Olivia Simmons is using chemistry to help transform the energy industry

There’s no formula for excelling in your early career. However, Olivia Simmons brings great people skills, a mastery of chemistry and chemical engineering, and the drive to learn and grow to the equation.

How do you make chemistry more intelligent? That is a question that 25-year-old Olivia Simmons is working to answer.

The University of Alabama graduate and member of Baker Hughes’ 2026 LEAD class works in one of the most critical areas of today’s energy industry - automation for oil and gas operations and refineries. With dual degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering, she helps to design and deliver automated chemical pump systems that regulate fluid composition. These systems analyze and adjust the content of process water and petrochemical feedstocks flowing through refineries to optimize equipment and production quality.

LEAD: Baker Hughes’ Early Career Program for Field Engineers provides career-shaping experiences for recent graduates. Mentorship, visibility to senior leadership and access to a wide range of exciting career options on completion of the 3-year program are all part of the package. 

When Olivia applied via LinkedIn to Baker Hughes’ Early Career LEAD program for field engineers in downstream chemicals, she didn’t expect the cut off for applications to be so imminent. 

“They reached out to me that same day and asked me to complete my video interview by close of business. I told them I was at my then job in a steel plant where I was working in galvanizing and optimizing process chemistry.” 

However, Olivia pulled the required rabbit out of a hat and made the cut. During subsequent Baker Hughes assessments, she continued to stand out, said Nadjmeh Doostdar, Baker Hughes’ service delivery technology director for downstream chemicals. Despite a demanding schedule in her global role, Nadjmeh is deeply involved in LEAD recruitment and revived the downstream chemicals’ field engineering program post-COVID.  

“Every year, all the LEAD field engineers are great,” Nadjmeh said. “They are eager, and they bring their best, and we immediately recognized that Olivia was outstanding among them.”

Grayson Gibson is a senior technical consultant in downstream chemicals at Baker Hughes and the LEAD program supervisor. He is also Olivia’s manager and has been impressed with her since she joined the company.

“From day one at Baker Hughes, Olivia has shown that she possesses the core identity of what it means to be a LEAD field engineer. Driven, accountable, self-motivating, honest, and personable,” Grayson said. “It takes a person with all these very specific traits to be successful in this notoriously niche market, and Olivia has proven time and again that she is exactly that.’’

Eighteen months into the program, Olivia is on her second assignment, working with the automation team and supporting multiple automation projects for key customers in North America. Nadjmeh even expects she will graduate up to a year ahead of time. 

“Let’s say she’s on a fast track.”

Question:

Olivia, what attracted you to study chemistry?

Olivia:

At school, I loved chemistry and math because they were straightforward. In chemistry and math there’s usually one answer, compared to English and other subjects which can be very subjective.

When I started applying for higher education, the college I chose was offering a scholarship in the engineering program. I thought: ”Chemistry. Chemical engineering. How different can they be?“ I wanted to challenge myself, so I double majored, and it was great.

I also saw a range of opportunities in chemical engineering. For example, I could go into the food and beverage industry, or aerospace on the chemical side, into specialty chemicals, or energy, there are many applications for engineering skills.

Question:

What led you to Baker Hughes?

Olivia:

I had several diverse internships. During college, my first internship was in veterinary medicine, which was super interesting, and I started project managing there. Post graduation I went into steel galvanizing, which was even more project based but more hands on and in a stimulating environment.

I was in Houston for the steel role, and in Houston the energy industry is just an all-pervasive part of life. Trawling around LinkedIn, I came across so many opportunities. I attended some Baker Hughes’ recruitment events and decided to apply for the LEAD program: It was advertised as a LEAD field engineer role, and the description sounded interesting. I knew from my previous experience that I really wanted to be in a hands-on, dynamic environment – I don’t love doing the same thing every day. It feels like this opportunity just landed in my lap in an amazing way.

Question:

How would you describe your current role?

Olivia:

I’m a field engineer in the LEAD program in downstream chemicals and I’m currently assigned to the automation group. We build pump skids to analyze and automate chemical injections for processes in refineries, petrochemical plants, renewable diesel plants and other energy-related ventures.

Question:

What’s a pump skid?

Olivia:

It’s a custom-designed control system that can include pumps, valves and tubing to pull fluid streams out of a process, such as a distillation tower, then analyze the samples and respond as necessary. You might be testing for pH, and the results call for an injection of chemicals to neutralize the fluids. The responses can be automated or prompt the customer to intervene.

Question:

So, you get to apply both your chemistry and your engineering skills? 

Olivia:

Yes. A lot of engineering is problem solving, and it brings creativity to the role in how you decide to tackle problems. In automation our site teams will come and say, “Hey, we want to automate this chemical dosing; this is the application; this is the unit.” 

You analyze the history, break down the problems, and clarify the end goals for the unit. Then we use our own problem-solving skills and understanding of the chemistry to optimize the process to our customer’s satisfaction.

There can be physical, software-controlled and or chemistry aspects for each of them.

Question:

Where are you based and how are your days organized?

Olivia:

My first assignment was in petrochemicals in the Houston area, but I requested to move back home to Louisiana, and my manager, Grayson, was super flexible. He found that the automation team needed help, and arranged for me to support them, working 25% to 50% of the time remotely from Louisiana, and 50% to 75% travelling.

When I’m at home, I work on background – site surveys, business bidding, designs, liaising with vendors, nailing down timelines – for various projects. Right now, we’re writing manuals and instructions for our customers. The time at home also gives me a chance to catch up, do my own learning beyond what I know from university – for example, in automation control.

When I’m on site, the units have already been delivered from the integrator. My team works with the electrical engineer and the site teams to install the unit and hook it up, configuring settings, landing signal wires, and testing that everything is running as it should. As part of commissioning, we also teach the site team how the unit runs and how to do preventative maintenance on the system.

My work is different every day. I love being in the field, in the hands-on environment, being able to see our work with my own eyes – not just in the form of an online design or model. I love hearing, seeing and working with people. You get a lot from face-to-face interactions, like reading body language and understanding people’s concerns. For me, getting into the field, working with the team and with customers and other suppliers, is honestly the best part of being in this program.

Question:

What aspects of your work or what projects are you most proud of so far?

Olivia:

We’re currently building a massive unit for a refinery in California, and it's been a very hands-on and very intricate project. Essentially, we’re combining three modules into one large unit for the customer, and there are a lot of moving parts, plus a lot of vendors to coordinate. 

The unit will read pH, chloride, ammonia and iron concentrations in close to real time, off an overhead stream. After analysis, the unit sends the readings back to the customer's control system. 

I started with this group a few months ago, so a lot had already been done, but I'll be participating in upcoming factory acceptance testing, run throughs with the customer, installation and commissioning. I'm learning a lot through this project and eventually, once it’s complete, I'll be proud of it!

Question:

How have your Baker Hughes’ mentors inspired you?

Olivia:

I’ve had great mentors at every point in the program.  I’ve had mentors in the petrochemical group, the automation group, and also in the APAF (Asian Pacific American Forum) Employee Resource Group. As a woman in engineering, I'm always looking for women around my age who are pushing themselves career wise, and who also have a healthy work-life balance that allows them to have a family if they want to and still be a very involved mom. Balancing of work and personal life is so important to me as it makes me more well-rounded in both spaces.

Question:

What excites you about working in the energy industry?

Olivia:

Oh, a lot of things. Energy is a core part of our day to day, central to aspects of life that we hardly even think about. Obviously, the energy landscape is changing, and I love having an insider view of that. Last month I visited a renewable diesel plant in Texas. The company collects waste from animal products and the food service industry and processes it into diesel fuel. We were troubleshooting one of our own VIVID smart controllers in the wastewater unit, and I got to learn some of the process. It was awesome, and obviously there’s a lot of room for growth in the renewables space – which is exciting for me.

Question:

What are you aiming for in terms of your future career?

Olivia:

I’m still trying to figure that out. I know what I don’t want to do, like sit in an office all day. But at Baker Hughes, I’m discovering that there are a lot more roles than I’d previously thought of that might interest me. I’m still figuring it out, but the LEAD program is doing a great job of challenging us and pushing us to grow. It’s channeling me into a great position where there will be exciting options.