Process engineer

What is process engineering?

There are mainly two major steps required to create a technical product:

• From the idea to a prototype (design)
• From the prototype to a scalable product (manufacturing)

Process engineering, especially in the biotech and medtech fields, focuses on the latter point, by designing, implementing, controlling, and optimizing tailored manufacturing processes to ensure that all requirements are consistently met.

Some of these requirements are usually directly related to the product design and need to be met for the product to absolve its function, other times they specifically depend upon the chosen equipment and its related technology.

What does a process engineer do? A day in the life of a process engineer

A process engineer works collaborate with many other roles, such as R&D, production, quality assurance, business units, and different types of customers.

For this reason, a good understanding of the entire product lifecycle is essential to make sure the R&D team is designing products that can be manufactured, production lines and operators are working smoothly and the planned improvements are exactly meeting business or customer needs.

There are a variety of tasks that might fall within the scope of a process engineer, especially depending on the industry and the company size. Here are a few:

• Design, development and installation of new equipment (e.g. in-house design or purchase)
• Lead the qualification process of every piece of equipment and its related process. This usually involves IQ (Installation Qualification), OQ (Operational Qualification), and PQ (Performance Qualification)
• Identification, design, and implementation of new manufacturing processes to meet product or business needs
• Monitoring, analysis and optimization of existing manufacturing processes
• Risk assessment of the equipment and processes in place, related to the known requirements as well as potential downstream consequences within the production line
• Frequent data collection and use of simulation software to develop and monitor equipment and processes
• Extensive completion of various documentation practices to ensure that both internal and external regulations and protocols are met
• Supporting manufacturing engineers and technicians when needed (e.g. in case of a problem or specific situations)

A lot of the daily activities can be performed at the desk with frequent interactions with the production line, especially during implementation or data collection phases.

Usually, process engineers do not work across sites or on the field, talking to customers and clients. Most activities are linked to the manufacturing site they are assigned to.

Job outlook: stats and growth of this role

It is not easy to classify the role of a process engineer, as it might fall within different categories: biomedical engineering, industrial engineering, and chemical engineering.

The employment of biomedical has predicted to grow 5% from 2019 to 2029, according to the US Bureau of statistics while industrial engineers are going to experience a 10% growth, followed by chemical engineers with a 4% growth within the same period.

Given the expansion of the health technology field and the overall market growth for pharmaceutical and medical devices, more career opportunities will emerge, also combining certain aspects of different roles into hybrid professional figures.

How much does a process engineer earn?

A base salary for an entry-level position in Western Europe ranges from €35,000 to €38,000 a year. This varies upon the country and the region to balance the cost of living.

Especially, within the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, a 3 to 5% annual increase can be obtained based on performance, increased responsibility, and career growth.

Types of process engineer

There are mainly two types of process engineers: pharmaceutical and medical devices. Their differences are not much related to their activities and responsibilities but to the industry, which sets different standards and requirements.

Top skills needed

Technical skills

• A MSc in engineering (or equivalent) is required for most roles in Europe. The reason is that it guarantees a broad understanding of mechanics, chemistry, electronics and computer science, which are essential to deal with a variety of processes, considering that a certain degree of specialization will be obtained during the first years.
• While a formal education provides all needed knowledge, a general awareness of some business and commercial dynamics, such as risk assessment, customer analysis and project management are helpful not only to get the job but also to rapidly integrate within the company

Upskilling while looking for jobs

• If looking for a role in the pharmaceutical industry, an understanding of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) can give you a nice advantage, especially if it was not included in the academic curriculum
• A standard in both pharmaceutical and medical device industries are validation protocols (IQ, OQ and PQ). These are generally left outside of academic training but constitutes the bread and butter of a process engineer

Keep in mind that nobody expects you to become an expert in these topics, especially with little or no practical experience but a general understanding may set you apart during the interview process when using the right terminology makes the difference

Soft skills

• Detail-oriented problem solver. Solving technical challenges while optimizing details is at the core of any process engineer, especially in highly regulated industries
• Analytical skills. Simply at the heart of all engineering roles
• Negotiation and communication skills. Especially important when balancing the needs of different teams, from the R&D department to the business unit
• Problem-solving attitude. Essential when troubleshooting problems from different systems and complex manufacturing lines