Process Engineering

Process Engineering interview prep.

The library content Coach uses to tailor reports for this role. Generated reports personalise this against the candidate's CV + the firm's context.

Behavioural questions to expect

  1. Walk me through your engineering background + process experience.
  2. Tell me about a process or project you've worked on.
  3. Why chemicals / materials vs other engineering paths?
  4. Why this product family - polymers / specialty / commodity / advanced materials?
  5. Why the firm?
  6. What's your read on our plant footprint + product portfolio?
  7. Tell me what you understand about our safety + operations excellence posture.
  8. Walk me through a process optimization or debottlenecking project.

Technical concepts to master

  • Unit operations + mass + energy balance

    Mass + energy balance · Unit operations · P&ID (Piping + Instrumentation Diagram) · PFD (Process Flow Diagram) · Process simulation (Aspen + similar)

  • Process Safety Management + HAZOP + LOPA

    PSM 14 elements · HAZOP · LOPA · MOC (Management of Change) · Inherent safer design + bow-tie

  • Capital projects + FEL discipline

    FEL phases · AACE estimate classes (1-5) · Commissioning + startup · Stage-gate approval · Construction contracting

  • Plant economics + reliability

    Gross margin + variable cost · Yield + selectivity · OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) · Reliability + RCM · Utilities + energy intensity

Practical drills

  • Your reactor + downstream train is at 88% of nameplate. Walk through your debottlenecking approach to reach 100%.
  • You're adding a new feed material to an existing reactor. Walk through HAZOP + LOPA before authorising the change.
  • You're FEL-2 lead for a new 100ktpa specialty chemicals plant. Walk through what your phase delivers + key decisions.

Smart-question anchors

  • Plant + product portfolio - sites + products + recent capital activity
  • Safety + PSM posture - OSHA + EPA history + culture, PSM maturity
  • Operations excellence - lean / Six Sigma maturity, OEE benchmarks
  • Capital project pipeline - growth, debottleneck, decarbonisation projects
  • Sustainability + regulatory posture - GHG commitments, REACH + TSCA exposure

Sourced from

CCPS (Center for Chemical Process Safety) guidelines · OSHA PSM 29 CFR 1910.119 + EPA RMP 40 CFR 68 · AIChE + AACE International capital project + cost estimation references · Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook + standard ChemE references · API + NFPA + ASME industry standards

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