Technoeconomic Engineer – Champaign, IL
This is a salaried exempt position.  

Position Summary:  
The Technoeconomic Engineer is responsible for supporting large, highly complex projects in all stages of Research and Development with development of financial, cost, and process models to provide the information needed by Management, Project Managers, and Researchers to evaluate projects and clarify the highest impact areas for further investigation. In addition, the engineer will be responsible for delivering rapid but accurate cost estimates on smaller, less well-defined projects. The engineer uses expert-level process and financial modeling to model processes based on data from literature and patent reviews, bench, pilot, demonstration and commercial scale trials, and vendor information, to assist in the evaluation of process alternatives. The engineer provides mass and energy balances, PFDs/P&IDs, capital cost estimates, sensitivity and Monte Carlo analyses, and evaluation of key financial results. The engineer will be expected to work with, mentor, and check the work of undergraduate interns and junior engineers as part of the work process. They are expected to present and summarize information in clear and thorough reports and presentations.   

This position is expected to work and communicate with various groups including commercial groups and R&D leadership, as well as vendors, contractors, operations, and other parts of R&D. 

Job Responsibilities
The following represents most duties to be performed by the position but is not meant to be all-inclusive and will not prevent other duties from being assigned when appropriate.Use expert level ACCE knowledge to build accurate capital cost estimates.Maintain and update standardized ACCE templates and indexes.Develop and maintain standard models, templates, and work processes.Create process and financial models for complex processes in early and middle stages of detail.Use expert level Aspen Plus and Excel knowledge to develop process models.Prepare mass and energy balances of unit operations or whole plants.Efficiently move projects from idea to pipeline using standard Technology Development work processes.Assess various performance specifications for key unit operations or equipment.Design of experiments for plant and pilot trials, or to provide technical support to existing facilities.Write detailed reports and prepare comprehensive presentations.Skills and ProficienciesA Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or equivalent is required.Four to eight years of experience in process and financial modeling in agricultural, human and animal nutrition, and/or biofuels and bioproducts processing.High level proficiency in chemical process simulation software including Aspen Plus and Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, as well as spreadsheet based/Excel tools, with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.Strong leadership and project management skills, with the ability to quickly move new projects into the pipeline and drive project success.Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely.Willingness to help foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.Position RequirementsMust be willing to travel (