Also called: SAF Process Engineer, Renewable Jet Fuel Scientist
Turns used cooking oil, farm waste or captured carbon into jet fuel that cuts emissions.
You run a pilot reactor that converts waste fats into fuel, test whether the result meets jet-fuel specs, and help scale up a plant that will make millions of gallons. Airlines watch your results closely because they have promised to cut emissions.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's or PhD in chemistry or chemical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Chemists overall; federal SAF incentives drive hiring.
Low risk for 10 years. AI screens fuel recipes and catalysts faster; lab work and scaling up real fuel plants stay human.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, Environmental science, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.