Chemical Development Engineer II – REE Processing

Phoenix Tailings Inc.; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Stock options

Parental leave

Flexible vacation

Learning & development

Job summary

Phoenix Tailings is seeking a Development Engineer II to help scale and refine our rare earth extraction and metallization technologies. You will contribute to R&D and deployment of clean, economically viable processes for sustainable access to critical materials.

This role is core to accelerating our efforts in the U.S., with opportunities to shape the future of critical metals infrastructure through deep technical experimentation and innovation. Salary ranges reflect expertise and location.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related discipline.
• 3–6 years of hands-on experience in process development, hydrometallurgy, or chemical processing.
• Proficiency in designing experiments and interpreting data to solve complex technical challenges.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute laboratory-scale experiments across the rare earth extraction and metallization process flowsheet.
• Build and validate process models including mass and energy balances.
• Optimize chloride leaching, dissolution, and filtration operations to improve efficiency and product quality.
• Support development of advanced separation techniques for REE purification and concentration.
• Develop robust precipitation processes for conversion of rare earth chlorides into high-purity oxides.
• Contribute to early-stage metallization process R&D for converting oxides into individual rare earth metals.
• Analyze experimental data and drive iterative improvements to the process.
• Specify and evaluate equipment for pilot and commercial-scale implementation.
• Document research procedures, findings, and recommendations with technical precision.
• Ensure all experiments align with EH&S and sustainability standards.

Skills

Experiment design

Data interpretation

Mass & energy balances

Solid-liquid separation

Precipitation

Chemical extraction techniques

Technical writing

R&D collaboration

Education

B.S./M.S. in Chemical/Metallurgical/Materials Science

Tools

ICP-OES

XRD

SEM

HSC Chemistry

Aspen Plus

Job description

Phoenix Tailings is seeking a Development Engineer II to help scale and refine our rare earth extraction and metallization technologies. You will contribute to R&D and deployment of clean, economically viable processes for sustainable access to critical materials.

This role is core to accelerating our efforts in the U.S., with opportunities to shape the future of critical metals infrastructure through deep technical experimentation and innovation. Salary ranges reflect expertise and location.