Chemical Process Engineer: Scale-Up & Innovation

Actalent; Edison (NJ); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Benefits packages (health, dental, and

Paid parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Opportunities for professional develop

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Chemical Process Engineer to join our Edison, NJ team. You will support design, development, scale-up, and implementation of chemical manufacturing processes from lab scale to pilot and full production.

You will prepare engineering deliverables, evaluate process safety, assist with equipment selection, and analyze data to identify improvements. Collaboration across R&D, Operations, Quality, EH&S, Maintenance, Automation, and Supply Chain is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, or related discipline required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 1 year of experience in chemical process development, scale‑up, or manufacturing.
• Knowledge of engineering documentation, including PFDs, P&IDs, Plant 3D models, equipment specifications, control narratives, operating procedures, commissioning plans, and technical reports.
• Experience with specialty chemicals, reaction systems, or complex formulated products preferred; expertise in reaction chemistry and process troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience with process calculations, including mass balances, energy balances, heat transfer, fluid flow, mixing, reaction engineering, equipment sizing, pressure drop, utility sizing, and process scale‑up.
• Basic understanding of engineering standards and regulatory frameworks (API, ASME, OSHA, EPA, NFPA, PSM).
• Advanced chemical engineering calculations including material balances, energy balances, reaction calculations, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and utility calculations.
• Ability to use data analytics to identify trends, process variation, root causes, and improvement opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Support design, development, scale‑up, and implementation of chemical manufacturing processes from laboratory scale through pilot plant and commercial production.
• Assist with the preparation and review of process engineering deliverables (PFDs, P&IDs, mass balances, energy balances, heat transfer calculations, etc.).
• Support the design and modification of chemical manufacturing facilities, process skids, reaction systems, and related infrastructure.
• Apply established engineering standards, procedures, and regulatory requirements to process and equipment design activities.
• Assist with regulatory and process safety considerations (pressure relief, venting, containment, etc.).
• Support equipment selection, specification, and evaluation (reactors, vessels, pumps, heat exchangers, etc.).
• Prepare and update datasheets, specifications, scopes of work, vendor requirements, and bid documentation for projects.
• Support capital project execution (design reviews, vendor evaluations, FAT/SAT, commissioning, startup).
• Develop and execute experimental plans using DOE, sampling plans, and process validation approaches.
• Collect, organize, and analyze process data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Apply SPC and process-performance monitoring to improve yield, quality, and reliability.
• Analyze data with Excel, Minitab, JMP, Python, SQL, Tableau or equivalents.
• Participate in CI initiatives to improve throughput, cycle time, quality, safety, cost, and process capability.
• Collaborate with R&D, Operations, Quality, EH&S, Maintenance, Automation, Supply Chain and vendors to support technology transfer and manufacturability.
• Assist with development of automation and control requirements, including instrumentation, alarm, data-historian needs.
• Participate in MOC, risk assessments, process hazard analyses, and pre-startup safety reviews.
• Perform other duties and support global engineering initiatives.

Skills

Process development

Scale-up

Data analysis

Statistical methods

Automation & controls

Education

Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Excel

Minitab

JMP

Python

SQL

Tableau

Job description

Actalent is seeking a Chemical Process Engineer to join our Edison, NJ team. You will support design, development, scale-up, and implementation of chemical manufacturing processes from lab scale to pilot and full production.

You will prepare engineering deliverables, evaluate process safety, assist with equipment selection, and analyze data to identify improvements. Collaboration across R&D, Operations, Quality, EH&S, Maintenance, Automation, and Supply Chain is essential.