Process Chemist Team Lead

Texas, United States of America

Job Family Group:

Discipline Engineering

Worker Type:

Regular

Posting Start Date:

December 12, 2025

Business Unit:

Downstream and Renewables

Experience Level:

Experienced Professionals

Job Description:

What’s the role

The Process Chemist Team Lead plays a critical role in supporting day-to-day operations and long-term reliability of multiple manufacturing units, including:

• Steam cracking (ethylene, propylene, pygas)

• Extractive distillation of butadiene

• Pygas hydrotreating

• Alkylation (propylene and benzene)

• Phenol production

• Effluent water treatment

What you’ll be doing

This role requires deep expertise in chemical processes, feedstock variability, impurity management, fouling potential, and product quality assurance. The successful candidate will integrate skills across organic and analytical chemistry, process chemistry, reaction engineering, and corrosion science to understand and optimize unit performance at the molecular level.

Other Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical support and troubleshooting for production units, collaborating with Production, Process Engineering, Mechanical Integrity, Instrumentation & Control, and Economics & Scheduling teams

• Lead investigations into product quality issues and chemistry-related reliability concerns

• Support test runs, process optimization efforts, and turnaround planning, including chemical cleaning and decontamination strategies

• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for sample station design, product specifications, and analytical methods

• Champion safety and compliance in the lab, partnering with Industrial Hygiene and Safety teams to manage chemical compatibility and health risks

• Act as the Product Quality Focal Point for Chemicals, ensuring technical assurance and alignment with site-wide quality goals

• Drive ISO-9001 compliance and continuous improvement initiatives

• Supervise and mentor the Application Specialist and Analytical Chemists

Lab & Site Dimensions

• The Quality Measurements department supports all Chemical operations at the Deer Park Site

• Actively contributes to strategic site initiatives such as feedstock flexibility, cost leadership, and molecular optimization

• Key stakeholder in Product Quality (PQ) and Global Manufacturing Practices (GMP) work processes

What we need from you

• Must have legal authorization to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis

• Bachelor’s degree, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Chemistry is required; Organic Chemistry is preferred

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience is strongly preferred

• Technical Expertise:

  • Hands-on experience with unit operations such as distillation, hydrotreating, solvent extraction, and reactors

  • Proficiency in analytical techniques including GC, GC-MS, HPLC, IC, sulfur speciation, XRF, and titrations

  • Experience with ISO-9001 systems, audits, and quality management processes.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management

• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple competing demands

• Leadership and mentoring capabilities

What we offer

The base salary range for this position is $122,000 - $182,000 per year. Individual pay will be based on various factors such as relevant work experience, education, certifications, skill level, seniority, and internal equity.

For regular full-time or regular part-time employees of the Company (participating companies as listed in the Summary Plan Description), insurance coverage options include medical, dental, vision coverage, life Insurance, Business Travel Accident Insurance, and Occupational Accidental Death Benefit programs. Employees also participate in a company pension plan and a 401(k) plan. Paid leave includes up to 6 weeks of paid vacation time, up to 11 paid holidays, and parental leave offering 16 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents, and 8 weeks of paid leave for non-birthing parents.

Additionally, employees are eligible for short-term disability leave for up to 26 weeks at 100% or 50% of base pay as well as Long-Term Disability insurance. Shell also offers other compensation such financial reimbursement for adoption, wellness, education, and personal learning expenses, and some roles are eligible for discretionary long-term incentives.  For interns, eligible benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, life ins