Ashland.com

CAREERS

+ OUR VALUES

BUSINESS SNAPSHOTS

MEET OUR PEOPLE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

UNIVERSITY RECRUITMENT

CURRENT U.S. OPENINGS

CURRENT CANADIAN OPENINGS

Careers - Meet our People

"My fondest memories of working at Ashland all have to do with people - the times spent with great friends I've made along the way."

Katie
Process Engineer
Composite Polymers
Neville Island, Pa.

Day in the Life

The most rewarding part of being a process engineer is knowing that I have an impact on how the plant and, therefore, the company performs. This ranges from providing input on safety and environmental issues and my day-to-day responsibilities of assisting in plant operations to supporting Lean Six Sigma™ initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency of our operations.

My main responsibility as a process engineer is to ensure the plant is operating as it should on a daily basis. I troubleshoot problems, develop methods to prevent them from recurring and ensure all work is safely completed.

The biggest challenge I'm facing right now has to do with our company's increased focus on operating efficiencies, while maintaining and/or continuing to improve our high safety and environmental standards. I must deal with the frustrations that come with changing how work was performed in the past. With all the pain that comes with this sort of transformation, however, the progress we've made is rewarding, especially when employee buy-in occurs.

Frankly, there is no such thing as a typical day for me. A workweek may range from 50 to 60 hours, depending on any issues that may arise. Travel is minimal, but does include training and visiting other plant locations - including a trip to China I took as part of a start-up team. A process engineer may interact with employees in every other part of the plant on a daily basis, as well as at other plants and our corporate office.

I first came to Ashland as a co-op student, where I was exposed to several business and operating groups. It was then I realized the number of opportunities available in a company this size. In my first full-time position, I was responsible for environmental, health and safety; capital projects; Lean Six Sigma™ and maintenance at the plant level.

A potential candidate for the process engineer position should recognize the diverse number of opportunities available within Ashland. This position has afforded me exposure - at least broadly - to almost every area of the plant's operations and more technically in certain areas. This provides a good base for future career moves down the road.

It is essential for anyone interested in a career as a process engineer - or any other position at Ashland - to be able to recognize where change is needed and to be willing to push it. Ashland is a great company, but there are always opportunities to improve how we operate.

™ Lean Six Sigma is a method for delivering products and services with speed, customer satisfaction and lower cost through operations excellence. It is a service mark of George Group Consulting, L.P. The George Group Incorporated.