Skills
Chemical Engineer Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in chemical engineers, and how to build and show them.
What skills do chemical engineers need?
Chemical Engineers need technical skills such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, plus people skills like problem-solving and communication. They also use tools such as Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB.
Technical (hard) skills
- Thermodynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Heat transfer
- Reaction engineering
- Process simulation
- Process safety
People (soft) skills
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Attention to detail
Tools, equipment and technology
- Aspen HYSYS
- MATLAB
- Excel
- P&IDs
- DCS data historians
- Python
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how chemical engineers put their skills to work:
- How to do a process mass balance
- How to run a HAZOP on a chemical process node
- How to troubleshoot a heat exchanger
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Thermodynamics” and “Fluid mechanics.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “problem-solving,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as PE license near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our chemical engineer glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Chemical Engineer training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.