Senior Process Engineer

Entity:

Technology

Job Family Group:

Engineering Group

Job Description:

At bp, we provide an excellent working environment and employee benefits such as an open and inclusive culture, a great work-life balance, tremendous learning and development opportunities to craft your career path, life and health insurance, medical care package and many others.

The Senior Process Engineer is accountable for process safety and engineering integrity across the Centre, ensuring compliance with all legislative, company, and site requirements for Fuel & Low Carbon Technology, Oil & Gas Technology and Wells Fluid teams. Acting as steward for key chemical and process engineering systems, the role sets standards, implements policy, and provides authoritative technical assurance to maintain safe, compliant, and reliable operations.

The role provides site‑wide technical leadership for the chemical engineering discipline, leading operational process engineering support to industrial and bench‑scale laboratories, and delivering expert process engineering consultancy across the lab.

As the focal point for process design, engineering assurance, and technical risk management, the Senior Process Engineer leads modifications, reliability improvements, and engineering governance across R&D, pilot plant, and operational assets. The role ensures all engineering solutions, projects, and operating strategies align with bp Engineering Technical Practices (ETPs), HSSE requirements, and inherently safer design principles.

This is where bp’s physical research and development work happens; we cover the science behind everything bp does. We lead scientific innovation right through the lifecycle - from research, product development, demonstration, technical scale-up, commercialization and support for users in the real world.

This is an opportunity to join a business with an envious position touching and working with many of bp’s internal businesses and external partners in supporting today’s opportunities whilst focussing on delivering the future technologies.

Job purpose:

This role plays a key part in the assurance of chemical engineering principles within an R&D business and will provide oversight and verification of the standardised engineering delivery and detailed engineering solutions.

The role will also provide operational line technical query support to the operating teams across our operating sites.

Success is developing and assuring our inherently safer design, safe systems of work, whilst facing the challenges of a research, development and technology driven business.

Key responsibilities include:

• Act as steward for chemical engineering standards and systems that ensure process technical integrity, including Management of Change, pressure systems, area classification, and P&ID standards.
• Ensure site process engineering practices and procedures are established, maintained, and compliant with legislative requirements and bp Engineering Technical Practices (ETPs).
• Lead process engineering deliverables for major projects, technical programmes, and complex modifications.
• Provide authoritative technical assurance and challenge of contractor and third‑party designs, ensuring full alignment with bp standards and best practice.
• Validate plant and operating data, future operating scenarios, and key design assumptions used in process design.
• Lead development and implementation of chemical engineering systems and procedures appropriate for a research environment, meeting company and regulatory requirements.
• Act as senior Subject Matter Expert for HAZOP, HAZID, LOPA, and Process Safety Reviews (PSRs).
• Lead high‑complexity Management of Change activities, ensuring consistent and effective application of process safety methodologies across teams.
• Ensure safe operating limits, relief and protection systems, environmental controls, and inherently safer design principles are embedded in designs.
• Provide technical challenge and assurance across multi‑discipline designs, including mechanical, electrical & instrumentation, and research‑scale systems.
• Provide engineering governance and technical oversight supporting Technology and Wells Fluids teams.
• Lead process engineering scopes through concept, pre‑FEED, and FEED phases.
• Drive assurance of complex and novel modifications, including electrolysers, CO₂ systems, fermentation units, advanced chemistry changes, and modular builds.
• Guide operational teams in defining detailed engineering scopes and ensuring high‑quality execution.
• Provide senior oversight of equipment selection, materials compatibility, pressure system integrity, and reliability‑critical equipment.
• Support the development and management of risk‑based maintenance strategies and safety‑critical equipment registers.
• Conduct audits and technical assessments to confirm compliance with approved design methods and assurance practices, ensuring deviations are appropriately authorised.
• Mentor Process Engineers and junior staff, building organisational capability and engineering excellence.
• Support the development and deployment of consistent, structured engineering practices across sites.

Qualifications & Experience

• PhD/Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in chemical/ process engineering or related discipline relevant to chemical/ process engineering.
• Significant experience (8-10 years) in refinery, research, pilot plant or complex industrial operations
• Good working knowledge of industry standards
• Demonstrated leadership in HAZOP/ HAZID/ LOPA studies
• Strong leadership skills, ability to influence and drive decisions.
• Fluent written and spoken English language.
• Ability to challenge and assure complex safety‑critical decisions are made
• Good communicator, able to technically address with conviction verbally and written across Projects and Operations on technical matters at all levels of the company.
• Able to demonstrate pragmatism when balancing technical decisions and operational needs (deliver safe & competitive solutions).

Desirable criteria and qualifications

• Professional Engineer and/or Chartered chemical Engineer status
• Knowledge and experience of laboratory scale equipment and gas systems.
• Working knowledge with relevant standards
• Experience with RCFA investigations
• Demonstration of chairing/ leading HAZOP/HAZID, Process Safety Reviews and risk assessments
• Experience of working across different cultures, supporting different operating regions and engaging with a wide variety of customers or suppliers.

About bp

Our purpose is to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow. For over 100 years, bp has focused on discovering, developing, and producing oil and gas in the nations where we operate. We are one of the few companies globally that can provide governments and customers with an integrated energy offering. Delivering our strategy sustainably is fundamental to achieving our ambition to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner!

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Additional Information

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Even though the job is advertised as full time, please contact the hiring manager or the recruiter as flexible working arrangements may be considered.

We support our people to learn and grow in a diverse and challenging environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity. We are committed to crafting an inclusive environment in which everyone is respected and treated fairly.

There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are meaningful, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, collaboration spaces in a modern office environment, and many others benefits.

Travel Requirement

Up to 10% travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:

This role is eligible for relocation within country

Remote Type:

This position is not available for remote working

Skills:

Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP), Hazard Identification (HAZID), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), Pilot Plants, Process Engineering, Research and Development, Research Projects, Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA)

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, religion, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.