Process Engineer
About Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
Position Summary:
We are looking for a Senior Process Engineer to work with our innovative, fast-paced multidisciplinary team. They will be responsible for liaising between R&D and operations, with a focus on chemical process development, successful scale-up of new product execution, and sustaining technology-manufacturing readiness. This person must be flexible, proactive, and professional with experience in scale-up and process development applications such as chemical refining, hydrometallurgy, minerals, and chemical processing.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead the development and scale-up of lab processes on pilot and production scales, with a focus on improving metal recovery and reducing cost and environmental impact.
Identify potential process risks, and propose, and evaluate solutions to mitigate the risks.
Evaluate process capability, improve process control, and deliver samples to customers.
Conduct detailed process simulations and modeling to predict process behaviors under various scenarios.
Develop, prepare, and provide detailed production and process guidelines, including: standard operating procedures (SOPs), process flow details, safety, and quality standards.
Improve and troubleshoot products, equipment, and process issues during production.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior scientists, engineers, and technical staff.
Guide the R&D team and any external partners in the design and execution of experiments to develop the required base data for chemical process design.
Drive chemical process design and development from the concept stages to scaled production, ensuring quality is maintained throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Develop and model potential process designs for scale-up and cost estimating based on lab-scale chemical processes.
Identify potential process risks, and propose, and evaluate solutions to mitigate the risks.
Evaluate process capability and improve process control.
Required Qualifications:
A bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or a related discipline is required.
3-5 years of experience in Chemical Process and/or Development Engineering required.
Hands-on experience scaling processes from R&D to an operating environment.
Expertise in process modeling, development, control, and scale-up.
Coordinate and execute bench-top, pilot, manufacturing scale-up, and verification batches with speed and robustness.
Proficient in using software for process analysis and modeling.
Sound understanding of chemical processes and their scale-up.
Strong leadership and interpersonal skills for implementation of cross-functional process improvements.
Strong background in analytical & quantitative skills for problem-solving of large/complex problems & proven ability in decision-making
Desired Qualifications:
Hydrometallurgy experience
Mining experience
Battery material experience
Our culture is built on four principles:
Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.
Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.
Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.
Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.