Junior Process Engineer – Water & Wastewater (Smart Plant)

About the role

Our client, a leading engineering firm in Southern Africa, is seeking a motivated Junior Process Engineer to support the design, commissioning, optimisation and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants. The role blends traditional process engineering with emerging Smart Plant technologies, AI and automation.

Key responsibilities

• Perform technical calculations, plant evaluations and process optimisation studies.
• Assist with commissioning, start‑up and field loop testing of new or upgraded treatment plants.
• Review and audit Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) and verify equipment against SCADA systems.
• Prepare and update Functional Design Specifications and control narratives.
• Collect, validate and cleanse historical operational data for AI model development.
• Support implementation of Smart Water solutions such as predictive maintenance, smart chemical dosing and aeration optimisation.
• Monitor plant performance and recommend continuous improvement actions.

Required profile

• BEng or BSc in Chemical Engineering or equivalent.
• 0–2 years of process engineering experience in water or wastewater treatment.
• Strong analytical mindset and willingness to work across multiple sites.
• Ability to travel regularly to project locations.

Required skills

• SCADA systems
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in process optimisation
• Process optimisation techniques
• Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) review
• Instrumentation and control systems
• Control narrative / functional design specification preparation
• Predictive maintenance concepts
• Data cleansing and AI model development

What we offer

• Competitive salary of R25,000 per month plus benefits.
• Exposure to cutting‑edge Smart Plant technologies.
• Opportunities for professional growth across a regional portfolio of projects.