Senior Process Engineer
Location: Hawthorne, CA Employment Type: Full-Time Department: Engineering Reports To: Director of Engineering
About the Role
We are looking for a Senior Chemical Process Engineer to lead process development and simulation for high-performance energy and thermal-chemical systems. You will own process modeling, develop system architectures, and drive scale-up from lab and pilot to production.
This role is ideal for an engineer with strong fundamentals in thermodynamics, reaction engineering, mass/energy balances, and process control — and who enjoys working across disciplines to build real systems that operate safely under demanding conditions.
Key Responsibilities
Process Modeling & Simulation (HYSYS):
• Build, validate, and maintain steady-state and dynamic Aspen HYSYS models for energy/thermalchemical processes.
• Develop property packages, reaction sets, phase behavior, and convergence strategies
appropriate to system chemistry and operating conditions.
• Use models to evaluate design tradeoffs, bottlenecks, control strategies, and operability
envelopes.
Process Design & Architecture:
• Own end-to-end process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs).
• Define operating conditions, equipment sizing, utilities, heat integration, recycle structures, and
safety systems.
• Translate simulation results into requirements for mechanical/electrical/control teams.
Scale-Up & Industrialization:
• Lead scale-up from benchtop to pilot and production, including identifying similarity criteria and
scaling risks.
• Define process specifications, acceptance criteria, and commissioning plans.
• Support transition to manufacturing with clear process windows and control limits.
Equipment & System Specification:
• Specify and size chemical process equipment such as reactors, separators, heat exchangers,
compressors, pumps, and pressure relief systems.
• Partner with suppliers on technical requirements and integrate DFM feedback into process
designs.
Safety, Controls & Reliability:
• Perform HAZOP/LOPA or equivalent hazard analyses; implement safeguards in simulation and
design.
• Define control narratives and support dynamic modeling for startup/shutdown/transients.
• Establish process monitoring metrics and alarm/response philosophy.
Testing & Validation:
• Plan and support experiments to calibrate models and validate process performance.
• Analyze test data, close gaps between predicted and observed behavior, and drive design
iteration.
Technical Leadership:
• Mentor junior process engineers.
• Lead design reviews, model peer-checks, and documentation standards.
Qualifications Required:
• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering (Master’s or PhD
preferred).
• 7+ years of industrial experience in chemical process design and development.
• Expert proficiency in Aspen HYSYS (steady-state required; dynamic strongly desired).
• Strong command of thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, mass transfer, and heat transfer.
• Proven experience producing and owning PFDs, P&IDs, and equipment specifications.
• Demonstrated success scaling processes from prototype/pilot to production.
• Hands-on problem solver with strong documentation and cross-functional communication skills.
Preferred:
• Experience with high-temperature, high-pressure, cryogenic, or otherwise extreme-environment
processes.
• Familiarity with complementary tools (Aspen Plus, gPROMS, MATLAB/Python for modeling,
CFD/FEA coupling).
• Experience with safety-critical or regulated industries (energy, aerospace, chemical, defense).
• Background in process control, instrumentation, and commissioning.
• Lean/Six Sigma or structured root-cause/continuous improvement experience.