Working in a pilot plant is something every chemical engineer should experience once in their careers. It offers the unique experience of experiencing both lab-scale research & development, as well as commercial-scale production. Pilot plants are unique environments that are always changing to test the limits of a product before scale-up, offering numerous opportunities to learn and apply your chemical engineering knowledge.

Reason 1: Diverse Skill Development

As a pilot plant engineer, you will be responsible for collecting and analyzing data sets on a larger scale than your lab-scale counterparts, all while running a plant that is constantly changing its operating conditions.

Having all these responsibilities very quickly develops key technical and soft skills required for success in the chemical industry. You quickly learn how to perform statistical tests, use models, communicate scientifically, lead a team of technicians/operators, read piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and much more. Developing these skills early makes it easier to transition later in your career to more of a research role or towards a commercial plant role.

The pilot plant role gives you the skills to succeed in both environments and thus is the perfect starting role.

Reason 2: Hands-On Experience With Scale-Up Challenges

Pilot plants give chemical engineers the unique opportunity to think about scale-up.

There are inherent challenges with taking something from a lab-scale unit to a commercial-scale process. Things like the build-up of a corrosive by-product or even simple things like being outside instead of a temperature-controlled lab are reasons why pilot plant studies are conducted to determine the pain points in a proposed process and optimize for production. Only in a pilot plant role do you get to think about and solve these problems.

Reason 3: Fast-Paced Learning Environment

If you want a job where you come in a do the same thing every day, make the same product every day, being at a pilot plant is not for you.

While a production plant might make 10 significant changes in a year requiring management of change (MOC) documentation, a pilot plant might go through over 100. With the plant constantly changing conditions, product specs, and different types of problems arising, you are in a state where you are constantly having to learn and relearn the workings of your plant. In addition, you often see new chemistry dynamics from lab personnel and have to discuss the implications of that on commercial production with production personnel.

Working in an environment where things are constantly changing and require you to interact with people in different functions keeps you on your toes and challenges you to grow.

So what are you waiting for? Go apply for a pilot plant engineer role!