Fixed Equipment Inspector Jobs in Houston, TX (NOW HIRING)

Company:
INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA
Interested in joining a winning team? A team whose employees are empowered to make a difference?
Interested in joining a winning Team? A team whose employees are empowered to make a difference?
Company:
Olefins and Polymers USA LLC
Job title
Fixed Equipment Specialist (Engineer)
Grade
37
Offer Range
$161,100 - 200,365 (commensurate with experience)
Location
TBD - (Hybrid)
How the job fits in
The Fixed Equipment Specialist is the senior enterprise-wide technical resource for pressure vessels, heat exchangers, storage tanks, piping systems, and relief devices across INEOS O&P USA. Reporting to the Equipment Integrity Manager & Technical Authority, this role provides the deep subject matter expertise that underpins enterprise decisions on equipment lifecycle care, turnaround scope, and capital investment across $15B+ in enterprise replacement value assets. Lifecycle stewardship provided by this role directly protects long-term asset integrity, reliability, and the company's license to operate.
Within the discipline of fixed equipment, the Fixed Equipment Specialist defines enterprise asset care strategies, lifecycle plans, and PCMS data management practices that site engineering and inspection teams are expected to apply. Site mechanical engineers, reliability personnel, and inspection leads operate within the asset care framework established by this role and rely on it as the senior technical resource for severe or complex fixed equipment problems. While the position has no direct line authority over site personnel, its functional leadership and structured technical guidance establish how fixed equipment lifecycle decisions are made across all O&P USA sites.
The role spans three major manufacturing sites and the O&P USA pipeline business, providing technical leadership across 30+ mechanical engineers, two reliability team leads, and the mechanical engineering superintendents at the BMC and CBW manufacturing sites. Through asset care strategy, lifecycle planning, and PCMS data stewardship, the role shapes the lifecycle and capital portion of $175MM+ in annual maintenance and inspection spend and influences the prioritization of integrity-linked capital investment.
The Fixed Equipment Specialist is also the steward of the relief device program from an equipment integrity perspective, providing technical oversight for more than 4,000 relief devices across O&P USA. The role is recognized as a technical authority on fixed equipment within INEOS and is expected to actively participate in relevant industry forums and committees, including API and AFPM activities, ensuring that O&P remains aligned with emerging codes, standards, and best practices in fixed equipment lifecycle management.
A significant intervention to address this structural threat to the Business has been defined and actioned by the O&P USA Board and endorsed by INEOS Capital. Central to this intervention is creation and implementation of a corporate Operations Management System (OMS) that will define, at a corporate level, how all elements of engineering, operations and technology will be defined, structured, standardized and managed going forward.
Critical to the successful delivery of the OMS is creation of a Corporate Engineering & Technology Organization, and population of that organization with senior, competent and experienced discipline leaders, with the technical capability and gravitas to design, communicate and manage their engineering / operational discipline to significantly improved and consistent standards across the entire O&P USA Business.
The E&T organization will hold all discipline engineering Technical Authorities in the Business, who will set corporate standards, practices, procedures and competency requirements across all operating locations. This is a purposeful and complete reversal in structure to previous / current where personnel at the operating Sites had an assumed authority for all technical discipline policies, practices, structures and standards at their individual location; an approach that has not worked and is the root cause of the many performance issues encountered today.
The post holder must have deep understanding of their engineering discipline and have successful experience of setting policy and driving compliance to required standards across a large and diverse manufacturing organization. The post holder must be a proven and resilient agent for change.
Asset care strategies, lifecycle plans, and PCMS data stewardship provided by this role directly support long-term equipment reliability, the company's regulatory compliance posture, and the avoidance of asset failures with potential for major safety, environmental, and financial impact. This person serves as the enterprise senior technical resource for fixed equipment lifecycle management and relief device program integrity across the O&P USA Business.
Job Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Asset Care Strategy & Lifecycle Management
Most important activities:

• Define and guide enterprise asset care strategies for fixed equipment, with clear risk-based inspection intervals, expected replacement timelines, and renewal paths for pressure vessels, heat exchangers, storage tanks, and piping.
• Ensure asset care strategies reflect known degradation mechanisms, usage profiles, operational history, and current asset condition data.
• Champion a long-term planning mindset for high-risk and high-value fixed equipment assets across all sites, balancing near-term operational pressures with lifecycle integrity outcomes.
• Support the Equipment Integrity Manager in developing and maintaining enterprise-level fixed equipment standards, asset care practices, and lifecycle frameworks.
• Drive standardization of asset care strategy development, documentation, and review practices across all sites.

Technical Leadership & Site Support
Most important activities:

• Serve as the enterprise senior technical resource for severe or complex fixed equipment integrity and mechanical problems, providing authoritative guidance to site engineering and inspection teams.
• Act as the go-to technical resource for site-based mechanical and inspection engineers, supporting fixed equipment troubleshooting, design evaluation, and repair planning.
• Provide design input for replacements and modifications involving pressure vessels, heat exchangers, storage tanks, and piping systems.
• Lead and support failure investigations involving fixed equipment, contributing root cause analysis, metallurgical evaluation, and recommendations for systemic corrective actions.

PCMS Ownership & Data Integrity
Most important activities:

• Ensure all critical fixed equipment is accurately represented in PCMS, including pressure vessels, exchangers, storage tanks, and piping circuits.
• Establish enterprise best practices for how sites manage and maintain their fixed equipment records in PCMS, and coach site inspection and engineering leads on consistent application.
• Maintain complete and accurate equipment history, including prior inspections, repairs, fitness-for-service evaluations, and planned replacements.
• Partner with the Chief Inspector and site inspection leads to ensure data integrity and use of PCMS as the foundation for inspection planning, lifecycle decisions, and capital prioritization.
• Drive continuous improvement in fixed equipment data quality and PCMS utilization across all sites.

Relief Device Program Stewardship
Most important activities:

• Provide enterprise-level technical stewardship for the relief device program from an Equipment Integrity perspective, covering more than 4,000 relief devices across O&P USA.
• Ensure relief device population data, testing intervals, and condition records are accurately maintained, with traceable documentation supporting regulatory and code compliance.
• Coach site engineering and inspection teams on relief device sizing, selection, testing, and repair best practices, ensuring consistency across the enterprise.
• Support root cause investigations involving relief device failures or in-service events, contributing technical expertise on design adequacy, condition history, and program effectiveness.
• Partner with site relief systems engineers, the Chief Inspector, and external test contractors to drive consistent execution of relief device inspection, testing, and repair programs.
• Monitor industry incidents and code developments related to relief devices, ensuring INEOS programs remain current with API 520/521, ASME Section VIII, and applicable RAGAGEP.

Turnaround & Capital Planning Integration
Most important activities:

• Provide technical support for turnaround scope development, ensuring high-risk fixed equipment is appropriately evaluated, scoped, and timed.
• Inform capital investment needs based on lifecycle risk, expected equipment longevity, and condition-based asset care strategy outputs.
• Ensure project proposals for fixed equipment replacement or upgrades are submitted early enough to allow for business prioritization, engineering development, and funding alignment.
• Support post-turnaround reviews to capture learnings and refresh asset care strategies based on inspection findings, equipment condition data, and emergent discoveries.
• Influence the lifecycle and capital portion of $175MM+ in annual maintenance and inspection spend across approximately 20 distinct turnaround events on rotating multi-year cycles.

Standards Compliance & Governance Support
Most important activities:

• Ensure fixed equipment practices align with applicable codes and standards across the enterprise including API 510, 570, 653, and 579, applicable ASME codes, and RAGAGEP.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of inspection, design, and repair code updates affecting fixed equipment and relief devices, and translate updates into enterprise practice changes where warranted.
• Provide input into enterprise procedures involving fixed equipment risk prioritization, inspection planning, and documentation of asset care strategy.
• Support Risk-Based Inspection (RBI), Fitness-for-Service (FFS), and damage mechanism review programs as a senior technical contributor.
• Partner with the Chief Inspector and Corrosion & Materials Engineer to align fixed equipment standards with inspection program requirements and corrosion control documents.

Mechanical Engineering Discipline Development & Coaching
Most important activities:

• Provide functional development and coaching to the mechanical engineering discipline across O&P USA, including 30+ mechanical engineers and the two reliability team leads.
• Functionally develop and calibrate the mechanical engineering superintendents at the BMC and CBW manufacturing sites on asset care strategy, lifecycle planning, and fixed equipment technical decisions.
• Mentor site engineers in the application of asset care strategies, failure prevention, and sound engineering judgment in fixed equipment decisions, and contribute to competency standards for the mechanical engineering role group within the future INEOS O&P Business Competency Management System.

External Engagement & Industry Benchmarking
Most important activities:

• Participate in, and where appropriate lead, INEOS Group fixed equipment and reliability discipline networks to ensure alignment, knowledge sharing, and adoption of best practices across the enterprise.
• Actively participate in external technical forums, including API committees and the AFPM Mechanical Integrity Subgroup, representing INEOS interests in fixed equipment and relief device discussions.
• Monitor regulatory changes, evolving codes and standards, fixed equipment failure trends across industry, and external incidents to ensure INEOS programs remain credible, current, and defensible.
• Foster a network of site-based mechanical engineers and reliability personnel to align execution, share emerging threats and learnings, and drive adoption of external best practices where they strengthen internal programs.

Required Knowledge and Skills
Level of education & Experience in general

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 15-20 years of experience in fixed equipment reliability, design, or inspection within refining, petrochemical, or heavy industrial environments.
• Expert knowledge of pressure vessels, heat exchangers, piping, and storage tanks, including failure mechanisms, design criteria, and repair techniques.
• Proficient with PCMS or equivalent mechanical integrity software platforms, with proven track record driving data quality and equipment history standards.
• Familiar with API codes 510, 570, 653, 579, and 520/521, applicable ASME standards, and the ability to apply them to varied plant environments.
• Demonstrated experience with relief device program management, including device sizing, testing, repair, and regulatory compliance.
• Active participation in external mechanical integrity, fixed equipment, or reliability networks (e.g., API, AFPM) preferred.

Technical skills

• Recognized company authority on fixed equipment, with deep expertise in pressure vessel, heat exchanger, storage tank, and piping system design, inspection, and lifecycle management
• Extensive knowledge of fixed equipment codes and standards, including API 510, 570, 571, 579, 580, 581, 653, 520/521, and relevant ASME codes
• Strong understanding of degradation mechanisms, corrosion processes, and metallurgical failure analysis, including the application of fitness-for-service (FFS) evaluations
• Experienced in Risk-Based Inspection (RBI), damage mechanism reviews, and the integration of inspection findings into lifecycle asset care strategies
• Strong working knowledge of O