You don’t need to know chemistry. Read the spec sheet for voltage and temperature limits. Observe voltage polarity, if necessary. If you need more general information on how to choose which type of capacitor, read The Art of Electronics.

i = c*dv/dt

That is what the EE knows, not necessarily how to make a capacitor from scratch. A lot of time was spent on leading up to understanding how semi-conductors work however. Including modern physics and requisite math, particle in a box, wave functions, etc.