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APC Process SME

Mission

The APC Process SME is the technical responsible for the APC project development, design, implementation and monitoring to ensure safe and profitable manufacturing processes.

Properly functioning (Advanced) Process Controls are a combination of control engineering and chemical engineering. They are critical to the stable, safe, reliable, available and efficient operation of the plant facilities and associated equipment and systems, as well as the quality of the products produced. The APC Process SME will 

will interact routinely with the Process Control team, plant operations, maintenance, and other engineering personnel to provide “hands-on” field-engineering and troubleshooting support technical guidance related to the site’s Process Controls, APC and RTO systems in the plant operations. The APC Process SME will continuously seek for opportunities to unlock value from plant operations by challenging the APC boundaries and objectives. The position emphasises teamwork, communications, organisation, change management, work process optimisation, planning, leadership, and hands-on technical skills with comprehensive knowledge across engineering disciplines.

What You'll Do

• Implements and monitors APC applications on refinery units, supports APC applications, and develops new APC applications and similar advanced control applications and interfaces to DCS systems;
• Designs new or updates existing APC applications for the refinery process units to unlock their full potential, within safe limits;
• Identifies process units bottlenecks and suggests ways to overcome it;
• Reviews the Functional Design Specifications and establishes the scope and strategy for the controllers and sub-controllers;
• Conducting pretests, step tests, inferential development, commissioning, troubleshooting;
• Coaching and operator training activities related to implementing APC applications;
• Improving DCS Base Layer control strategies;
• Design, implement, optimise, and maintain the selected APC software for new and existing process units. Includes pre-testing of units, making instrument recommendations, inferential sensor development, DCS loop tuning, control strategy improvement, step testing, model development, commissioning, troubleshooting, and operator/engineer training for the APC applications;
• The APC Process SME applies his deep knowledge of process control and automation systems to understand and analyse the specific processes within the Sines refinery. This expertise will identify areas where advanced control strategies can be implemented to improve efficiency and quality;
• o promote Advanced Process Control (APC) as a critical component in our Value generation and Digitalization journey;
• To lead and execute APC studies and projects for existing and new plants;
• Manages multiple parallel projects with a mix of site and contract resources;
• The APC Process SME goal is achieving real operational benefits through the implementation of APC control and optimisation strategies:
  1. 1. Increased throughput.
     2. Increased product yields.
     3. Reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
     4. Improved environmental compliance.
• To improve operational efficiency, Design, implement, and maintain advanced process control strategies for various process units;
• Collaborate with operations, instrumentation, and process engineering teams to identify opportunities for APC and further process optimisation;
• Develop models to represent process dynamics and validate them against plant data;
• Ensure process control systems comply with industry standards and company guidelines;
• Analyze plant data to determine control performance, identify issues, and recommend solutions;
• Lead or participate in multidisciplinary teams to troubleshoot complex process control problems;
• Provide training to operations personnel on APC strategies and their benefits;
• Continuously monitor the health of APC applications and perform regular audits to ensure optimal performance;
• Collaborate with vendors and external partners on APC technology advancements;
• Document all APC strategies, changes, and results for future reference and audits;
• Ensuring compliance with industry safety and control standards;
• Train young graduates in the space of APC technology;
• Lead the process definitions of the Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs) for each process unit, in collaboration with the units process engineers.

What You'll Need

• A master’s degree in Chemical Engineering;
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant and practical experience in DCS Baselayer Controls, proven track record in refinery APC projects;
• Demonstrated leadership skills and excellent ability to communicate in technical English with peers as well as members of management;  
• Mastery skills in the Field of DCS Base layer control strategies and in-depth knowledge of at least one of the following DCS brands: Honeywell, Yokogawa, Emerson;
• Mastery skills in the Field of APC control strategies and in-depth knowledge of Aspen DMC3 and DMCplus;
• Possesses a sound understanding of the different chemical processes and how their impact on the unit economics (yields, energy consumption, product quality);
• Proven track record in implementing APC projects in refineries;
• Proven track record in process data analytics with PI-Process book or SEEQ software;
• Sound understanding of OT domain Cyber-security and OPC strategies;
• Capability of building Dynamic Models in process modelling software;
• In-depth process knowledge of refinery processes;
• In-depth process knowledge of Alarm management workstreams;
• Capable of acting as a Project Manager for multiple disciplinary APC projects;
• Knowledge level of Refinery economics;
•  fluent to communicate in Portuguese or Spanish is preferred;
• fluent to communicate in English.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
At Galp, we have the ambition to be a Human Centered Company, and for that we acknowledge our responsibility to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) by having a genuine  mindset, lived on our day-to-day, in all our processes. We believe that everyone should be celebrated and valued for who they are: not only for their potential, but also for their distinctive characteristics.