Lead Process Engineer (Liquid Desiccant Systems)

Role Summary

We’re looking for a Lead Process Engineer to lead process development and scale-up for systems ideally with liquid desiccants, or transferable experience from absorption chillers, flue-gas CO₂ capture (amine/MEA), glycol dehydration, or chlor-alkali brine loops. You will own process design, modeling, pilot-to-commercial translation, and process safety, working closely with R&D, mechanical design, and operations.

What You'll Do

You will be a technical anchor for Uravu’s high-capacity block - the backbone of Uravu's hyperscale data-center and industrial deployments and for the process architecture that will be replicated 100+ times a year.

• Lead end-to-end process development: concept → lab validation → pilot → scale-up and deployment.
• Design and optimize liquid desiccant loops (e.g., absorption/regeneration, heat & mass transfer, concentration management, contamination control).
• Build and maintain process models (mass/energy balances, thermodynamics, equilibrium, kinetics where relevant) and translate them into design criteria.
• Develop PFDs, P&IDs, equipment datasheets, and operating philosophies.
• Define pilot plans, test matrices, instrumentation strategy, and analyze data to drive iteration.
• Work with vendors/partners on equipment selection (pumps, heat exchangers, packed columns/contactor designs, membranes, sensors, materials compatibility).
• Own process safety deliverables: HAZID/HAZOP, relief/venting considerations, SOPs, MOC, commissioning and start-up support.
• Establish process documentation and handoff packages for manufacturing/field teams.

Must Have Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in process engineering with at least 3 years in a scale-up / industrialization role (pilot → commercial), not purely R&D.
• Demonstrated experience with liquid desiccants (any domain: dehumidification, gas drying, chemical processing, absorption systems, solvent loops, etc.).
• Strong fundamentals in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics.
• Experience with saline/halide corrosion and materials compatibility (Ti, SS316L, FRP-lined MS
• Hands-on experience taking processes from bench/pilot to scale.
• Proficiency with at least one process/modeling toolset (e.g., Aspen Plus/HYSYS, gPROMS, DWSIM, MATLAB/Python-based modeling).
• Comfortable creating clear engineering deliverables and working cross-functionally.

Nice To Have

• Experience with air handling / HVAC integration, heat pump systems, or energy recovery.
• Familiarity with techno-economic analysis (TEA) and cost scaling.
• Experience with sensors and controls strategy for process loops.

What Success Looks Like (3-6 Months)

• Establish baseline process model(s) and performance targets for desiccant-based systems.
• Deliver a qualified process envelope (RH, temperature, COP, LPD/MW) with validated bench-to-pilot data.
• Produce initial PFD/P&ID and pilot test plan with instrumentation and safety reviews.
• Deliver a DFM/assembly handoff package that the production team can build against.