Vice President of Process Chemistry & Metallurgy
Reports to: SVP of Critical Minerals Processing
Travel: Up to 15% (analytical laboratories, conferences, vendor sites)

About the Opportunity
Our client is a mining company advancing a first-of-kind initiative to extract critical minerals, including rare earth elements and specialty metals, from carbonaceous ore using an innovative high-temperature carbochlorination process. The Vice President of Process Chemistry & Metallurgy will lead a small, technically ambitious team building and operating a bench-scale carbochlorination laboratory, sitting at the center of the experimental program that underpins this novel flowsheet.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a project from the ground up, growing with it through bench-scale test work, pilot-scale demonstration, and ultimately full commercial plant operations. It's a hands-on role suited to a technically driven leader who wants a direct line of sight from laboratory work to industrial-scale impact, working closely with senior leadership to shape a novel process from first principles into a commercial reality.

What You'll Do
Laboratory Operations & Reactor Test Work

Set up, commission, and operate a bench-scale tube-furnace carbochlorination reactor system, including programmable temperature control, gas delivery, and feed metering.
Operate and maintain a staged condensation train for selective recovery of metal chloride products, including high-temperature de-sublimation stages, cold-trap condensers, and off-gas scrubbing systems.
Manage chlorine gas handling infrastructure with strict adherence to safety protocols, including leak detection, cylinder changeovers, scrubber operation, and emergency procedures.
Perform solid-liquid extraction procedures and small-scale fractional distillation of liquid metal chlorides.
Maintain rigorous experimental logs, mass balances, and chain-of-custody records for all test campaigns.

Sample Preparation & Analytical Chemistry

Execute a multi-stage comminution sequence on drill core material, including jaw crushing, roll crushing, and pulverization to target grind sizes for reactor feed.
Prepare samples for external ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis, including acid digestion, fusion dissolution, and dilution series for multi-element assay of feed, product, and residue streams.
Perform routine in-house characterization using techniques such as XRD, loss-on-ignition, particle size analysis, and moisture determination as capabilities are established.
Interpret analytical results to close mass and elemental balances around each test run, identifying chlorination selectivity, conversion efficiency, and product distribution across condenser stages.

Process Development & Data Analysis

Design and execute structured experimental programs investigating key process variables.
Contribute to thermodynamic modeling and literature review efforts, including evaluation of novel process concepts such as silicochlorination and alternative chlorine supplementation methods.
Develop engineering data packages for scale-up, including kinetic data, heat and mass balance inputs, and product quality specifications for downstream refining.
Prepare clear technical memoranda, test reports, and data visualizations for internal review and external stakeholder communications.

What You Bring
Required

Bachelor's or advanced degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or a related technical field.
Hands-on laboratory or pilot-scale experience with reactor systems, gas handling, and process instrumentation.
Experience with sample preparation and analytical techniques such as ICP-OES, ICP-MS, XRD, or similar characterization methods.
Working knowledge of mass and elemental balance calculations, with the ability to translate lab-scale data into scale-up engineering packages.
Experience handling hazardous or reactive gases, such as chlorine, under strict safety protocols.
Strong technical writing skills, with the ability to produce clear reports and data visualizations for technical and non-technical audiences alike.
Comfort working in a small, fast-moving technical team where hands-on lab work and strategic process leadership go hand in hand.

Preferred

Experience with halogenation, chlorination, or related pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical extraction chemistry.
Background in critical minerals, rare earth elements, or specialty metals processing.
Experience supporting the transition of a process from bench-scale through pilot demonstration to commercial design.
Familiarity with thermodynamic modeling and process simulation tools.
Prior leadership or mentoring experience in a research or process development setting.

A Note on Fit
We understand no candidate will meet every single desired qualification. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

Contact
Samantha Larson
775-291-3062
Samantha@MRCrecruiting.com