Food process engineers work at designing the process and equipment to produce new products. Their job begins with the raw materials involved and ends with the packaging of the finished product.

The engineer must understand the physical and chemical properties of the foods involved to enable good design of the various stages or unit operations. The design work includes the specifications for a piece of equipment - for instance, heat, size, pressure requirements - taking care the food product is not adversely affects.

When a process is already in place, the process engineer uses her or his knowledge of the maths and engineering involved to make the process perform better. Food process engineers may also work with design companies designing individual pieces of product equipment or they could be involved in specifying, purchasing or selling process equipment. After a number of years, they may gravitate towards more managerial type roles.