Pilot Plant Process Engineer

Aramco energizes the world economy

Aramco occupies a special position in the global energy industry. We are one of the world’s largest producers of hydrocarbon energy and chemicals, with among the lowest upstream carbon intensities of any major producer.

With our significant investment in technology and infrastructure, we strive to maximize the value of the energy we produce for the world along with a commitment to enhance Aramco’s value to society.

Headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and with offices around the world, we combine market discipline with a generations’ spanning view of the future, born of our nine decades experience as responsible stewards of the Kingdom’s vast hydrocarbon resources. This responsibility has driven us to deliver significant societal and economic benefits to not just the Kingdom, but also to a vast number of communities, economies, and countries that rely on the vital and reliable energy that we supply.

We are one of the most profitable companies in the world, as well as amongst the top five global companies by market capitalization.

Overview

We are seeking a Pilot Plant Process Engineer to join our Research & Analytical Services Department (RASD).

RASD hosts sophisticated pilot plant facilities which support relevant research, technology and specialized technical services. RASD is committed to working collaboratively with its customers, building pilot plant assets and finding new ways of developing oil and gas resources, through innovative solutions, technology development and scale-up, and engineering support to corporate operation.

Your primary role is to develop innovative solutions to complex technical problems, establish and evaluate design of pilot plants, develop process design basis, prepare detailed engineering packages for building new pilot plants to support R&D project requirements. You will also be developing innovative reactor and process configurations, scaling it up from laboratory scale to pilot and commercial scale using modeling and simulation techniques.

Key responsibilities

As the successful candidate you will be required to perform the following:

• Develop solutions to complex problems that require a high degree of innovation and ingenuity.
• Participate in the design of pilot plants, including establishing process design basis, development of process options and optimization of selected design.
• Participate in developing design of experiment required for R&D and commercial programs.
• Prepare specifications (process flow diagram) and operating instructions for pilot plants.
• Direct activities to ensure that new pilot plant project schedule, construction, cost estimate, installation and operational testing conform to functional specifications, recognized codes and standards and R&D projects requirements.
• Develop kinetic and reactor models using pilot plant data, and scale up the catalyst performance to commercial scale reactors.
• Develop innovative reactor and process configurations using kinetics, reactor modeling, process simulation and CFD modeling.
• Manage and execute small to medium sized projects.

Minimum requirements

• You will hold a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering. An advanced degree is strongly preferred.
• You will have 10+ years of experience in a plant operation or engineering role, with a minimum 5 to 8 years plant site or R&D experience in an oil refinery, chemical plant or similar hydrocarbon industry is desired. A pilot plant competency is a strong plus.
• You must have strong skills on kinetics & reactor modeling, using software like MATLAB, Aspen Custom Modeler or gPROMS.
• You must have strong skills on process simulation software e.g. Aspen Plus, Aspen HYSYS, Pro/II.
• You will have experience in current statutory regulations, industry standards and recommended practices and a practical sense in applying such references.
• You will be able to work in an unstructured environment to help develop new systems and infrastructure.
• You will have an understanding of area classifications and specification of site equipment.
• You will be able to demonstrate hands-on experience in supporting of operations and technical team.
• You will have an excellent command of verbal and written English with capabilities to write and present technical papers.

Work location and work schedule

Work location: Within Saudi Arabia – To be specified in job offer
Work schedule: Full time - To be specified in job offer

Job posting duration

Job posting start date: 12/17/2025
Job posting end date: 12/31/2026

Working environment

Our high-performing employees are drawn by the challenging and rewarding professional, technical and industrial opportunities we offer, and are remunerated accordingly.

At Aramco, our people work on truly world-scale projects, supported by investment in capital and technology that is second to none. And because, as a global energy company, we are faced with addressing some of the world’s biggest technical, logistical and environmental challenges, we invest heavily in talent development.

We have a proud history of educating and training our workforce over many decades. Employees at all levels are encouraged to improve their sector-specific knowledge and competencies through our workforce development programs – one of the largest in the world.