Arkad is a growing alternative hydrocarbon feedstocks and circular materials company. We produce Tire Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) and Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) from end-of-life tires (ELT) thru a thermochemical recycling process, supplying global energy and industrial customers.
As Arkad scales its operations and develops new production and processing facilities, we are looking for a Process Engineer to support the design, commissioning, optimisation, and day-to-day performance of our plants.
Our Culture
We believe in ownership, accountability, and drive in getting things done. At Arkad, people are trusted to run their areas, make decisions, and be responsible for outcomesnot just processes. We operate in industrial markets, supplying products to global energy and chemical customers. Our feedstocks happen to be waste, which makes the business inherently more sustainablebut we compete on quality, reliability, and execution. As Arkad scales, we expect our people to scale with it.
Role Summary
The Process Engineer is responsible for ensuring the safe, stable, and economically optimal operation of Arkad's production and processing facilities. The role bridges process design, commissioning, plant operations, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
This position plays a critical role in translating process concepts into reliable industrial performance by driving process stability, yield optimisation, product quality control, and operational efficiency.
Main Responsibilities
1. Process Design & Technical Validation
- Review, validate, and improve PFDs, P&IDs, heat & mass balances, control philosophy, and equipment specifications
- Evaluate technology licensor/vendor designs and identify operability risks
- Support scale-up decisions and process modifications
- Contribute to HAZOP, risk assessments, and process safety reviews
- Develop and maintain process documentation standards
2. Commissioning & Start-Up Support
- Support equipment testing, loop checks, and commissioning activities
- Develop start-up / shutdown procedures
- Identify process bottlenecks and instability sources during ramp-up
- Work closely with vendors, EPC teams, and operations
- Assist in performance testing and acceptance criteria
3. Plant Operations & Process Stability
- Monitor plant performance, key operating parameters, and process constraints
- Ensure process stability, throughput, and energy efficiency
- Investigate deviations, upsets, and yield losses
- Provide technical guidance to operations teams
- Support production planning from a process capability perspective
4. Process Optimisation & Continuous Improvement
- Analyse process data, KPIs, and yield performance
- Identify improvement opportunities in yield, recovery, energy use, and cycle time
- Evaluate purification efficiency, separation performance, and product losses
- Support de-bottlenecking initiatives
- Recommend process modifications based on techno-economic analysis
5. Troubleshooting & Root Cause Analysis
- Diagnose process instability, fouling, contamination, and quality issues
- Lead structured problem-solving (RCA, FMEA, etc.)
- Support resolution of issues related to:
- Thermal processes
- Distillation / separation systems
- Contamination (e.g., chloride, sulfur, solids)
- Heat transfer / energy integration
- Work cross-functionally with maintenance and operations
6. Product Quality & Compliance Support
- Coordinate with QA/QC to ensure product specification compliance
- Support investigation of off-spec events
- Understand downstream customer technical constraints
- Support traceability, process consistency, and documentation
7. SOPs, Procedures & Training
- Develop SOPs, work instructions, and operating envelopes
- Establish process control limits and alarm rationalization
- Support operator training and knowledge transfer
- Contribute to Management of Change (MOC) processes
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering or Process Engineering
- (Advanced degree is a plus, not mandatory)
Core Technical Competencies
- Strong understanding of:
- Heat & mass transfer
- Separation processes (distillation, fractionation, purification)
- Reaction engineering (highly valuable for Tango)
- Process control fundamentals
- Ability to read and interpret:
- PFDs / P&IDs
- Datasheets
- Control narratives
- Comfort working with process data & plant KPIs
Relevant Experience
Ideal background (any combination of):
- Refinery / petrochemical / chemical processing
- Thermal conversion processes (pyrolysis, gasification, cracking, etc.)
- Distillation / purification systems
- Waste-to-Energy / fuels / hydrocarbons
- Commissioning / start-up exposure
- Process troubleshooting mindset
- Structured problem-solving capability
- Comfort working in plant environments (not purely desk-based)
- Ability to work with operations, QA, and maintenance teams
- Strong analytical & quantitative thinking
- 58 years in refinery, petrochemical, oleochemical, or thermal cracking operations
Practical Skills
Behavioural Traits
- High tolerance for ambiguity & imperfect systems
- Hands-on, pragmatic, not overly academic
- Curious, diagnostic thinker
- Calm under operational pressure
- Bias toward solving real problems vs theoretical perfection
Preferred
- Experience with pyrolysis / heavy hydrocarbon streams
- Experience dealing with contamination issues (chloride, sulfur, metals)
- Experience in start-ups / early-stage industrial plants
- Experience linking process performance with commercial outcomes
- Familiarity with simulation tools (Aspen, HYSYS, UniSim, etc.)
