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Category
Process & Chemical
Work Pattern
Onshore with offshore audit and study visits
Reports To
Process Safety Manager / VP Health & Safety
Position Overview
The Process Safety Engineer is responsible for leading and executing process safety studies and ensuring compliance with process safety management (PSM) frameworks across oil and gas operations. This role focuses on identifying, evaluating, and mitigating major accident hazards through structured risk assessment methodologies, directly protecting personnel, the environment, and asset integrity from low-frequency, high-consequence events.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and facilitate HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies for new and modified process facilities
- Conduct LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis) and SIL (Safety Integrity Level) classification studies per IEC 61511
- Perform Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) including frequency analysis, consequence modelling, and risk summation
- Develop and maintain Major Accident Hazard (MAH) registers and bow-tie risk models
- Conduct fire, explosion, and gas dispersion consequence modelling using PHAST, SAFETI, or similar tools
- Review and validate Safety Integrity Level (SIL) assignments and Safety Requirements Specifications (SRS)
- Support Safety Case preparation and maintenance for offshore installations per regulatory requirements
- Perform Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) for management of change (MOC) submissions
- Develop and review escape, evacuation, and rescue (EER) strategies
- Conduct incident investigation and root cause analysis for process safety events
- Champion process safety culture and lead process safety auditing programmes
- Review P&IDs and process designs for inherent safety improvements
Qualifications
Required
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or Process Engineering (Master's preferred)
- Certifications: TÜV Functional Safety Engineer (FSEng); NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent HSE qualification; OPITO BOSIET/FOET
- Experience: Minimum 10 years in process safety engineering within oil and gas, with demonstrated experience leading HAZOP, LOPA, and QRA studies
- Technical Skills: HAZOP facilitation, LOPA/SIL classification, QRA (PHAST/SAFETI), bow-tie analysis, consequence modelling, fire and explosion analysis, process safety management (COMAH/SEMS/PSM), IEC 61511/61508
Preferred
- HAZOP Leader certification
- Experience with Safety Case preparation for UKCS or Australian regulatory regimes
- Familiarity with CCUS and hydrogen process safety
- Experience with DSEAR/ATEX hazardous area classification for process safety
Market Intelligence
$1,000–1,500/day
Shortage Level: Critical
Key Skills Gap: Qualified HAZOP leaders and engineers who can perform QRA with real operational insight. The acute shortage is well-documented—multiple recruiters report 3+ vacancies per qualified candidate. Energy transition (hydrogen, CCUS) is creating parallel demand that further strains supply.
Regions in Highest Demand: North Sea (UK/Norway), Middle East, Australia, Southeast Asia, North America
Demand Drivers: Regulatory enforcement of process safety management, Safety Case requirements, major greenfield projects, CCUS and hydrogen projects creating new demand streams, aging infrastructure requiring reassessment, post-incident regulatory response