Chemical engineer

A Chemical Engineer is a professional who applies principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and engineering to design, develop, and optimize processes for producing chemicals, fuels, food, pharmaceuticals, and a wide range of other products. Their work transforms raw materials into valuable products efficiently, safely, and sustainably. Chemical Engineers are employed in many industries, including energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and environmental protection, where they play a key role in improving production techniques and solving real-world challenges.

Includes people working in pharmaceuticals, rubber, plastics and toiletries, cement and paper, food and drink, energy or oil and gas.

Here are some typical duties of chemical engineers:

• Design and implement chemical processes for large-scale manufacturing of products such as fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and food additives.
• Develop and improve production systems to maximize efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
• Select and specify equipment, materials, and technologies suitable for chemical production.
• Monitor and analyze process performance data to troubleshoot issues and optimize operations.
• Ensure compliance with environmental regulations, health and safety standards, and industry best practices.
• Conduct simulations and use computer-aided design (CAD) and process modeling software to predict and improve system performance.
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and production teams on research and development projects.
• Prepare reports, technical documentation, and cost estimates for new or modified processes.
• Evaluate the environmental impact of industrial activities and develop strategies to minimize waste and emissions.
• Scale up processes from laboratory experiments to full industrial production.

The following job titles also refer to chemical engineer:

pyrotechnics chemical engineer
chemical technology engineering specialist
water purification chemical engineer
chemical engineering adviser
chemicals engineer
chemical engineering specialist
chemical technology engineering consultant
chemical technology engineering adviser
refinery process engineer
chemical engineering expert
glass chemical engineer
chemical technology engineer
chemical engineering consultant
chemical technology engineering expert
ceramics chemical engineer

Chemical Engineers typically work in laboratories, manufacturing plants, or office environments. In production settings, they may spend time on-site, overseeing operations and ensuring safety compliance. The role often requires wearing protective gear and following strict safety protocols due to exposure to hazardous materials or equipment. While standard full-time hours are common, shift work or overtime may be required during testing phases or when resolving critical operational issues.

A bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or a related field is required to enter the profession. Advanced positions, especially in research or academia, may require a master’s degree or PhD. Accredited programs often include coursework in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, reaction engineering, and process design. Hands-on experience through internships, co-op placements, or lab projects is highly valuable. Licensing as a Professional Engineer (PE) may be required or preferred, depending on the region and role. Strong analytical, mathematical, and problem-solving skills are essential, as is ongoing professional development to keep pace with innovations in technology, sustainability, and safety practices.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Chemical engineer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to chemical engineer.

materials engineer
nanoengineer
pharmaceutical engineer
surface engineer
biochemical engineer

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of chemical engineer.

• Analytical chemistry: Instruments and methods used to separate, identify and quanitfy matter – the chemical components of natural and artificial materials and solutions.
• Engineering principles: The engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.
• Engineering processes: The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.
• Chemistry: The composition, structure, and properties of substances and the processes and transformations that they undergo; the uses of different chemicals and their interactions, production techniques, risk factors, and disposal methods.

These skills are necessary for the role of chemical engineer.

• Forecast organisational risks: Analyse the operations and actions of a company in order to assess their repercussions, possible risks for the company, and to develop suitable strategies to address these.
• Adjust engineering designs: Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.
• Perform scientific research: Gain, correct or improve knowledge about phenomena by using scientific methods and techniques, based on empirical or measurable observations.
• Perform chemical experiments: Perform chemical experiments with the aim of testing various products and substances in order to draw conclusions in terms of product viability and replicability.
• Work with chemicals: Handle chemicals and select specific ones for certain processes. Be aware of the reactions which arise from combining them.
• Test chemical samples: Perform the testing procedures on the already prepared chemical samples, by using the necessary equipment and materials. Chemical sample testing involves operations such as pipetting or diluting schemes.
• Apply health and safety standards: Adhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.
• Assess environmental impact: Monitor environmental impacts and carry out assessments in order to identify and to reduce the organisation’s environmental risks while taking costs into account.
• Approve engineering design: Give consent to the finished engineering design to go over to the actual manufacturing and assembly of the product.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chemical engineer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Pharmaceutical legislation: European and national legal framework for the development, distribution, and use of medicinal products for humans.
• Microbiology-bacteriology: Microbiology-Bacteriology is a medical specialty mentioned in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.
• Good manufacturing practices: Regulatory requirements and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) applied in the relevant manufacturing sector.
• Materials science: Field of science and engineering that researches new materials on the basis of their structure, properties, synthesis, and performance for a variety of purposes, including increasing fire resistance of construction materials.
• Types of packaging materials: Properties of materials that make them suitable for packaging. Conversion of raw materials into packaging materials. Different types of labels and materials used which comply with the correct storage criteria depending on the goods.
• Biological chemistry: Biological chemistry is a medical specialty mentioned in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.
• Chemical preservation: Process of adding chemical compounds to a product, such as food or pharmaceutical products, to prevent decay caused by chemical changes or microbial activity.
• Software architecture models: The set of structures and models needed to understand or describe the software system, including the software elements, the relations between them and the properties of both elements and relations.
• Material mechanics: The behaviour of solid objects when subjected to stresses and strains, and the methods to calculate these stresses and strains.
• Intellectual property law: The regulations that govern the set of rights protecting products of the intellect from unlawful infringement.
• Pharmaceutical drug development: Drug manufacturing phases: pre-clinical phase (research and tests on animals), clinical phase (clinical trials on humans) and the sub-phases required to obtain as an end product a pharmaceutical drug.
• Manufacturing processes: The steps required through which a material is transformed into a product, its development and full-scale manufacturing.
• Electrical engineering: Understand electrical engineering, a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism.
• Textile materials: Have a good understanding of the properties of different textile materials.
• Industrial software: The selection of software that aids in estimating, managing and scheduling industrial processes such as design, work flow and production improvement.
• Drug administration regulations: The rules and regulations of the European legislations and of the Food and Drugs Administration regarding clinical trials and drug development.
• Design principles: The elements used in design such as unity, scale, proportion, balance, symmetry, space, form, texture, colour, light, shade and congruence and their application into practice.
• Pharmacovigilance legislation: Regulations used to control and monitor adverse drug reactions at EU level.
• Human physiology: The science that studies the human organs and its interactions and mechanisms.
• Pollution legislation: Be familiar with European and National legislation regarding the risk of pollution.
• Pharmacology: Pharmacology is a medical specialty mentioned in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.
• Physics: The natural science involving the study of matter, motion, energy, force and related notions.
• Electrical instrumentation engineering: The way in which electrical and instrumentation engineering (E and I engineering) modernises the production infrastructure from design to preparation of execution phase and the execution phase itself followed by the after-sales services, improvements obtain by using the electrical and instrumentation engineering.
• Composite materials: The properties of different materials developped in a laboratory, their usage per type of products, and how to create them.
• Pharmaceutical technology: Pharmaceutical technology is the branch of pharmaceutics which deals with the technological design, development, manufacture, and evaluation of drugs and medicinal products.
• Types of metal: Qualities, specifications, applications and reactions to different fabricating processes of various types of metal, such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper and others.
• Laboratory techniques: Techniques applied in the different fields of natural science in order to obtain experimental data such as gravimetric analysis, gas chromatography, electronic or thermic methods.
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing quality systems: The quality systems model that apply in pharmaceutical manufacturies. The most common system ensures quality in facilities and equipment system, laboratory controls system, materials system, production system and packaging and labelling system.
• Computer engineering: Engineering discipline that combines computer science with electrical engineering to develop computer hardware and software. Computer engineering occupies itself with electronics, software design, and the integration of hardware and software.
• Quality standards: The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.
• Biology: Tissues, cells, and functions of plant and animal organisms and their interdependencies and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Mechanical engineering: Discipline that applies principles of physics, engineering and materials science to design, analyse, manufacture and maintain mechanical systems.
• Types of plastic: Types of plastic materials and their chemical composition, physical properties, possible issues and usage cases.
• Pharmaceutical industry: The main stakeholders, companies and procedures in the pharmaceutical industry and the laws and regulations that govern the patenting, testing, safety and marketing of drugs.
• Optical engineering: Subdiscipline of engineering that deals with the development of optical instruments and applications, such as telescopes, microscopes, lenses, lasers, fibre optic communication, and imaging systems.
• Nanotechnology: Technologies, science, and engineering activities conducted on a nanoscale, where material or extremely small components are manipulated on an atomic, molecular, or supramolecular scale.
• Pharmaceutical chemistry: The chemical aspects of identification and synthetic alteration of chemical entities as they relate to therapeutic use. The way various chemicals affect biological systems and how they can be integrated in drug development.
• Toxicology: The negative effects of chemicals on living organisms, their dose and exposure.
• Packaging engineering: The processes of packaging or protecting products for distribution, storage and sale.
• Quality assurance methodologies: Quality assurance principles, standard requirements, and the set of processes and activities used for measuring, controlling and ensuring the quality of products and processes.
• Electricity: Understand the principles of electricity and electrical power circuits, as well as the associated risks.
• Semiconductors: Semiconductors are essential components of electronic circuits and contain properties of both insulators, such as glass, and conductors, such as copper. Most semiconductors are crystals made of silicon or germanium. By introducing other elements in the crystal through doping, the crystals turn into semiconductors. Depending on the amount of electrons created by the doping process, the crystals turn into N-type semiconductors, or P-type semiconductors.
• Mechanics: Theoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.
• Supply chain management: The flow of goods in the supply chain, movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
• Thermoplastic materials: Types of materials of which the physical state changes when exposed to heat, as well as the specific manner in which the materials react to heat exposure.
• Basic chemicals: The production and characteristisc of organic basic chemicals such as ethanol, methanol, benzene and inorganic basic chemicals such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chemical engineer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Create solutions to problems: Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
• Test materials: Test the composition, characteristics, and use of materials in order to create new products and applications. Test them under normal and extraordinary conditions.
• Ensure compliance with environmental legislation: Monitor activities and perform tasks ensuring compliance with standards involving environmental protection and sustainability, and amend activities in the case of changes in environmental legislation. Ensure that the processes are compliant with environment regulations and best practices.
• Perform laboratory tests: Carry out tests in a laboratory to produce reliable and precise data to support scientific research and product testing.
• Use a computer: Utilise computer equipment or digital devices to facilitate quality control, data management, and communication. Follow instructions given by a computer programme, create computer files or documents.
• Design pharmaceutical manufacturing systems: Design production control systems which involve all processes from pharmaceutical production process to pharmaceutical stocks with the purpose of providing the correct input for the development of pharmaceutica manufacturing plant software packages.
• Assess the feasibility of implementing developments: Study developments and innovation proposals in order to determine their applicability in the business and their feasibility of implementation from various fronts such as economic impact, business image, and consumer response.
• Ensure compliance with safety legislation: Implement safety programmes to comply with national laws and legislation. Ensure that equipment and processes are compliant with safety regulations.
• Establish collaborative relations: Establish a connection between organisations or individuals which may benefit from communicating with one another in order to facilitate an enduring positive collaborative relationship between both parties.
• Record test data: Record data which has been identified specifically during preceding tests in order to verify that outputs of the test produce specific results or to review the reaction of the subject under exceptional or unusual input.
• Develop chemical products: Research and create new chemicals and plastics used in the production of a variety of goods such as pharmaceuticals, textile, building materials and household products.
• Improve chemical processes: Collect data required to make improvements or modifications to chemical processes. Develop new industrial processes, design new process plants/equipment or modify existing ones.
• Think analytically: Produce thoughts using logic and reasoning in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Advise on pollution prevention: Advise individuals and organisations on the development and implementation of actions which aid in the prevention of pollution and its related risks.
• Use technical drawing software: Create technical designs and technical drawings using specialised software.
• Define quality standards: Define, in collaboration with managers and quality experts, a set of quality standards to ensure compliance with regulations and help achieve customers’ requirements.
• Apply validation engineering: Test the systems used to manufacture pharmaceuticals measuring and analysing the processes to ensure that the products are produced according to specifications.
• Develop material testing procedures: Develop testing protocols in collaboration with engineers and scientists to enable a variety of analyses such as environmental, chemical, physical, thermal, structural, resistance or surface analyses on a wide range of materials such as metals, ceramics or plastics.
• Analyse test data: Interpret and analyse data collected during testing in order to formulate conclusions, new insights or solutions.
• Integrate new products in manufacturing: Assist with the integration of new systems, products, methods, and components in the production line. Ensure that production workers are properly trained and follow the new requirements.
• Examine engineering principles: Analyse the principles that need to be considered for engineering designs and projects such as functionality, replicability, costs and other principles.
• Write technical reports: Compose technical customer reports understandable for people without technical background.
• Draft design specifications: List the design specifications such as materials and parts to be used and a cost estimate.
• Manage pharmaceutical production facilities construction: Manage the design and construction of pharmaceutical production facilities making sure the facilities and process validation are according to the planning and conform to FDA and GMP.
• Manage chemical testing procedures: Manage the procedures to be used in chemical testing by designing them and conducting tests accordingly.
• Evaluate pharmaceutical manufacturing process: Evaluate the ongoing pharmaceutical production process against the latest developments on the market regarding the mixing, compounding and packaging, ensuring the necessary updates are implemented.
• Use cad software: Use computer-aided design (CAD) systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimisation of a design.
• Design optical systems: Design and develop optical and imaging systems, products, and components, such as lasers, microscopes, optical fibre, cameras, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
• Design prototypes: Design prototypes of products or components of products by applying design and engineering principles.
• Monitor plant production: Monitor the plant processes set-up and efficiency to ensure the maximum output production levels.
• Use chemical analysis equipment: Use the laboratory equipment such as Atomic Absorption equimpent, PH and conductivity meters or salt spray chambre.
• Write batch record documentation: Write reports on the manufactured batches history taking into account the raw data, tests performed and compliance to GMP of each batch of product.
• Provide technical expertise: Provide expert knowledge in a particular field, especially concerning mechanical or scientific subjects, to decision makers, engineers, technical staff or journalists.
• Develop pharmaceutical drugs: Develop new therapeutic products according to the potential formulas, studies and indications recorded during the research process which involved also collaboration with physicians, biochemists and pharmacologists.
• Contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products: Participate in the registration process that allows the sale and distribution of substances that treat or prevent human and animal diseases or enable medical diagnosis.
• Test production input materials: Test the supplied materials prior to their release into processing, ensuring the results are complying with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and to the suppliers` COA (Certificate of Analysis).
• Analyse production processes for improvement: Analyse production processes leading toward improvement. Analyse in order to reduce production losses and overall manufacturing costs.
• Advise on waste management procedures: Advise organisations on the implementation of waste regulations and on improvement strategies for waste management and waste minimisation, to increase environmentally sustainable practices and environmental awareness.
• Conduct public presentations: Speak in public and interact with those present. Prepare notices, plans, charts, and other information to support the presentation.

2145 – Chemical engineers

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References

1. Chemical engineer – ESCO
2. Chemical Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. Chemical Engineer Job Description – Indeed.com
4. Featured image: Photo by Diane Serik on Unsplash