Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) - Technology Engineer

Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) - Technology Engineer

Axens

Rueil-Malmaison, Lyon or Nantes, France

We are looking for a Technology Engineer for our Product Deep Conversion & Upgrading. He/She will work on these various missions in close cooperation with the Commercial Business Divisions (Global Market Manager, Regional Sales Manager) and at the interface with other Axens’ entities (New Development Team BD, Project Operation BD, Industrial Operation BD, Legal Department,…). The domains of expertise are conversion of fossil feedstocks and/or blended with renewable materials or feedstocks sourced in the circular economy in Resids upgrading technologies such as Fluid Catalytic Cracking technology, Ebullated-bed technology, Sweetening technology, Flexicoking, Delayed Coker technologies and some others. This position requires traveling abroad from time to time.

Main Activities:

As part of the Deep Conversion & Upgrading group, the FCC Technology Engineer will play a key role in supporting clients with a strong focus on field operations and problem-solving. The main responsibilities include:

• Understanding clients’ operational needs and industrial context to propose effective, site-adapted technical solutions.
• Conducting on-site spot missions (from a few days to a few weeks) at clients’ facilities: performance test, inspection, catalyst replacement and activation, unit restart, troubleshooting…
• Providing agile technical support in case of operational issues or performance gaps, delivering fast and pragmatic solutions.
• Contributing to repurposing, revamping, optimization projects or conceptual studies/ debottlenecking studies for existing units, in collaboration with engineering teams and clients.
• Participating in the preparation of technical proposals, alongside commercial teams, by estimating performance, proposing suitable technology schemes, and evaluating economic impacts.
• Leveraging field experience and feedback, by collecting and analyzing unit data to enrich Axens’ technical offering.
• Contributing to technology development initiatives, in coordination with R&D teams, particularly on proprietary equipment.
• Promoting Axens’ technologies, catalysts, and services through targeted actions (technical presentations, seminars, publications, etc.).

Knowledge and Required Level:

Chemical Engineer, Process Engineer, General Engineer with solid field experience in FCC. The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong operational mindset with a hands-on approach to troubleshooting and resolving technical issues directly on site.
• Proven experience in supporting unit operations, performance optimization, and technical interventions at client facilities.
• Appetite for revamp and repurposing projects, including conceptual and feasibility studies.
• Familiarity with debottlenecking assessments and the ability to identify practical improvement opportunities.
• Ability to adapt quickly to complex industrial environments and propose pragmatic, result-oriented solutions.
• Skills in design and equipment sizing using simulation software (ProII, Hysis,…) is a plus.
• Skills in Mechanical Engineering or refractory material are a plus.
• Being fluent in English is required for this position.

Associated Skills:

• You have a strong appetence & curiosity for technical skills & technologies. You are used to work with various calculation tools, like improving / developing such tools and design guidelines. You like contributing to knowledge management by sharing your experience & skills, having technical exchanges with colleagues, or questioning existing knowledge, methods, tools, data, etc.
• You are motivated and you enjoy team working, you have a strong sense of listening to exchange the right information with the various Axens entities concerned and our customers.
• You have very good relational contacts as well as qualities to convince, in particular within the framework of commercial support activities.
• You are synthetic, rigorous, concrete. You have the taste for the formatting of arguments and their presentation. You have communication skills, both in writing and orally. These are qualities expected to develop the technical solutions to be proposed and defend them in front of the customers but also for the missions of follow-up and technical assistance.
• You are willing to work on new challenges constantly.
• You like to discover new cultures.
• You are motivated by the innovations serving the energy transition and energy efficiency.