Engineering Lead - Process
We're looking for a skilled and experienced engineering leader to be our Process Engineering Lead. In this position, you will lead the charge in designing, optimizing, and scaling the process for titanium, hafnium, and zirconium sponge production. We use derivatives of the Kroll process with full reductant recycling. You'll be at the forefront of launching a greenfield facility expected to be the largest and most efficient of its kind in the world. This is your chance to disrupt the status quo, solve complex engineering problems, and leave your mark on the future of advanced manufacturing. This is a founding engineering role suitable for proven engineering leaders; we expect an entire engineering team to be built around you.
Responsibilities
- Own the Process: lead a team of engineers in the design, development, and optimization the entire sponge making process—chlorination, reduction, distillation, reduction, recycling—that will be implemented at scale
- Lead Scale-Up: Lead the scale-up from pilot plant operations to full-scale production exceeding 20 kt/y. Solve the challenges of transitioning from design to execution, ensuring every detail is flawless
- Own Quality & Efficiency: optimize the process and establish data collection and measurement procedures to iteratively achieve premium-quality levels needed for rotary, nuclear and electronics applications at attractive unit economics
- Drive R&D Roadmap: drive the direction of experimentation and trials at our R&D facility within a tightly iterative framework, working with other engineers to fit within the iteration cadence
- Engineer for Excellence: Develop process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and operational blueprints with obsessive attention to detail, working closely with the build engineers to ensure manufacturing feasibility of your designs
- Launch the Factory: Oversee commissioning and start-up of a first-of-its-kind facility, ensuring every piece of equipment and every process meets the highest operational standards
Qualifications
- You have extensive process engineering experience in sponge manufacture for titanium and/or hafnium & zirconium
- You have extensive experience leading engineering teams as either a technical leader or manager
- You were a key process engineer for the commissioning and/or improvement of large sponge manufacturing plants in the past
- You understand the nuances and tradeoffs of complex engineering and capital project decisions for the manufacturing of these sponge metals
- You have opinions deriving from personal experience on ways in which the Kroll process can be made more efficient, modularizable and scalable
- You are aligned with our mission and keen on leading the process design & implementation effort for what can become the largest operation of its kind in the world
- Your peers vouch for you as an outstanding engineering talent
- B.S. degree in engineering is required, chemical engineering is a plus
- M.S. degree in engineering is a plus
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary range: $180k–$270k
Significant equity compensation aligned with public benchmarks for founding team members
Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: location, job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.
You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, short & long-term disability insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. We have a flexible paid time-off (PTO) policy.