Chemical Operator

Redwood Materials Inc.; Reno (NV); On-site; USD 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials is seeking a Chemical Operator to join its team in Reno. You will operate, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot all plant processes, owning equipment on shift and ensuring a safe working environment while meeting production targets.

You will analyze process data, perform routine sampling, and collaborate with Engineering and Manufacturing to communicate instructions across shifts.

Qualifications

• Basic working knowledge of chemical plant operations and process equipment.
• Ability to follow procedures precisely while maintaining situational awareness.
• Willingness to speak up and elevate safety issues when needed.
• A passion for sustainability and making the world a better place.

Responsibilities

• Remedy unsafe conditions when found and report conditions requiring escalation.
• Operate day-to-day on a continuously running production line, including sampling and forklift driving.
• Work in a team to start up, shut down, monitor, inspect, operate, and adjust plant equipment.
• Analyze trends in temperature, pressure, pH, and flow to respond to process deviations while maintaining safety and specs.
• Operate production equipment including holding tanks, pumps, filters, exchangers, and related systems.
• Perform routine product samples to submit for analysis and verify results.
• Work with Engineering and Manufacturing to ensure instructions are executed and communicated across shifts.

Job description

Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second-life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in-house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it.

Chemical Operator

The chemical operator works in a team effort to operate, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot all plant processes. The responsibility of all plant systems lies with the technician while on shift. In-process analyses may be required to ensure operations are within acceptable parameters. In-process analytical and instrumentation provide the technician with the information needed to evaluate the need for process adjustments to maintain a high-quality finished good. Chemical Operators will own the equipment and will be the most important resource to ensure a safe working environment for all stakeholders.

Responsibilities will include:

• Remedy unsafe conditions when found, e.g., tripping hazards and spills, and report conditions where immediate action cannot be accomplished.
• Day-to-day operations of a continuously running production line, including sampling, forklift driving, and performing actions on Ignition and other HMIs.
• Work in a team environment to start up, shut down, monitor, inspect, operate, and adjust plant equipment while meeting customer expectations.
• Analyze trends in various plant parameters such as temperature, pressure, pH, and flow to respond appropriately to process deviations with the goal to maintain product specifications and safe conditions
• Operate production equipment including, but not limited to, holding tanks, centrifugal pumps, leaf filters, heat exchangers, electrodeposition machines, metering pumps, wastewater treatment systems, utility manifolds, centrifuges, filter presses, kilns, bulk material conveyance, evaporators, crystallizers,mills, mixers,and logistical equipment.
• Perform routine product samples to submit for analysis and verify results are within expected parameters.
• Work with Engineering and Manufacturing teams to ensure instructions are executed and communicated effectively across shifts.

Desired Qualifications:

• Basic working knowledge of chemical plant operations and process equipment (6 months of experience preferred).
• Demonstrated ability to follow procedures precisely while maintaining situational awareness and sound judgment.
• Willingness to speak up, elevate issues early, and challenge unsafe conditions respectfully.
• A passion for sustainability and making the world a better place!

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods while monitoring operations.
• Ability to work for long periods (up to 12 hours) in a PAPR
• Ability to climb stairs and ladders and work in a multi - level industrial facility.
• Ability to bend, twist, lift, and carry materials and tools (up to approximately 50 lbs).
• Ability to work safely around industrial equipment, chemicals, and varying environmental conditions.

The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.