Process engineers are responsible for providing the chemical or biochemical processes and equipment that ultimately extract materials from their raw states and transform them into a beneficial or saleable end product. They are also responsible for the design, implementation, control, and optimization of the product’s industrial processing phase, and they usher the product along from start to finish.
Process engineers often function as the point persons for or during the continuous processes commonly found in the chemical, petrochemical, agricultural, and mineral processing sectors. They also work in this capacity with advanced materials found within the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. They create set specifications for the raw materials, and develop, implement, and monitor the equipment in use and the process of the materials and the manufacturing systems. They can also work in sales or design, and they sometimes work for the optimization of the sales and software processes. Process engineers need a bachelor’s degree in chemical, manufacturing, or industrial engineering. For senior positions, employers will require advanced or master’s degrees in the same subjects.