Lead Pilot Plant Process Specialist
manufacturing › Pilot Plant Operations · S5 — S5 — Principal Support Specialist · Support
Serves as the top individual-contributor expert running and troubleshooting pilot-scale production trials to validate manufacturing processes before commercial scale-up.
Median pay · United States · annual
$62,559 USD
▲ +62.4% vs S1 on this ladder
Typical range ()
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What this role is
Serves as the top individual-contributor expert running and troubleshooting pilot-scale production trials to validate manufacturing processes before commercial scale-up. At the Principal Support Specialist (S5) level, the role owns function-wide support practice, program-level and systemic support problems, and drives support strategy across the function. Subject-matter authority; shapes the practice.
What this level does
- Contributes to the creation and revision of standard operating, cleaning and safety procedures for pilot plant units based on accumulated run experience
- Serves as the working lead and technical escalation point for operations, resolving the most complex run and equipment issues across the pilot plant
- Supports process transfer from small-scale development units through the pilot plant to commercial manufacturing by advising on operability and equipment readiness
- Develops and standardizes run-monitoring and data-recording practices so process learning is captured consistently across shifts and campaigns
- Trains and provides guidance to operators and technicians, influencing how new products are introduced and run in the pilot plant
- Knowledge applied
- Expert in pilot plant operations; contributes to the creation of new SOPs, cleaning and monitoring methods within the operating area.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Resolves the most complex run and equipment issues, develops standardized run-monitoring and data-management practices, and supports process transfer to commercial scale.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Acts as working lead and escalation point; trains and provides guidance to operators and influences new product introduction runs.
- Typical experience
- 6+ yrs; expert in pilot plant operations.
Skills at this level
- Pilot Plant Equipment Operation
- — Sets up, operates and maintains pilot plant chemical process, wastewater treatment and utility equipment — including raw materials transfer, line setup, startup, control and in-run adjustment — per standard operating and safety procedures.
- Cleaning, CIP and Charging Operations
- — Performs cleaning, clean-in-place, solution preparation and charging routines to prepare and reset pilot plant units between runs, ensuring proper setup, use and post-run cleaning.
- Run Data Collection and Reporting
- — Collects, records and analyzes run readings and analytical results accurately during pilot plant operation, and prepares reports and documentation for technical review.
- Equipment Troubleshooting
- — Uses mechanical skills to diagnose and correct unexpected equipment behavior during a run, restoring continuous, integrated pilot plant operation to specification.
- Process Safety and Hazard Identification
- — Operates within process safety and HES standards, performs safety inspections, and identifies and elevates hazards or concerns to the Pilot Plant Manager or site HES Manager.
- Analytical Quality Testing
- — Performs standard analytical testing on process streams and product during a run to confirm quality and accuracy against pilot plant specifications.
- Root-Cause Analysis and Corrective Action
- — Participates in root-cause analysis of unplanned pilot plant events and contributes to corrective actions that resolve process-related deviations.
- Scale-Up Run Support
- — Executes process-transfer steps that move a process from lab to pilot scale and from pilot plant toward commercial manufacturing, flagging where equipment behavior diverges from the transfer plan.
- SOP Development and Revision
- — Contributes to the creation and revision of pilot plant operating, cleaning and safety procedures based on accumulated run and equipment experience.
- Operator Guidance and Working Lead
- — Sequences shift work and trains and guides less experienced operators through complex pilot plant startups, CIP cycles and non-routine run situations without holding formal management responsibility.
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As of · 2026-07-30
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Source · canon-v2 cell + salary-benchmark (model)
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