Job details
Job type full-time
Full job description
About the company
Headquartered in west sacramento, origin materials is the world`s leading carbon negative materials companyOrigin’s mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materialsOver the past 10 years, origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in non-food biomass into useful materials, while capturing carbon in the processOrigin’s patented drop-in core technology, economics and carbon impact have been validated by trusted third parties and are supported by a growing list of major global customers and investorsOrigin’s first plant is expected to be operational in 2022 with a second, full-scale commercial plant expected to be operational by 2025 and plans for additional expansion over the next decadeFor more information, visit www.originmaterials.com.
Our people
We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate poolWhen you take a job at origin, you do more than switch companies or advance your careerYou become part of the origin community: an inclusive group of hardworking, uniquely talented people who drive innovation.
Benefits and perks
You will work with great peopleYou will be joining a close-knit group of a+ players who like to hustle, create, and work hard because we believe in origin’s mission: to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials.
You will make a differenceWe’re working on big things, so every person has the opportunity to make an impact.
You will growThere are endless opportunities at origin to learn and improveYou’ll be surrounded by great minds and presented with big challengesAnd you and your teammates will push one another to overcome those challenges.
You will enjoy excellent benefitsWe offer a wide range of insurance including medical and dental, vision, disability, and life, as well as a 401k, eap, and generous leave.
You will have flexibilityWe don’t believe in one size fits all when it comes to work location and scheduleWe care about safety and efficiency so work where and when you are at your bestAlso, we recognize our team works hard so we want you to take time off when you need itThat’s why we have a flexible time off policy.
About the position
Chemical process development engineers lead new process development engineering projects involving the some foundational research and unit operation development for origin’s processesThey help bring origin’s innovative technology out of the lab and into commercial operationYou will be responsible for experimental process design and implementation and will work closely with the r&d team and the technical directors of research and engineeringThis involves design and construct bench-scale equipment, conducting experiments, performing detailed analysis of results, and writing technical reportsLeading technical discussion with external parties including technology and equipment suppliers, partners, outsourced research, and consultantsThe successful candidate has a phd or 5+ years of industry experience, has conducted lab and pilot scale experiments, and understands how to improve process efficiency, reduce cost, and improve sustainabilityEmployees must follow safe work practices including use of personal protective equipment (ppe).
You will be responsible for:
Safe and reliable operation by ensuring compliance with all operational excellence requirements
Technical:
Planning, leading, coordinating, managing chemical engineering work at third party vendors and labs in support of origin technology development and scale-upNear term commercial deployment.
Designing and overseeing research and bench-scale unit testing programs to increase efficiency and scale (e.gImprove process steps via hands-on lab work with solids/liquids in small-scale reactors, units for distillation, extraction, crystallization, and dilution and other specialty instrumentation for chemical synthesis, purification, formulation, extrusion, etc.)
Deploying technology from lab and pilot scale to commercial operations in collaboration with the engineering and r&d departments
Using knowledge of reaction engineering principles to develop new concepts, innovate catalysts and/or process configurations, understanding critical parameters to be addressed for commercialization.
Performing reaction kinetics and mechanistic studies over catalytic materials
Developing liquid-liquid and vapor-liquid equilibrium data for non-ideal systems
Providing expertise on key engineering theories - e.gThermodynamics, kinetics, reaction engineering, and separations
Providing in-depth technical consultation to commercial implementation teams
Leading troubleshooting of existing processes when observations deviate from the known procedure
Evaluating the chemical and physical properties of various substances
Workstream management:
Developing, planning and obtaining critical engineering data for process scale-up
Drive the progress of technical programs in process development and augmentation and commercial operations troubleshooting
Monitoring and reporting progress of analytical or pilot scale programs conducted by internal resources or third party service providers.
Mentoring chemists and laboratory technicians to aid in research and development efforts
Coordinating equipment procurement and external analysis as necessary
Reporting:
Maintaining an electronic notebook detailing all data measured, observations, and steps performed
Collecting, analyzing, and processing raw data using standard software and techniques
Applying first principles knowledge to explain observations via the creation of models
Presenting and reporting research results in projects, program reviews, technical committees, as well as patents, peer-reviewed journals, and conferences
About you
You:
Place safety at the top of your priority list
Are comfortable working with flammable / hazardous chemicals and wear appropriate ppe
Are a self motivated person who works well both independently and collaboratively.
Are comfortable scheduling, prioritizing, and allocating work to team members
Strong communicator able to present ideas and results at the r&d level as well as engineering and strategic levels.
Can safely manage the physical demands/working environment
Are able to work with glassware, tube fittings (e.g., swagelok), and parr reactors
Are able to safely handle hazardous materials
Are able to wear a respirator for 1+ hour a day
Your experience:
Have to have it:
A ph.dDegree in chemical engineering, chemistry or a closely related science discipline where the curriculum includes the study of chemical reaction engineering, equilibrium staged separations, or an equivalent field
A minimum of 2 years of research experience in chemical process development including hands-on experimental and laboratory experience
Experience performing calculations to fit and predict experiment results, strong understanding of statistics and error analysis
Ability to handle multiple complex projects simultaneously with solid problem-solving skills
Ability to coordinate and communicate across multiple levels in the organization (r&d, engineering, product development)
Able to develop scalable, practical process solutions for plant implementation
Strong commitment to operational excellence in the lab, office, and chemical plant environment
Strong teamwork and collaboration skills
Strong communication skills (oral and written)
Bonus:
A track record of successful scale-up experimentation or projects
Able to apply process modeling expertise to support r&d project teams throughout the technology development process
Experience performing batch or continuous distillations
Expertise in chemical reaction engineering including reaction kinetics, reactor design (pfr, cstr), and residence time distribution (rtd)
Experience in developing thermodynamic datasets (vle, lle, physical properties).
An excellent track record of productive and creative research demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals and/or issued patents
Experience leading teams of researchers
Experience driving projects to successful completion within time and budget constraints.
