Placement Student - Chemical Engineering

CPI is delighted to be recruiting for a placement opportunity for an individual who will join the established and growing Process Engineering function within the Materials Team based at Sedgefield and Wilton. The team comprises  chemical engineers who work collaboratively to develop viable novel technologies and processes. This involves solving new and complex challenges and continually finding creative ways of working.

Placement students who join the Process Engineering team will gain first-hand experience of developing and optimising laboratory, pilot and demonstration scale processes and will be using these results to support the design of full-scale commercial plants. They will also contribute to a range of desktop studies including scalability studies, preliminary Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Techno-Economic Analyses (TEA), mass and energy balances, flow sheeting and equipment sizing.

Our aim is to provide placement students with a broad and diverse experience, working across a wide variety of technologies, industries and project types. Upon joining the team, you will be assigned a supportive mentor and given the opportunities to shadow experienced team members across multiple projects, all while undertaking meaningful work aligned with your interests, strengths, and career aspirations. You will make valuable contribution to real commercial and collaborative projects and will become an important member of the team.

Process Engineering placement students in the past have worked on projects which include:

• Converting a lab-scale batch process into a lab-scale continuous process.

• Visiting client sites to troubleshoot and improve their existing process.

• Using lab results to inform the flow sheeting and preliminary design of a pilot-scale plant.

• Using client information to produce Preliminary Front-End Engineering Design for a first-in-world recycling plant.

• Validating plant cell biotechnology to unlock sustainable protein and ingredient production.

• Testing manufacturing configurations for the next generation of nuclear energy.

• Scaling up e‑waste recycling through disruptive deep tech.

• Turning rags to riches through repolymerisation.

As a Chemical Engineering Placement Student, you will support the process engineering function within CPI’s Materials Team. You’ll assist with day-to-day engineering activities and plant operations, gaining hands-on experience in projects involving new designs, plant modifications, and operational support. This role offers a unique opportunity to apply your chemical engineering knowledge in a real-world setting and develop skills essential for a career in process engineering.