Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
U.S. Workers
20,330
Median Salary
$121,860
10-Year Growth
+2.6%
Annual Openings
1,100
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
13 of 13 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can continuously monitor sensor streams and perform automated analysis, anomaly detection, and reporting for chemical processes and experiments.
Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
AI: Fully automatable - Preparing cost estimates and progress reports is data- and rules-driven work that AI can fully automate given access to production, accounting, and scheduling data.
Perform tests and monitor performance of processes throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables such as temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.
AI: Fully automatable - Given instrumentation and data pipelines, AI can perform routine tests, continuously monitor process variables, and determine control quality in real time.
Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
AI: Partial - AI can draft and optimize safety procedures and perform risk analyses but human safety officers and regulators must validate, adapt, and authorize procedures for worker safety.
Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
AI: Partial - AI can design, simulate, and optimize separation and electrochemical processes and propose process flows, but real-world development, experimentation, and scale-up require human-led lab work and engineering judgment.
Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
AI: Partial - AI can analyze sensor logs, process data, and suggest root causes and corrective actions but cannot replace on-site inspections, hands-on troubleshooting, and safety-critical judgment.
Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
AI: Partial - AI can evaluate data, run simulations, and propose optimizations and compliance checks, but final certification, physical inspections, and regulatory accountability require human engineers.
Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
AI: Partial - AI can generate hypotheses, design simulations, and suggest experiment plans, yet cannot fully carry out novel experimental discovery or validate new processes without human-led laboratory work and oversight.
Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new products and test proposed processes in small-scale operation, such as a pilot plant.
AI: Partial - AI can design experiments, analyze pilot-plant data, and control automated lab equipment, but it cannot independently perform or fully supervise hands-on laboratory and pilot-scale operations without human intervention.
Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
AI: Partial - AI can design control strategies, tune controllers, and simulate control performance from lab and pilot data, but final design acceptance and safety validation require human engineering judgment.
Determine most effective arrangement of operations such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
AI: Partial - AI can evaluate alternative operation sequences using models and optimization tools, but practical layout decisions and trade-offs need human oversight and site-specific knowledge.
Direct activities of workers who operate or are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can generate work instructions, schedules, and monitor compliance, but it cannot fully assume the managerial, safety-responsibility, and real-time leadership roles of directing workers on site.
Design and plan layout of equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can produce equipment layout concepts and optimize arrangements with simulation tools, but final layout planning requires human coordination with site constraints, safety codes, and stakeholder decisions.