Principal Process Engineer

A fast-growing climate technology company is developing modular systems that produce synthetic fuels using carbon captured directly from the atmosphere, hydrogen generated through electrolysis, and renewable energy. The company is building the foundational technology for a new generation of low-cost synthetic fuel production, combining direct air capture, electrolysis, and fuel synthesis into integrated industrial systems.

Having already deployed a large-scale synthetic fuel facility, the company is now preparing to scale its technology dramatically, moving from early proof-of-scale systems toward multi-megawatt deployments and mass-manufactured modular plants. The team operates with an engineering-first culture, where senior engineers remain deeply hands-on and take ownership of major technical systems from concept through deployment.

We are looking for a Principal Process Engineer with 10+ years of experience to own process engineering across the company’s modular synthetic fuel system. You will bring deep experience designing, building, commissioning, and operating process plants, while applying first-principles thinking to novel technology and rapid scale-up.

This is a high-ownership role spanning process architecture, process safety, system design, construction, and commissioning, with responsibility across reactor, electrolyser, and direct air capture modules.

Key Responsibilities

• Own process engineering across the full synthetic fuel system, including reactor, electrolyser, and direct air capture modules, from initial concept through deployment.

• Develop and evaluate novel process architectures with a focus on lowest cost of fuel production, balancing efficiency, capital cost, reliability, manufacturability, and operational performance.

• Lead process safety activities including HAZOPs, hazard assessments, FMEAs, and risk mitigation for large-scale industrial systems.

• Define process requirements, system interfaces, operating conditions, and design principles across integrated plant modules.

• Oversee construction, commissioning, and deployment of large-scale synthetic fuel facilities.

• Work closely with engineering teams across mechanical, electrical, controls, and manufacturing disciplines to ensure process designs are practical and scalable.

• Apply lessons from early deployments to prevent costly design rework as the technology scales from initial proof-of-scale systems toward 50MW+ deployments.

• Establish and document process engineering standards, design practices, and institutional knowledge that can be applied across future plant deployments.

• Diagnose complex technical challenges using first-principles analysis and drive solutions from concept through implementation.

• Maintain hands-on ownership of critical process engineering decisions while helping shape the architecture of the company’s next generation of plants.

Key Qualifications

• 10–15 years of experience in process engineering, including the design and commissioning of industrial or large-scale process plants.

• Proven experience designing, building, and commissioning first-of-a-kind process plants or novel industrial systems.

• Strong experience leading process safety, including HAZOP, FMEA, hazard analysis, and risk mitigation.

• End-to-end process engineering experience spanning conceptual design through construction, commissioning, and operation.

• Experience with construction and commissioning of megawatt-scale or industrial-scale systems.

• Background in gas processing, electrolysis, carbon capture, synthetic fuels, or other related process technologies.

• Experience working within a hardware startup, scale-up environment, or fast-moving technology company developing novel physical systems.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline.

• Strong first-principles problem-solving skills and the ability to develop creative solutions to technically novel challenges.

• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy and taking ownership of complex systems rather than working within narrowly defined functional boundaries.

• Strong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to work hands-on with engineering, construction, commissioning, and operations teams.