Chemical engineer : Employers and vacancy sources

Any company involved in large-scale conversion of raw materials into a product needs chemical engineers. Employers are as diverse as the products they produce and cover a broad range of industrial sectors, including:

• biotechnology;
• business, management and consultancy;
• chemical and allied products;
• energy;
• food and drink;
• materials;
• oil and gas;
• pharmaceuticals;
• process plants and equipment;
• water.

Details of major chemical engineering employers can be found at whynotchemeng .

The most obvious employers are those in gas and oil extraction, oil refining, nuclear and other power generation, and other process industries, including pharmaceuticals, fine and heavy chemicals and agrochemicals.

Other manufacturers who employ chemical engineers include those who process food and drink and those who produce toiletries, pulp and paper, plastic and metals, and fibres and polymers.

In the engineering sector more generally, there are companies that design and manufacture chemical process plant and equipment.

Many chemical engineers also work within engineering consultancy and contracting firms. They are likely to be taken on either to design and commission new plant or to modify existing plant.

Sources of vacancies

• TCE Today  - magazine of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)  
• The Career Engineer  
• Engineering Opportunities (EO)  
• Engineers Work - Chemical Engineering Jobs   
• Oil and Gas Jobs Online  
• Oil and Gas Job Search   
• Oil Careers   
• Chemistry World Jobs   
• New Scientist Jobs   
• Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)    
• Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)  
• Inside Careers: Engineering & Technology 
• National press, e.g. Guardian Jobs  

Specialist recruitment agencies, such as Thomas Telford Recruitment , SRG Engineering , NES  and Davis Graham Recruitment  (all approved by IChemE), also advertise vacancies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.