Chemical Engineer

A chemical engineer designs, develops, and optimises chemical processes and equipment used in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food production, and resource extraction in Australian industrial settings. They apply principles of chemistry, physics, and engineering to solve technical problems, improve efficiency, and ensure safety and compliance with Australian regulatory standards including those set by Safe Work Australia and relevant state-based chemical safety regulators. The role involves both conceptual design work and hands-on troubleshooting of pilot plants, production facilities, and laboratory-scale processes.

Design chemical processes and unit operations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and process simulation tools such as Aspen Plus or HYSYS. Conduct feasibility studies and techno-economic analyses to evaluate process viability, capital costs, and return on investment for proposed chemical facilities. Develop and validate process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). Specify equipment including reactors, distillation columns, heat exchangers, and separators based on thermodynamic calculations and performance requirements. Perform material and energy balance calculations to optimise raw material usage and energy efficiency across chemical processes. Conduct hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies and prepare Process Safety Management documentation compliant with Safe Work Australia guidelines and state chemical safety legislation. Scale up laboratory formulations and processes to pilot or commercial production scale, documenting changes to parameters and expected outcomes. Troubleshoot process inefficiencies and equipment failures by collecting operational data, analysing root causes, and recommending corrective actions.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll need to master expensive specialist software (Aspen Plus, HYSYS, CFD tools) that takes months to get competent with, plus Australian process safety standards that vary by state. Career changers often hit a pay ceiling unless they move into senior design or project management roles. Many positions are tied to remote mining or regional processing plants with extended rosters, and if automation reduces plant operators, design roles shrink too.

Very few roles are fully remote; most need site visits to pilot plants and production facilities.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 2331, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Attention to Detailcore
• Data Entry and Accuracycore
• Microsoft Excel Data Managementcore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Process Documentationcore
• Process Improvement Identificationcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Research and Analysiscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Incident Reporting
• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
• Negotiation
• Power BI Reporting and Dashboards
• Reporting and Analytics
• Time Management and Prioritisation
• Verbal Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Chemical Engineer workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026