Chemical Engineer Job Description

What does a Chemical Engineer do?

Chemical engineers design and develop chemical manufacturing equipment and processes for plastics, gasoline, cement, paper and pulp among others. They develop safety procedures, troubleshoot problems with the chemical manufacturing process and conduct product testing. Candidates for this position are expected to be familiar with technical writing, laboratory equipment and CAD and analytics software. 
 

Duties and Tasks: 

• Conduct research and analyze data from processes and experiments to develop new and more efficient manufacturing processes 
• Create safety procedures for handling dangerous or hazardous chemicals 
• Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents through controlled chemical processes 
• Conduct tests to monitor performance of processes during production 
• Identify problems with the manufacturing processes 
• Evaluate equipment to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations 
• Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants 

Technical Skills 

• Solid background in applied chemistry (chemical composition, structure, properties of substances, chemical processes, etc.) 
• Knowledge of biochemical/process engineering 
• Good knowledge of the fundamentals of engineering 
• Knowledge on the use of laboratory tools and equipment (Bi distillation units, catalytic combustion analyzers, chromatographic scanners, mixers, spectrometers, etc.) 
• Good Inductive reasoning and researching skills 
• Good math and physics skills 

Other Skills/Requirements: 

• Critical thinking - using logic to identify strengths and weaknesses of processes, explore alternative solutions, and come up with different approaches to problems 
• Good knowledge of production and processing 
• Personnel management - ability to motivate and direct people as they work through problems 
• Good communication skills – written and verbal