Senior Process Engineer (SWRO / Seawater Desalination)

Office location: Metro Manila

Work setup: Full Onsite (Must be willing to travel)

Role Overview

The Senior Process Engineer will lead process engineering activities throughout the lifecycle of floating seawater desalination projects, from process design and development through EPC execution, commissioning, performance testing, and operations. The role will provide technical leadership in SWRO process design, optimization, equipment selection, contractor deliverables, and plant integration while ensuring compliance with project, quality, safety, and performance requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 8–15+ years of relevant process engineering experience in seawater desalination, particularly Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO), or water treatment.
• Proven experience in EPC project environments, with strong capability in reviewing, evaluating, and challenging engineering designs, calculations, and technical deliverables.
• Strong technical expertise in SWRO process design, seawater pretreatment, energy recovery systems, chemical dosing, seawater intake systems, and desalination plant optimization.
• Demonstrated experience in process layout development, modular/containerized plant design, skid-based systems, and plant integration, preferably for repeat-build or scalable-capacity facilities.
• Strong knowledge of membrane projection, array configuration, recovery optimization, hydraulic sizing, pump selection, and specific energy consumption optimization.
• Experience in piping material selection for seawater and high-pressure brine services, including materials such as super duplex, GRP/FRP, HDPE, CuNi, and lined/coated carbon steel.
• Practical experience with DAF pretreatment, automated intake screening/back-flushing, chemical dosing systems, and energy recovery devices.
• Experience reviewing and approving PFDs, P&IDs, mass and energy balances, equipment datasheets, control philosophies, and other process engineering deliverables.
• Proven experience supporting or leading commissioning, start-up, and performance testing of desalination or water treatment facilities, including verification of plant performance against specified guarantees.
• Familiarity with marine, floating, or barge-based facilities is an advantage, including exposure to classification society requirements and marine engineering interfaces.
• Strong understanding of EPC contracts such as FIDIC or similar, with the ability to assess technical risks, contractor performance, and contractual requirements.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and technical negotiation skills, with the ability to work effectively with EPC contractors, technology providers, vendors, consultants, and other project stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel to shipyards, fabrication facilities, and project sites as required.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead process definition for new floating desalination units, including development of the process basis of design, feedwater characterization, product water requirements, recovery targets, and technology selection.
• Develop and review process design criteria, PFDs, mass and energy balances, preliminary equipment lists, and other engineering deliverables for concept and FEED studies.
• Evaluate site-specific and marine constraints, including seawater quality, intake and outfall arrangements, space and weight limitations, vessel movement, and their impact on process design.
• Support the technical evaluation of EPC and technology bids, including assessment of process guarantees, technology selection, technical risks, and proposed technical solutions.
• Lead the optimization of the overall desalination process and topside layout, balancing hydraulic efficiency, footprint, weight distribution, accessibility, maintainability, and future capacity expansion.
• Drive process optimization initiatives to improve specific energy consumption, installed power demand, recovery rates, membrane performance, hydraulic efficiency, and energy recovery.
• Lead the sizing and specification of process pumps, SWRO trains, membranes, energy recovery devices, chemical dosing systems, intake systems, and other major process equipment.
• Develop and optimize seawater intake, screening, pretreatment, DAF, chemical dosing, and energy recovery systems to ensure reliable plant performance under varying seawater conditions.
• Develop modular and containerized process designs, including standardized interfaces, skid/container configurations, pipe rack routing, and scalable capacity arrangements to support efficient fabrication and future expansion.
• Establish appropriate piping materials, routing, maintainability, mechanical handling, and equipment access requirements for space-constrained marine environments.
• Define requirements for chemical consumption, storage, dosing, fuel, and utility systems, ensuring appropriate capacity, reliability, automation, and operational autonomy.
• Lead process engineering activities during EPC execution, including review, comment, and approval of contractor deliverables and ensuring compliance with project specifications, applicable codes, standards, and performance requirements.
• Participate in design reviews, HAZOP/HAZID studies, process safety assessments, vendor reviews, and technical risk evaluations, ensuring identified issues are appropriately addressed.
• Monitor process-related technical deviations, risks, change requests, and contractor performance, providing technical recommendations and supporting resolution of issues.
• Participate in and independently verify commissioning, start-up, and performance testing, including validation of permeate quality, recovery, flux, specific energy consumption, and other defined performance criteria.
• Review as-built documentation, O&M manuals, SOPs, and other handover deliverables for technical completeness and accuracy.
• Provide ongoing process engineering and troubleshooting support during operations, including root-cause analysis, process optimization, KPI monitoring, and reliability improvement.
• Provide technical input on operational changes, chemical program adjustments, warranty matters, and process-related claims involving EPC contractors or technology providers.
• Maintain process documentation, technical records, and lessons learned to support continuous improvement and future desalination projects.