Description

Chemical engineers research, design, and develop chemical processes and equipment, oversee the operation and maintenance of industrial chemical, plastics, pharmaceutical, resource, pulp and paper, and food processing plants and perform duties related to chemical quality control, environmental protection and biochemical or biotechnical engineering. They are employed in a wide range of manufacturing and processing industries, consulting firms, government, research and educational institutions.

Job Titles

• Adhesives engineer
• Biochemical engineer
• Biotechnical engineer
• Chemical process control engineer
• Chemical process engineer
• Chemical project engineer
• Environmental chemical engineer
• Industrial hygiene engineer
• Industrial waste treatment engineer
• Liquid fuels engineer
• Petrochemical engineer
• Polymer engineer
• Pulp and paper engineer
• Refinery engineer
• Waste treatment engineer

Main Duties

• Conduct economic and technical feasibility studies in areas related to chemical, petroleum, pulp and paper, food or other processing industries
• Conduct research into the development or improvement of chemical engineering processes, reactions and materials
• Evaluate chemical process technology and equipment and determine production specifications
• Design and test chemical processing and associated plants and equipment
• Oversee the construction, modification, operation and maintenance of pilot plants, processing units or processing plants
• Establish and conduct quality control programs, operating procedures and control strategies to ensure consistency and adherence to standards for raw materials, products and waste products or emissions
• Prepare contract documents and evaluate tenders for the process aspects of industrial construction
• Supervise technicians, technologists and other engineers
• May work in an administrative capacity, for example, in the development of guidelines and specifications for the handling of dangerous chemicals, environmental protection, or standards for foods, materials and consumer goods.

Workplaces

• Consulting businesses
• Education institutions
• Governments
• Manufacturing industries
• Processing industries
• Research institutions

Skills

• Critical Thinking
• Decision Making
• Evaluation
• Numeracy
• Oral Communication: Oral Comprehension

Abilities

• Categorization Flexibility
• Deductive Reasoning
• Fluency of Ideas
• Inductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering

Personal Attributes

• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Innovativeness
• Active Learning
• Adaptability

Similar Occupations

• Engineering managers (20010)
• Chemists (21101)
• Civil engineers (21300)
• Electrical and electronics engineers (21310)
• Metallurgical and materials engineers (21322)
• Petroleum engineers (21332)
• Other professional engineers (21399)
• Agricultural engineer (in 21399.01 Agricultural and bio-resource engineers)
• Biomedical engineer (in 21399.02 Biomedical engineers)

Source: OaSIS