Engineering Leadership Development Program - POET

Are you someone who has a passion for learning and growing your skills? Are you looking for a job that will give you many diverse experiences and opportunities?

POET has designed a fast track to technical leadership within our Progressive Leadership Development Program (Engineering Leadership Development Program). This program will immerse you in POET’s culture, give you diverse experiences, build your technical expertise, and prepare you for a future leadership role at POET. The goal will be to provide a focused program that ensures exposure to responsibilities that are targeted to attaining readiness for a leadership role in ~6 years. This is a unique career advancement opportunity that could take decades to achieve with other companies!

This program will expose you to the dynamics of POET’s operations as you move through progressive roles. You will foster meaningful relationships while contributing to a world-changing mission. As you progress through the phases of the program, it will be necessary for relocation to access these positions. This will require mobility between bioprocessing facilities, which presents the opportunity to learn from diverse leaders and mentors along the way. POET will assist in relocating you to each location.

The program is designed to ensure transition to the next phase based on team member readiness and targeted growth.

Typical roles and timing are expected to look like:

• Operations Engineer at our headquarters in Sioux Falls, SD, where you will focus on learning POET’s operations support model and the POET Bioprocessing structure while supporting the bioprocessing facilities. (~3-6 months)
• Plant Technician on one of our 33 Bioprocessing facilities’ teams learning bioprocessing operations. This invaluable experience will grow your knowledge of POET’s bioprocessing technology that will serve as a foundation for your future growth. (~6 months)
• Plant Engineer providing support for your assigned region’s Bios. In this role you will advance your engineering skills in the areas of operations, technology, and project management. In this role you will lead major capital projects, along with technology design and implementation. (~24 months)
• Operations Supervisor, leading one of our Bioprocessing teams in carrying out day-day duties at the plant. This will provide your initial exposure to the responsibility of leading teams in their operational duties. Responsibilities will include supervision, safety, environmental, quality, along with learning in-depth bioprocessing technology and operations. (~12 months)
• Ultimately, you will be placed in a Bioprocessing Managerial Role where you will have departmental responsibility for a larger team building advanced leadership skills. This role will provide exposure to financials, HR considerations, team member development and the challenges and rewards associated with leading an entire department. (~24 months)

This path will provide the exposures, training and experiences necessary to prepare you for a Sr. level engineering or operational role within one of POET’s many Bioprocessing teams or complementary business units.

STRENGTHS OF A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering; Chemical, Process, Agricultural, Biosystems, or Mechanical Engineering.
• You are willing and able to relocate.
• You have the technical aptitude to learn and understand the Bioprocessing technology.
• You have the ability to compile, analyze and interpret data.
• You communicate effectively in writing and in person.
• You have the ability to understand the technical and day-to-day operations of a bioprocessing facility.
• You know the basics of Microsoft Office Suite and are capable of learning new software programs.
• You are never satisfied — always learning and striving for personal growth and development.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Culture is king at POET. We’re all on the same team. We always communicate. We park our egos at the door. These aren’t just slogans on our walls. It’s the way we do things at POET and is key to POET’s success.
• POET bioprocessing facilities operate on a 24/7 schedule, so team members must be available as needed.
• The work environment at our bioprocessing facilities is dynamic. You should expect a balance between office work and time spent in the bioprocessing facility, which may include physical labor helping your team members.
• You may be exposed to elevated noise levels, moving mechanical parts, dusty conditions, internal and external temperature/weather conditions, and chemicals.
• Work environment will vary as you transition through the program, depending on the specific role, physical requirements will be different.
• Specific physical requirements may include:
  • Occasionally lifting weight up to sixty (60) pounds
  • Climbing several flights of stairs and ladders
  • Occasionally bending, twisting and turning while lifting weight of less than fifty (50) pounds
  • Data entry while seated for greater than one (1) hour
  • Walking up to two (2) or more miles per day
  • Working at heights, confined spaces, and at temperatures from -20 to +100 degrees
  • Standing for extended periods of time
  • Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Using hand and power tools

POET is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). POET complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws regarding hiring and employment. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status.