Production Chemical Engineer

About the position

As our Chemical Production Engineer, you will sustain and improve the operations of our proprietary lithium-ion battery recycling and lithium refining processes. This candidate will collaborate with the larger engineering team and various internal and external experts to ensure the successful operation of our facility. The ideal candidate will be familiar with operating large-scale and pilot-scale chemical manufacturing plants, troubleshooting and maintaining industrial process equipment and supporting overall plant uptime and throughput. The candidate will be a problem-solver and have a keen interest in operating first-in-kind process systems. This should include a constant focus on evaluating current processing steps and proposing and developing next-generation solutions to continuously improve system performance and operability. This position will report to our Chemical Process team.

Responsibilities

• Sustain 24/7 production operations by responding to and recovering malfunctioning equipment and processes.
• Support commissioning and startup activities for our first-in-kind battery recycling and lithium refining processes.
• Implement process improvement projects to improve yield, uptime, product quality, and reduce OpEx.
• Work with the operations team to author documentation including but not limited to Operating Procedures, Preventative Maintenance Plans, Spare Parts Lists etc.
• Investigate equipment and processes that are underperforming, troubleshoot and implement changes to improve OEE.
• Produce PFDs, P&IDs, Mass and Energy Balances, Equipment Specs for process changes and improvements.
• Collaborate with vendors on equipment for our pilot and commercial processes.
• Document lessons learned from commissioning and operations activities and feed these forward into our next-gen technology and commercial process designs.
• Review and update document records for the equipment systems (e.g., Equipment Data, Process & Instrumentation Diagrams, Controls Narratives, and Wiring Diagrams, loop diagrams, and layout drawings)

Requirements

• Background in Engineering (Chemical, Mechanical preferred)
• 3+ years of engineering experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with troubleshooting and commissioning process equipment.
• Experience implementing data-driven improvements to operational lines (DOE, Change Management).
• Experience in Statistical Process Control (SPC), Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma.
• Experience troubleshooting safety systems for manufacturing lines.
• Experience implementing HAZOP, FMEA and other methodologies for failure analysis for new and legacy plant design & operations.
• Working knowledge of process control methodology and discrete control strategies
• Working knowledge Autodesk Software: Revit, AutoCAD and/or Navisworks.
• Experience working with high-performing teams on first-of-kind technology
• Self-motivated and passionate about battery materials and sustainability.
• Collaborative approach to problem-solving

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Company-sponsored health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• Company-sponsored Employee Assistance Program
• Stock options
• 401(K)
• Flexible paid time off
• Monthly phone stipend