Process Engineer (Kwinana)

Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd; City Of Kwinana; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive remuneration

Annual incentives

Discounts & rewards

Flexible work arrangements

Wellbeing program

Parental leave

Salary sacrifice options

Job summary

Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd is seeking a Process Engineer to optimise lithium refinery performance at the Kwinana site. You will diagnose issues, design control strategies and drive improvements from concept to operations.

The role requires 3+ years total experience with 2+ years in lithium processing, strong Excel skills and a focus on knowledge management and safe, efficient production. Based in Kwinana, WA.

Qualifications

• Chemical Engineering degree with 3+ years professional experience, including 2+ years as a Process Engineer in a lithium refinery.
• Experience designing and implementing a lithium refinery process control system and standard operating practices.
• Demonstrated ability to design mass balances and manage yield/recovery losses.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Experience implementing knowledge management to document ramp-up learnings, RCA, and data analyses.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose plant performance and ensure production targets are met.
• Design and implement process control systems and operating practices for the lithium refinery.
• Develop mass balances and debottlenecking plans to optimise yield and recovery.
• Conduct process, data and root-cause analyses and close actions.
• Identify opportunities and lead improvement projects from concept to implementation.
• Prepare Scopes of Work for studies and manage small engineering projects with partners.
• Collaborate with Operations on start-up and value capture of implemented solutions.
• Present business cases and secure budgets for improvements.

Skills

Process Engineering

Lithium refinery

Root Cause Analysis

Data Analysis

Mass Balances

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Education

Chemical Engineering degree

Tools

Excel

Job description

At Covalent Lithium, we are genuinely passionate about creating a clean energy future and supporting our teams who enable this vision.

Following the commissioning of our mine and concentrator at Mt Holland in 2024, we recently celebrated our first production of battery -grade lithium hydroxide at our Kwinana Refinery. We are now a fully integrated mine-to-refinery operation, supplying high quality lithium hydroxide to global markets and enabling approximately 1 million electric vehicles to go on the road, every year for the next 50 years.

We are proud to foster a culture where people with different skills, experiences and backgrounds are welcomed and set-up for success.

Employee Benefits

We support, empower and reward our people with a range of benefits:

• Competitive remuneration, and annual incentives for eligible employees
• Access to discounts, recognition and rewards
• Access to flexible work arrangements
• Dedicated wellbeing program support and discounted health insurance
• Equal access to paid parental leave, financial support, return to work and parenting room
• Salary sacrifice options for superannuation and novated leasing

The Role

As a key member of the Process Technical team, the Process Engineer will apply their technical expertise across lithium refinery processes to optimise performance, diagnose issues and support the safe, reliable and efficient production of quality lithium hydroxide. You will identify improvement opportunities, lead root cause analysis and develop and implement practical solutions from concept through to successful integration into operations.

This is a Permanent Full-time position (Mon-Fri) based at our Kwinana Refinery

Key Responsibilities

• Apply deep technical knowledge of lithium refinery processes to diagnose issues and evaluate plant performance against production and quality targets.
• Design and implement process control systems and standard process control operating practices for the lithium refinery.
• Design and execute plant mass balances and manage yield/recovery losses, including developing bottleneck analyses and debottlenecking plans.
• Conduct process analysis, data analysis, and root cause analysis, tracking resulting actions through to closure.
• Identify design and process optimisation opportunities and lead improvement projects from conceptualisation through to implementation.
• Develop Scopes of Work (SOW) for engineering studies and test work and manage small-scale engineering projects in collaboration with engineering houses and vendors.
• Work in collaboration with the Operations team on the commissioning and start-up of implemented solutions and follow up on implemented projects to ensure value capture.
• Prepare and present business cases for improvement opportunities, securing senior management approval and budgets.

Role Requirements

• Completion of a Chemical Engineering degree (or equivalent qualification), and a minimum of 3 years of overall professional experience, including a minimum of 2 years' experience as a Process Engineer within a lithium refinery; or an equivalent combination of relevant qualifications, skills and experience.
• Demonstrable experience as a Process Engineer – Chemical Control — designing a lithium refinery's process control system and implementing standard process control operating practices.
• Demonstrable experience designing and executing mass balances for a lithium plant, including yield/recovery loss management.
• Demonstrable experience designing solutions and optimisations within a lithium refinery, including conceptualisation of process improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrable experience in process analysis, data analysis, and root cause analysis, with a track record of following actions through to closure.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Strong working knowledge of lithium refinery processes.
• Demonstrable experience in knowledge management — implementing a system to document the refinery's ramp-up learnings, translating them into operating standards.
• Demonstrable experience in knowledge management to document engineering solutions, RCA, and data analysis outputs.

A competitive remuneration package commensurate with the role, candidate experience, skills and qualifications will be offered.

Our team members are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. Candidates from all backgrounds and ages are encouraged to apply, including First Nations People, those who identify as LGBTIQ+, people with disabilities and those with neurodiverse, intersectional, or multiple diverse characteristics.

Covalent Lithium is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, with a focus on our employees. We recognise skills, expertise, commitment and living our values of Purpose, Care, Accountability and Collaboration. Our goal is to attract, develop, motivate, reward, and retain the best people in the industry.

Process Engineer (Kwinana) • Kwinana, WA, AU