Catalysis R&D Engineer — Reactor Design & Scale-Up

Placements24; East London; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Performance incentives

Health benefits

Retirement benefits

Professional development

Job summary

Placements24 in East London seeks a Chemical Engineer for R&D to design, develop, and test novel catalytic processes. You will work in state-of-the-art labs and collaborate with scientists to advance sustainable chemical transformations.

The role requires 5+ years in catalysis and reaction engineering, hands-on catalyst prep, and reactor design. You will model performance with Aspen Adsim or ChemCAD, scale to pilot, report results, and support IP while upholding safety and environmental

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Chemical Engineering with catalysis or reaction engineering.
• Minimum 5 years of R&D experience in catalysis, preferably in industry.
• Strong knowledge of catalytic mechanisms, kinetics, and reactor design.
• Hands-on catalyst preparation and characterization experience.
• Proficiency with process simulation tools such as Aspen Adsim or ChemCAD.
• Excellent analytical, experimental design, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, run, and analyze experiments for catalyst synthesis, characterization, and performance testing.
• Develop and optimize reactor designs for catalytic processes.
• Model catalytic performance using process simulation software.
• Troubleshoot experiments and optimize lab procedures.
• Collaborate with chemists and materials scientists on catalyst projects.
• Scale up promising processes from lab to pilot scale.
• Prepare technical reports, proposals, and presentations.
• Ensure safety and environmental compliance in all lab activities.
• Stay updated with advances in catalysis and engineering.
• Contribute to IP development through patent applications.

Skills

Catalysis

Reaction engineering

Catalyst synthesis

Process simulation

Lab testing

Education

Master's degree in Chemical Engineering

PhD in Chemical Engineering

Tools

Aspen Adsim

ChemCAD

Job description

Placements24 in East London seeks a Chemical Engineer for R&D to design, develop, and test novel catalytic processes. You will work in state-of-the-art labs and collaborate with scientists to advance sustainable chemical transformations.

The role requires 5+ years in catalysis and reaction engineering, hands-on catalyst prep, and reactor design. You will model performance with Aspen Adsim or ChemCAD, scale to pilot, report results, and support IP while upholding safety and environmental