# Hydrometallurgical Process Engineer

**Company:** [Mariana Minerals](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/mariana-minerals)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA, Houston, TX
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $100k – $175k/yr
**Skills:** Hydrometallurgy, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Leaching, Solvent Extraction, Ion Exchange, Precipitation, Crystallization, P&Ids, Heat And Material Balances, Hydraulic Modeling, Process Simulation, Autoclaves, Filtration Systems, Digital Twin Models
**Posted:** 2025-12-05

> Leads development and deployment of hydrometallurgical refining processes for critical minerals, from concept to commissioning. Manages vendors, builds process models, optimizes operations, and collaborates with software/ML teams on automation and digital twins. Requires chemical/process engineering expertise in mineral processing.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead hydrometallurgical process equipment scopes from concept development and modeling validation through procurement, detailed engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and ramp-up.
- Manage external technology licensors, equipment vendors, and engineering partners to deliver fully integrated and performant hydrometallurgical refining systems.
- Develop detailed heat and material balances for complex hydrometallurgical process trains, including leaching, solution purification, solvent extraction/ion exchange, precipitation, crystallization, and residue handling.
- Build hydraulic models and process flow diagrams/P&IDs for hydrometallurgical circuits, ensuring operability, reliability, and safety.
- Create first-principles models of chemical reactors and unit operations (e.g., leach reactors, autoclaves, SX settlers, IX columns, precipitation reactors, filtration systems) to validate scale-up and derisk commercial designs.
- Identify, evaluate, and implement engineering solutions to optimize extraction, purification, and recovery processes under varying chemistry, feedstock qualities, and operating conditions.
- Collaborate deeply with R&D, lab staff, pilot-plant engineers, and operations teams to translate bench-scale insights into robust and scalable hydrometallurgical flowsheets.
- Work closely with software and machine-learning teams to automate process-engineering workflows and develop advanced control, optimization, and digital-twin models for hydrometallurgical reactors and plants.

## Requirements
- Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and demonstrated ability to solve challenging problems.
- Strong foundation in chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, or process engineering, with demonstrated ability to apply engineering fundamentals to complex hydrometallurgical systems.
- Experience with equipment engineering and design, including brownfield modifications and upgrades of process equipment (e.g., leach tanks, reactors, filtration systems, solvent extraction circuits).
- Experience with greenfield design of hydrometallurgical unit operations and integrated circuits.
- Troubleshooting, evaluation, and optimization of operating hydrometallurgical or chemical-process equipment.
- Experience in hydrometallurgical mineral processing or metal refining, large-scale mining, critical-minerals processing, or battery-materials production, industrial chemical manufacturing with complex aqueous/chemical reaction systems, or EPC/EPCM firms supporting mining and mineral processing industry projects.

## Similar roles

- [PCB Designer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/3ab87268-9364-4646-9def-d05fe2e5327a) - Northwood Space - Los Angeles, CA - $100k – $150k/yr
- [Fleet Reliability Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/5e4efd9c-1a3a-4620-8568-1cc01160ee81) - Northwood Space - Los Angeles, CA - $100k – $175k/yr
- [Dream Job](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/6efa9ca1-9190-4392-8e55-85fa72741cf8) - Icarus - El Segundo, CA - $100k – $500k/yr
- [Manufacturing Engineer III](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/d4cd7d6b-ed2b-45f8-82c8-1f2d0af211ab) - Crusoe - Tulsa, OK - $99k – $110k/yr
- [Electrical Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/5a05f043-a52a-4f1f-9c26-95dd1e908676) - Crusoe - Arvada, CO - $104k – $116k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/a9309823-9a31-4748-92d3-d4eb45359ee3
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/a9309823-9a31-4748-92d3-d4eb45359ee3