Plant Production Engineer

Grow a Better Tomorrow with Nufarm.

We know that growing is about more than just crops and cultivation. It’s about sunshine and rain, early mornings and hard work. It can be frustratingly unpredictable but also wonderfully uplifting. More than anything, it’s about people. Nufarm is the dependable partner behind thousands of agricultural success stories. Every day, growers around the world turn to our products and our people to help with the challenges of fighting disease, weeds and pests, and to increase crop yields.

How can you grow with Nufarm?

Based in Chicago Heights, IL, Nufarm is looking for a Plant Production Engineer reporting to the Operations Manager. The position works closely with the Operations team including shift teams, supervisors, production manager and Operations Managers to drive process optimization and improvement for formulation and associated units in the production plant, as well as partnering with maintenance and quality control teams and other supply chain functions. The position will develop to be the process owner and subject matter expert for assigned areas, including formulation vessels, and packaging lines.  Responsibilities will include daily assessment of performance of the process units (yield, throughput, quality), investigation and corrective actions for quality and safety incidents and conformance to Nufarm safety and quality standards.  In addition, the position will lead or support continuous improvement projects to drive safety, quality efficiency, cost, new product introduction and new equipment design and commissioning in the plant. 

What will you be doing?

• Lead by example on safety programs and policies


• Close audit actions on assigned areas of responsibilities


• Initiate, manage and close MOC actions relate to assigned areas of responsibilities


• Eliminate production variance related to material usage variance, yield, write-offs


• Measure and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)


• Implement statistical process controls (SPC) in critical areas to improve the plant performance in areas of safety, quality, production, and costs


• Keep Billing of Material (BOM) updates, reduce scrap factors and improve routings in Oracle


• Work closely to the Production Coordinator, Production Manager and Supervisors and Production Scheduler to improve adherence to production plans for the next 12 months.


• Active involvement in the RCCP meetings to ensure the success of the production plans and to deliver on our promises to customers.


• Certified Apollo root cause process, lead investigation and ensure actions are closed in assigned area of responsibilities. Implement sustainable corrective solutions for management systems breakdowns associated with identified root causes


• Ensure procedures/checklists are maintained updated and properly used


• Troubleshoot the plant together with the Operations team to avoid safety, quality and production issues.


• Document best practices, learned lessons, corrective and preventive actions in the plant standard operations procedures (SOPs)


• Ensure Unusual Incident Reports (UIRs) are recorded, investigated and actions properly closed.


• Support Operations and Packaging managers on spending management and cost reduction initiatives


• Support new product introduction and ensure new campaigns are produced safely, on-time, meeting quality specifications at lower costs


• Take customers to site tours and work with quality to reduce quality complaints


• Ensure assigned area of responsibilities run free of product contamination and compliance to Nufarm Product Integrity Golden Rules. Croplife’s requirement subject matter expert.


• Support capex projects in the scope definition, construction, procedure writing/implementation, training of plant personnel and release to operation.


• Back up for the Process Control Engineer to troubleshoot code/logic issues and to ensure the operation is done free of forces and alarm nuisance


• Train or support the plant personnel to be trained in all areas related to the packaging operations, including safety, product contamination, quality, and production.

What do you bring?

You hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering or 2-5 years of manufacturing/process/quality engineering experience. The right candidate will be able to identify, drive, and implement key process improvements working with plant management, quality, safety, supervisors, maintenance, engineering, operators, etc.  You also have working knowledge of chemical process and or packaging equipment.  Ability to identify root cause and corrective actions, troubleshoot issues, and implement process improvements. If you have experience with manufacturing improvement tools such as Six Sigma, Lean, SPC, Root Cause Analysis, 5S, and proficiency with MS Office Suites even better!

What do we offer?

Our compensation structure is designed to reflect the cost of labor across various U.S. geographic markets. The base salary for this position ranges from $85,000 per year in our lowest geographic market to $121,000 per year in our highest geographic market. Compensation is determined by several factors, including market location, and may vary based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

At Nufarm, we believe in total compensation. Depending on the position, additional forms of compensation may be included as part of a comprehensive package, alongside a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits.

If you want to be a part of a thriving, supportive environment and are inspired by the prospect of being a part of something bigger, we’d love to hear from you.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity. All employment decisions are decided based on qualifications, merit and business needs. We are committed to building an inclusive environment for all Nufarm employees.

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