Sr./Staff Pyrometallurgical Process Engineer
Leads the design, modeling, scaling, commissioning, and optimization of high-temperature pyrometallurgical refining systems. Requires chemical, metallurgical, or process engineering expertise with experience in mineral processing, refining, or complex industrial process equipment.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Lead pyrometallurgical process scopes from concept development and thermodynamic modeling through procurement, detailed engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, ramp-up, and handover to operations.
- Develop heat and material balances for high-temperature process trains, including drying, calcination, roasting, reduction, smelting, converting, slag cleaning, refining, and off-gas treatment.
- Design and validate thermal process flowsheets and PFDs/P&IDs for pyrometallurgical circuits.
- Build thermodynamic and kinetic models for high-temperature reactors and furnaces, including rotary kilns, calciners, electric arc furnaces, submerged arc furnaces, reverberatory furnaces, and flash smelters.
- Model and optimize phase equilibria, slag chemistry, metal recovery, refractory performance, and energy efficiency.
- Define specifications and operating envelopes for high-temperature equipment, burners, power systems, refractory linings, and gas-handling systems.
- Implement process improvements to maximize metal recovery, reduce energy consumption, control emissions, and stabilize furnace operation across varying feedstock chemistries.
- Collaborate with R&D, laboratory, and pilot-plant teams to translate findings into commercial designs.
- Design and optimize off-gas handling systems, including cyclones, baghouses, scrubbers, thermal oxidizers, and heat-recovery systems.
- Partner with software and machine-learning teams on process-engineering automation, advanced controls, optimization, and digital-twin models.
Requirements
- Strong engineering fundamentals and ability to solve complex process problems.
- Background in chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, or process engineering.
- Experience with equipment engineering and design.
- Experience with brownfield process-equipment modifications and upgrades.
- Experience designing greenfield hydrometallurgical unit operations and integrated circuits.
- Experience troubleshooting, evaluating, and optimizing pyrometallurgical or chemical-process equipment.
- Experience in pyrometallurgical mineral processing, metal refining, mining, critical-minerals processing, battery-materials production, industrial chemical manufacturing, or EPC/EPCM projects supporting mining and mineral processing.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with first-principles thermodynamic and kinetic modeling.
- Experience with high-temperature reactors and furnaces.
- Experience with digital twins, machine learning, or automated process optimization.
Skills
Pyrometallurgy, Thermodynamic Modeling, Kinetic Modeling, Heat Balances, Material Balances, Process Flowsheets, Pfds/P&Ids, Rotary Kilns, Electric Arc Furnaces, Slag Chemistry, Off-Gas Treatment, Digital Twins, Machine Learning, Process Optimization, Refractory Engineering
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