Process Safety Engineer

Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Process Safety Studies

• Lead and participate in PHA, HAZOP, HAZID, What-If, LOPA and Risk Assessment studies.
• Prepare Process Safety Assessment Reports for new products, existing processes, scale-up and technology transfer.
• Review PFDs, P&IDs, process descriptions, operating procedures and process parameters.
• Identify fire, explosion, toxic-release, overpressure, chemical-reactivity and thermal-runaway hazards.
• Define appropriate preventive and mitigative safeguards.
• Support MOC and PSSR activities.

2. Chemical Reaction Safety

• Conduct preliminary and detailed Chemical Reaction Hazard Assessments.
• Evaluate exothermic reactions, decomposition reactions, gas generation, accumulation and thermal runaway.
• Assess reaction hazards during scale-up, process development and technology transfer.
• Establish safe operating limits, critical process parameters, emergency quench requirements and cooling requirements.
• Interpret reaction-safety test data and translate results into plant operating controls.

3. Reaction Calorimetry & Thermal Safety Studies

Hands-on experience by technical understanding & Interpretation in the process:

• RC / RC1 / Reaction Calorimetry
• ARC – Accelerating Rate Calorimetry
• ARSST – Advanced Reactive System Screening Tool
• DSC – Differential Scanning Calorimetry
• TSU – Thermal Screening Unit
• RSD – Rapid Screening Device
• TGA / Thermogravimetric Analysis
• Thermal stability and decomposition studies
• Adiabatic / runaway reaction assessment
• Gas-generation and pressure-rise studies

Current pharma/API process-safety roles specifically mention DSC, RC, ARC, TSU and ARSST testing.

4. Powder Safety Studies

• Conduct/review powder and combustible-dust hazard assessments.

• Evaluate:

• Pmax – Maximum Explosion Pressure

• Kst – Deflagration Index

• MIE – Minimum Ignition Energy

• MEC – Minimum Explosible Concentration

• MIT – Minimum Ignition Temperature

• Dust explosibility

• Dust-layer ignition

• Powder resistivity / electrostatic hazards

• Combustibility and explosion severity

• Assess hazards associated with milling, sieving, drying, charging, discharging and powder handling.

• Recommend explosion prevention, protection, isolation and mitigation measures.

Powder safety, static electricity, dust explosion, MIE and related testing are explicitly included in current pharma/chemical Process Safety Engineer profiles.

5. Explosion & Relief-System Safety

• Review PSV, rupture disc and emergency relief requirements.
• Assess runaway reaction, fire exposure, blocked outlet and gas-generation scenarios.
• Perform/review pressure relief and venting assessments.
• Conduct or coordinate explosion vent sizing.
• Review explosion protection, suppression and isolation requirements.
• Assess pressure/explosion hazards associated with reactors, dryers, filters, mills and powder-handling systems.

6. Process Hazard Analysis

• Facilitate/participate in:

• HAZOP

• HAZID

• What-If Analysis

• LOPA

• PHA

• QRA

• SIL assessment, where applicable

• FMEA/FTA/ETA, where applicable

• Ensure recommendations are technically evaluated and closed effectively.

7. Incident & Risk Management

• Investigate process-safety incidents, near misses and deviations.
• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
• Identify corrective and preventive actions.
• Monitor process-safety recommendations and action closure.
• Develop process-safety KPIs and improvement plans.

Essential Technical Competencies

Chemical Engineering | Process Safety | Reaction Safety | HAZOP | HAZID | PHA | LOPA | QRA | MOC | PSSR | Reaction Calorimetry | RC/RC1 | ARC | ARSST | DSC | TSU | RSD | TGA | Thermal Runaway | Chemical Reaction Hazard Assessment | Powder Safety | Dust Explosion | Pmax | Kst | MIE | MEC | MIT | Static Electricity | Explosion Vent Sizing | PSV | Rupture Disc | Relief System | Risk Assessment | RCA

Preferred Industry Experience

• Pharmaceutical / API manufacturing
• Fine chemicals
• Specialty chemicals
• Agrochemicals
• Chemical manufacturing

Job Requirements :

• 5-15 years of experience in Process Safety Engineering or related field.
• B.E./B.Tech/M.E./M.Tech Chemical Engineer with 6–12 years of experience in Process Safety, preferably in Pharma/API or Chemical manufacturing
• Strong hands-on exposure to HAZOP/PHA/LOPA, Chemical Reaction Hazard Assessment, RC/ARC/ARSST/DSC/TSU testing, Powder Safety, Dust Explosion Assessment, Relief Systems and Process Safety Risk Assessment.