advanced Process Control

Westlake offers you the potential to enrich your work life and career experience in an entrepreneurial environment. We work together to enhance peoples' lives through our products and presence in the communities in which we operate. Summary Westlake’s Digital Office is at the forefront of digital transformation, driving operational excellence and significant enhancements in customer experience across our global manufacturing portfolio. As a Principal APC Engineer, you will lead the identification, design, implementation, and maintenance of advanced process control and optimization applications across Westlake’s Performance and Essential Materials (PEM) manufacturing plants, with a focus on a variety of APC platforms, including AspenTech, Rockwell Automation, and Honeywell APC platforms. You will partner with Data Scientists, Plant Operators, Process Engineers, and Digital Office colleagues to deploy and sustain robust APC solutions that deliver measurable improvements in safety, reliability, efficiency, product quality, and sustainability objectives. Your expertise will directly support Westlake’s multi-year APC strategy, targeting multi-million-dollar annual benefits and harmonization of control systems across diverse technologies and sites. Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership Responsible for the entire lifecycle of an APC project, including identification, design, implementation, and maintenance of APC Applications for real-time process optimization across PEM manufacturing sites. Analyze process dynamics and operation challenges, and develop advanced control strategies, including multivariable control, advanced PID, sequence control, and interlocks, etc. Proactively monitor, troubleshoot, and tune APC and base layer PID controller performance, ensuring uptime and benefit realization targets are met. Support the implementation and maintenance of the company-wide APC KPI Dashboard system. Re-evaluate and adapt control strategies in response to plant operating condition changes. Integrate APC systems with DCS, PLCs, laboratory information systems, and plant historians (e.g., InfoPlus.21 and OSIsoft PI). Support plant operations during turnarounds, commissioning, and start-up phases; perform site acceptance testing and commissioning of control systems. Ensure changes follow Westlake’s Management of Change (MOC) processes and maintain comprehensive documentation (PID loop tuning logs, APC design and implementation documentation, APC change logs, etc.). Collaboration & Communication Provide training and coaching to operators and process engineers on APC system usage and best practices. Facilitate adoption and effective use of APC solutions; report usage and performance against defined KPIs. Experienced in collaborating and communicating with a variety of stakeholders of multi-disciplines, including company/plant management team, process/production team, operation team, control team, company IT/OT team, etc., during the entire lifecycle of an APC project. Organize and/or participate in various activities to develop Westlake’s APC program, including providing training and coaching to fellow APC engineers with less experience, sharing lessons learned and best practices in company’s APC network, developing & defining companywide standards or guidelines for APC project implementation and maintenance process, etc. Participate in DCS/PLC software and hardware upgrades, alarm rationalization, and technical assurance reviews. Work closely with plant operations and engineering to identify and implement process control improvements. Strategic Initiatives Collaborate with OT/IT and Data Science teams to define and execute real-time data strategies and architectures for process automation and analytics. Contribute to the development of technology roadmaps and capital plans for process-automation, control, and optimization. Support standardization and harmonization of APC practices, specifications, and KPIs across Westlake’s global PEM sites. Qualifications Required Minimum 10 years of hands-on experience in identifying, designing, implementing, tuning, and sustaining AspenTech APC (DMC3/DMCplus/IQ) applications in refinery, chemical, or petrochemical plants; experiences of other APC platforms, such as Honeywell’s Profit Suite/Forge APC platform, and Rockwell Automation’s Pavilion8 MPC platform will also be beneficial Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering (or related field). Proven expertise in multivariable control and process optimization; experience in steady-state and dynamic process modeling is a plus. Strong working knowledge of process flowsheets, P&IDs, and control logic diagrams. Demonstrated capability on learning new processes and data analysis. Demonstrated ability to lead APC projects from design through commissioning and sustainment. Experience with plant data historians (OSIsoft PI, InfoPlus.21, etc.), PIMS, and integration with OT/IT systems. Excellent troubleshooting, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Effective oral and written communication skills; ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and locations. Strong planning and organizational skills; able to manage multiple priorities and develop support roadmaps. Preferred Experience with additional APC/optimization/modeling platforms (e.g., Aspen Watch, Aspen IQ, SPYRO, ProMV, etc.). Experience in training and mentoring plant personnel on APC and process automation topics. Experience in coaching APC engineers with less experience, as well as developing central APC program. Working knowledge of industry standards in industrial automation, and project management. Physical Demands & Work Environment Office-based with frequent work in operating units requires use of PPE and potential exposure to outside elements. Must be able to sit, walk, use hands, talk, and hear as required by typical office and plant environments. Lifting up to 25 pounds may be required. Travel up to 50% (domestic and international) to support Westlake PEM manufacturing plants. Westlake is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristics protected by applicable legislation. If you are an active Westlake employee (or an employee of any Westlake affiliates), please do not apply here. You will apply via the Jobs Hub application in Workday. Westlake is a global manufacturer and supplier of materials and innovative products that enhance life every day. Headquartered in Houston, with operations in Asia, Europe and North America, we provide the building blocks for vital solutions — from housing and construction, to packaging and healthcare, to automotive and consumer. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.westlake.com. Westlake (NYSE: WLK) is a global diversified industrial company that manufactures and supplies essential products that enhance the daily lives of people around the globe. Our products, now under a One Westlake brand, supply the necessary building blocks for everyday products across housing and infrastructure, packaging and healthcare, and automotive and consumer goods. Consumers gain the benefits of materials Westlake produces in products such as food packaging, medical devices, soaps and detergents, car interiors, fashion, toys, shoes, furniture, electronics, siding, stone veneer, windows, outdoor living, roofing, and pipe & fittings. Westlake is proud to contribute to driving a sustainable future through the creation of essential products that are Enhancing Your Life Every Day®. To view other career opportunities at Westlake and our family of companies, visit https://westlaketalent.com