Senior Process Engineer – Demo Plant & Scale-Up

Pelleton Operations Pty Ltd; Gold Coast City; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pelleton Renewables is seeking a Senior Process Engineer to own the demonstration plant performance and support the hybrid drying and palletisation technology. You will guide feasibility, scale-up and design reviews, and mentor junior engineers on day-to-day practice.

Based at the fully automated demonstration plant in Yatala, Queensland, you will drive data-driven improvements, safety, and reliability, enabling customer projects from feasibility to on-site implementation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical/Process Engineering or related field.
• 5–12 years of experience as a mechanical or process engineer.
• Extensive experience reading and interpreting engineering drawings, P&IDs and specifications.
• Experience in waste management or related process industries; drying, dewatering, pelletising, sludge or organic-waste processing desirable.
• Strong understanding of HSE standards and risk assessments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Hands-on experience in a demo plant environment with PPE.

Responsibilities

• Operate the demonstration plant during customer demonstrations and process optimisation.
• Support concept and front‑end engineering design works for customer projects: feedstock and drying feasibility; heat and mass balances; process simulation; equipment sizing; process scale‑up; utilities; integration into customer sites.
• Prepare and maintain process engineering deliverables such as design criteria, PFDs, P&IDs, process calculations, equipment and instrument datasheets, line lists, control narratives and operating philosophies; support design reviews, retrofit works and project implementation.
• Collect and analyse operational data from the demonstration plant and perform process modelling and analytical assessments for customer requirements using AI.
• Support laboratory operations, including conducting lab tests, updating procedures, and analysing results using AI.
• Improve laboratory and demonstration-plant practices and contribute to R&D, including feedstock characterisation, product formulation, customer feasibility studies and improvements to existing products and technology.
• Conduct technical research to support the development of the hybrid drying and palletisation process.
• Support commercialisation by preparing design inputs, commissioning and start-up documentation, performance-test protocols, operator training materials and lessons learned from demonstration-plant operation.
• Develop and maintain technical dashboards and operations data tracking systems, including monitoring KPIs.
• Stay up-to-date with relevant regulations and understand the effects it has on the end-use of customer projects.

Skills

Analytical skills

Data analysis tools

P&ID interpretation

Engineering drawings

English communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical/Process Engineering

Job description

Pelleton Renewables is seeking a Senior Process Engineer to own the demonstration plant performance and support the hybrid drying and palletisation technology. You will guide feasibility, scale-up and design reviews, and mentor junior engineers on day-to-day practice.

Based at the fully automated demonstration plant in Yatala, Queensland, you will drive data-driven improvements, safety, and reliability, enabling customer projects from feasibility to on-site implementation.