VP of Process Engineering

About the Opportunity
Our client is rethinking how the industry gets value out of critical minerals. Their ion-exchange separation technology pulls value from resources most operations write off as waste, right as global ore grades keep dropping and the US works to build a stronger domestic supply chain for the metals inside EVs, solar panels, and smartphones.

This is a build-from-the-ground-up role. You'll take flowsheets for leaching, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, crystallization, and electrowinning, and turn them into real, operating pilot plants. Expect high autonomy, a lot of ownership, and the chance to set how process engineering gets done here from day one.

What You'll Do

Build and lead the process engineering team. Hire, mentor, and set the technical standards this group will run on.
Direct scale-up of hydrometallurgical flowsheets, covering leaching, solid-liquid separation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, crystallization, electrowinning, polishing, and effluent management.
Own engineering delivery on pilot plants, from process design packages and equipment specs through installation, commissioning, and performance validation.
Set the stage-gate criteria, design reviews, HAZOP practices, and safety standards that govern the path from bench to pilot to commercial scale.
Drive process cost modeling, turning equilibrium, mass transfer, and reaction-rate data into real capital and operating cost assumptions.
Align with the ion-exchange media team, process controls team, and commercial leadership on program priorities and delivery commitments.
Manage vendor and EPC relationships for pilot and commercial equipment, covering procurement, fabrication, and installation.

What You Bring

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Extractive Metallurgy, or Hydrometallurgy, plus 10+ years in process development and scale-up, including 5+ years leading engineering teams.
Deep hands-on experience with hydrometallurgical flowsheet development, with real command of kinetics, selectivity, throughput, and purity across integrated unit operations.
A track record delivering pilot and demonstration plants, from process design package through commissioning and steady-state operation.
Strong modeling skills in process simulation and techno-economic analysis, using tools like MetSim, HSC Chemistry, SysCAD, or Aspen Plus.
A hands-on leadership style. You're willing to work the bench and pilot scale yourself, regardless of seniority, and you're energized by early-stage startup life: high autonomy, real opportunity, high expectations.
Strong communication skills. You can align executives, engineers, and outside partners around clear technical decisions and delivery commitments.
Willingness to relocate on-site to Chattanooga, TN, and to travel to customer sites across the US, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia for installation and commissioning work. Expect longer hours during critical project phases.

Why Join
Chattanooga is one of those cities people don't expect to love, until they live there. Tennessee has no state income tax, and the region offers a genuinely good quality of life alongside the work.
Compensation runs $130,000 to $200,000, with benefits and equity on top.
What Success Looks Like
By Q2 2027, our client expects:

Two in-field pilots delivered, installed, and operating under your engineering oversight.
A stage-gated scale-up process, from bench through pilot to commercial design, adopted across every active program.
A process engineering team hired, structured, and executing against program milestones.
One unified techno-economic model connecting process performance data to cost and design decisions across the portfolio.

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

VP Process Engineering