Director of Process Technology

About the Opportunity
Our client is rethinking how the industry gets value out of critical minerals. Their nano-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 role owns the technology behind the flowsheets. You'll decide which unit operations, vendors, and configurations move from evaluation to deployment, and back those calls with lab data, pilot results, and process models. Expect high autonomy, a lot of ownership, and the chance to shape the technology roadmap from day one.

What You'll Do

Evaluate, vet, and down-select process technology vendors and unit-operation configurations from pilot through commercialization.
Run hands-on lab experimentation to optimize kinetics, selectivity, throughput, purity, and regeneration chemistry across integrated flowsheets.
Lead pilot testing of hydrometallurgical unit operations, validating bench-scale results against commercial design targets.
Develop process models that integrate mass balance, equilibria, and kinetics to drive cost and design decisions.
Own technology roadmapping across leaching, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, crystallization, electrowinning, and effluent management.
Build and manage joint-research collaborations with National Laboratories, universities, and corporate R&D teams.
Align cross-functionally with the ion-exchange media team on resin and reagent choices, and with process engineering on scale-up readiness.

What You Bring

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Extractive Metallurgy, or Hydrometallurgy, plus 7+ years in hydrometallurgical process development and technology evaluation.
Hands-on experimentalist, fluent in bench and pilot campaigns across leaching, solid-liquid separation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, and precipitation. Electrowinning and crystallization experience is a plus.
Strong modeling skills in process simulation, using MetSim, HSC Chemistry, SysCAD, or Aspen Plus, plus comfort with precipitate and electrolyte modeling tools like PHREEQC or OLI Studio.
Experience with vendor evaluation, technology due diligence, and structuring external research collaborations.
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 translate experimental and modeling results into clear technology decisions for engineering and executive audiences.
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 $120,000 to $190,000, with benefits and equity on top.
What Success Looks Like
By the end of 2026, our client expects:

A vetted process technology portfolio, with down-selected vendors and configurations for each core unit operation.
Bench and pilot validation campaigns completed for the priority flowsheets, with documented performance against design targets.
Integrated mass balance, equilibria, and kinetics unified into process models that drive dynamic cost and design choices.
Active joint-research collaborations established with National Laboratories, universities, and corporate R&D teams.

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