Principal Process & Facilities Engineer in Portland, Oregon at Kanto Corporation

About Kanto Corporation

Kanto is a U.S. leader in high-purity specialty chemicals, powering the world’s most advanced industries. With a proven legacy of precision, safety, and innovation, we partner with global leaders in semiconductors, technology, and chemical processing to deliver products that meet the most uncompromising standards of quality and reliability.

At Kanto, our people are our greatest strength. Collaboration, commitment, and excellence define how we work, while continuous improvement drives both our success and employee growth. Joining Kanto means shaping the future of technology and manufacturing—while building your career in a dynamic, high-impact environment where your work truly matters.

Kanto’s Mission & Value Statements

Mission

We create value for our customers through quality products and services at a competitive price.

Customer Value Proposition

Quality, Consistency, and Reliability

Employee Value Proposition

At Kanto, your work matters, your ideas are valued, and your growth is supported—all while advancing technologies that shape the future. When Kanto succeeds, we share in that success together.

Position Summary

The Principal Process & Facilities Engineer is responsible for the engineering, implementation, optimization, and lifecycle support of manufacturing process systems, support systems and facility infrastructure. This position develops technical solutions supporting manufacturing operations, including chemical handling, filtration, fluid transfer, cleanroom environments, environmental controls, utility systems, and supporting infrastructure.

The successful candidate will define facility and process requirements, develop system specifications, perform engineering analysis, establish engineering standards, and support the implementation and operation of manufacturing systems. The role requires broad technical expertise across manufacturing infrastructure and process support systems to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations.

General Duties & Responsibilities (*Essential Functions)

Process & Facility Systems Engineering

• Define facility, utility, and process support requirements necessary to support manufacturing operations.*
• Develop engineering solutions for chemical handling, storage, transfer, filtration, mixing, and distribution systems.*
• Establish design criteria and performance requirements for manufacturing systems and supporting infrastructure.*

• Perform engineering analysis to support system sizing, equipment selection, utility requirements, and operational readiness.*
• Develop equipment specifications, technical standards, and infrastructure requirements.*
• Determine cleanroom, fill booth, environmental control, exhaust, utility, and chemical handling requirements necessary to support manufacturing operations.*
• Develop facility infrastructure requirements including UPW, wastewater, HVAC, scrubbed exhaust, process piping, process gases, automation, and control systems.*
• Troubleshoot and optimize manufacturing support systems to improve safety, reliability, maintainability, and operational performance.*
• Identify infrastructure gaps and develop solutions to support current and future manufacturing requirements.*

Facility Infrastructure & Utilities

Provide technical expertise for:

• Hazardous chemical storage and delivery systems*
• Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) systems*
• Filtration and purification systems*
• Industrial wastewater collection and treatment systems*
• Scrubbed exhaust systems*
• HVAC and environmental control systems*
• Cleanroom infrastructure and contamination control systems*
• Process gas distribution systems*
• Process piping systems*
• Industrial automation and control systems*
• PLC and SCADA platforms*
• Building Management Systems (BMS)*

Additional responsibilities include:

• Define utility capacity and infrastructure requirements necessary to support manufacturing operations.*
• Develop requirements for cleanrooms, chemical fill booths, chemical storage areas, process utility systems, and environmental controls.*
• Evaluate facility capabilities and identify improvements necessary to support manufacturing growth and operational requirements.
• Support equipment installation, startup, commissioning, and qualification activities as required.
• Ensure facility systems meet safety, operational, quality, and reliability requirements.

Technical Expertise & System Development

• Develop technical requirements and specifications for manufacturing systems and facility infrastructure.*
• Support the evaluation and selection of equipment, technologies, materials, and engineering solutions.*
• Develop engineering standards, design practices, and best practices for manufacturing operations.*
• Collaborate with Operations, Facilities, Quality, EHS, contractors, vendors, and engineering consultants to implement technical solutions.*
• Perform root cause analysis and develop corrective actions for complex system and infrastructure issues.*
• Support strategic planning activities through technical assessment of manufacturing capabilities and facility requirements.*
• Mentor engineering and technical personnel on system design, troubleshooting, risk assessment, and operational best practices.*

Risk Management & Operational Readiness

• Lead and facilitate structured risk assessments including PHA, FMEA, JHA/JSA, MOC, and equivalent methodologies.*
• Evaluate operational, safety, environmental, quality, and reliability risks associated with manufacturing and facility systems.*
• Develop mitigation strategies to ensure safe and reliable operations.*
• Support commissioning, startup, acceptance testing, and operational readiness activities.*
• Ensure systems achieve performance, reliability, quality, and safety objectives prior to operational use.*
• Support contingency planning and business continuity initiatives.

Operational Excellence & Documentation

• Develop, review, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), engineering standards, technical specifications, and work instructions.*
• Establish startup, shutdown, maintenance, troubleshooting, and emergency response procedures.*
• Develop and maintain engineering documentation including system specifications, drawings, calculations, standards, and operating requirements.*
• Drive standardization and continuous improvement of manufacturing systems and facility infrastructure.*
• Support training and knowledge transfer activities to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of systems.*
• Ensure engineering documentation remains accurate, current, and aligned with industry best practices.*

Safety, Compliance & Environmental Stewardship

• Ensure compliance with applicable environmental, health, safety, and regulatory requirements.*
• Support hazardous materials management and facility permitting activities.*
• Participate in Process Safety Management (PSM) and Management of Change (MOC) activities.*
• Promote proactive hazard identification and risk mitigation.*
• Ensure facility and manufacturing systems meet contamination control and cleanroom requirements.*
• Support internal and external audits as required.

Qualifications

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 15+ years of experience supporting manufacturing operations, facility infrastructure, process utilities, chemical systems, or related industrial environments.
• Demonstrated experience developing facility and process system requirements, specifications, and engineering solutions for manufacturing operations.
• Experience with the design, specification, implementation, and troubleshooting of manufacturing support systems rather than solely coordinating or managing externally developed engineering solutions.
• Experience defining facility requirements for manufacturing operations, including cleanrooms, chemical handling systems, process utilities, environmental controls, and exhaust systems.
• Strong understanding of pumps, filtration technologies, chemical handling systems, process piping, utility systems, and industrial infrastructure.
• Experience with equipment specification, system design, engineering analysis, and technical problem solving.
• Experience leading structured risk assessments including PHA, FMEA, JHA/JSA, MOC, or equivalent methodologies.
• Experience developing SOPs, operating procedures, engineering standards, and technical documentation.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in semiconductor, specialty chemical, advanced manufacturing, high-purity chemical, or similar industrial environments.
• Experience with Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) systems.
• Experience with hazardous chemical delivery, containment, and distribution systems.
• Experience supporting cleanroom manufacturing environments.
• Experience with chemical fill operations and associated facility requirements.
• Experience with scrubbed exhaust systems, industrial ventilation, and environmental controls.
• Experience supporting commissioning, startup, qualification, and operational readiness activities.
• Lean Six Sigma certification a plus.

Key Measures of Success

Performance in this position may be evaluated through measures including:

Environment, Working Conditions, Physical Demands

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. In some cases, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Environment & Working Conditions

While performing the duties of the position, the employee regularly works handling moving mechanical parts and toxic, flammable, and corrosive liquid and fuming chemicals.

Work is regularly performed in an industrial production environment requiring the use of full body clean room attire, including head and face coverings, and full body PPE, including a hood style respirator.

The employee occasionally works in high, precarious places, accessed by ladders, scaffolding, and powered lift trucks.

The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet, except for certain areas where noise may be occasionally moderate or loud for sustained periods of time.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is consistently required to walk or stand for long periods of time, with brief periods of sitting.

Unassisted lifting and moving of objects weighing up to 50 lbs. is required.

The employee is periodically required to bend, stoop, kneel and crouch, with periodic requirements to climb stairs, ladders, or scaffolding.

Ready to Apply?

Click the “Apply” button to submit your resume. We look forward to learning more about your technical expertise and leadership.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Kanto Corporation is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and talents that each individual brings and are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels respected, included, and empowered to contribute to our shared success.