Senior Process Development Engineer, Fine Chemicals

Placements24; Bloemfontein; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health insurance

Training opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 in Bloemfontein, Free State, is seeking a Process Development Engineer to advance the synthesis of high-value fine chemicals. The role focuses on developing and optimizing processes from laboratory to pilot scale.

The ideal candidate holds an MSc or PhD in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering, with at least five years in process development, scale-up, and analytical methods (HPLC, GC, NMR, MS). Strong problem-solving and teamwork are essential.

Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in process development.
• Strong knowledge of organic synthesis, reaction engineering and physical chemistry.
• Proven lab-scale synthesis and process scale-up experience.
• Experience with analytical techniques (HPLC, GC, NMR, MS).
• Excellent problem-solving, data analysis, and technical writing.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience in Bloemfontein region is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize synthetic routes for fine chemical production at lab and pilot scales.
• Conduct process research including kinetics, parameter optimization, and impurity profiling.
• Perform scale-up studies from lab to plant.
• Collaborate with analytical chemists to develop and validate process monitoring methods.
• Prepare detailed technical reports, process descriptions, and safety assessments.
• Work with plant operations to implement developed processes.
• Troubleshoot issues to improve yield, purity, and efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
• Stay updated on new process chemistry technologies.

Skills

Process development

Scale-up

Analytical techniques

Problem-solving

Data analysis

Technical writing

Team collaboration

Laboratory-scale synthesis

Education

MSc or PhD in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

Tools

HPLC

GC

NMR

MS

Job description

Placements24 in Bloemfontein, Free State, is seeking a Process Development Engineer to advance the synthesis of high-value fine chemicals. The role focuses on developing and optimizing processes from laboratory to pilot scale.

The ideal candidate holds an MSc or PhD in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering, with at least five years in process development, scale-up, and analytical methods (HPLC, GC, NMR, MS). Strong problem-solving and teamwork are essential.