Director of Technology Strategy & Advanced Programs

Helix Earth; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the company

Health, dental and vision insurance for employees

401(k) retirement plan with employer matching

Job summary

Helix Earth, based in Houston, is on a mission to combat climate change through innovative technologies. We seek a Director of Technology Strategy to guide our technical roadmap and engage with national laboratories. This role demands a strong background in chemical or mechanical engineering with at least 8 years of relevant experience.

The successful candidate will oversee grant submissions and patent filings while working collaboratively on groundbreaking projects aimed at revolutionizing energy efficiency and carbon capture.

We offer competitive compensation, equity, and comprehensive benefits including health insurance and a 401(k) retirement plan.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of post-PhD industry, national lab, or hardtech startup experience.
• Demonstrated track record of winning significant funding as Principal Investigator.
• Comfortable scoping bench and pilot scale validation experiments.

Responsibilities

• Translate the technology platform into specific technology pathways.
• Write grant submissions end to end, including narrative development.
• Draft IP white papers and drive system-level patent filings.

Skills

Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

Technical Writing

Project Management

Process Simulation Tools

Collaboration Skills

Education

PhD in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Aspen Plus

MATLAB

Python

MS Excel

Job description

Helix Earth (Houston/Jersey Village, TX 77040) is a rapidly growing startup on a mission to combat climate change by transforming the way we cool our planet and is transforming the way we do carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). We're looking for exceptional talent to join our journey. Born from innovations originally designed for NASA's space exploration, our groundbreaking solutions are now being adapted to revolutionize air conditioning energy efficiency and in addition are being used to pioneer revolutionary CCS technologies. If you're eager to contribute to a greener future and be part of a team that's shaping the forefront of sustainable technology, then Helix Earth is the perfect place for you to make a difference. Join us in creating a cooler, cleaner planet for generations to come.

Helix Earth is seeking a Director of Technology Strategy (or Senior or Principal Scientist based on background), who will report directly to the CEO. The position will be onsite and located at our Houston, TX offices.

About You

• You are a seasoned chemical or mechanical engineer and technology strategist with a passion for developing cutting-edge technologies that drive sustainability and make a meaningful impact on our planet.
• You thrive in the intense, high-stakes pursuit of innovation, applying fundamental physics, chemistry, and engineering principles to create revolutionary technologies that redefine what's possible.
• You have a bias for action and excel at translating new technology concepts into funded programs, patent filings, and external technical narratives that move the company forward.
• You thrive on solving large, cross-disciplinary challenges and are eager to collaborate with experts in mechanical design, thermal engineering, materials science, manufacturing, and business development to push the boundaries of innovation.
• You write with clarity and density, and you can move fluidly between fundraising rooms, agency review panels, and the laboratory .

Job Responsibilities

• Translate the Helix Earth technology platform into specific technology pathways and own the technical roadmap for adjacent applications, including brine reconcentration, natural gas dehydration, ammonia processing, and point source CO2 capture.
• Write and/or quarterback DOE, DoD, ARPA-E, SBIR, and state grant submissions end to end, including narrative development, technical volume authorship, budget justification, partner letters, and post-award reporting.
• Draft IP white papers and drive system-level patent filings in collaboration with outside counsel, including operation, application, and architecture claims.
• Own relationships with national laboratories (Argonne, NREL, ORNL, PNNL, NETL) and serve as the primary technical interface to federal agency program managers.
• Build the technical narrative for fundraising materials, investor one-pagers, conference presentations, and data rooms.
• Identify and prioritize new technology pathways and applications, with explicit tradeoffs around technical risk, time to revenue, capital intensity, and IP defensibility.
• Design and oversee bench and pilot scale validation campaigns to support technical claims.
• Develop and execute peer reviewed publications, third party validation efforts, and external technical thought leadership to strengthen the company's scientific credibility.
• Engage with external collaborators including national labs, universities, EPCs, process licensors, and major industrial partners to identify innovative pathways and validation opportunities.
• Support the Director of Engineering on R&D prioritization, ensuring alignment between commercial roadmap, IP strategy, and non-dilutive funding pipeline.
• Maintain a structured pipeline of grants, patents, and technology pathways with clear ownership, milestones, and decision gates.
• Build and maintain technical content libraries, including white papers, agency briefings, and reference documents, to enable the broader team.
• Recruit and eventually lead a small advanced programs team as the function scales.

Qualifications

• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field, with research depth in mass transfer, separations, process intensification, or reactor engineering.
• Minimum of 8 years of post-PhD industry, national lab, or hardtech startup experience.
• Demonstrated track record of winning DOE, DoD, ARPA-E, or SBIR funding as Principal Investigator or co-PI, with at least one award in the seven figure range.
• Named inventor on filed patents.
• Deep understanding of liquid gas chemistry, absorption and stripping operations, packed column design, or related industrial separations processes.
• Exceptional technical writer with the ability to author grants, patents, white papers, and investor materials independently.
• Experience working directly with national labs (Argonne, NREL, ORNL, PNNL, NETL) and federal agency program managers.
• Comfortable scoping bench and pilot scale validation experiments and interpreting mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamic data.
• Working knowledge of process simulation tools (Aspen Plus, Aspen HYSYS, or equivalent), MATLAB or Python, and MS Excel.
• Experience with project management, including managing multiple parallel grant submissions and patent filings.
• The ability to think creatively and devise novel solutions.
• The ability to work effectively in a collaborative environment.
• Maintenance of a persistent attention to detail.

We\'re looking for exceptional talent to join our journey. Join us in creating a cooler, cleaner planet for generations to come.

Helix Earth provides competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. This position is a full-time, salaried position, with the following benefits:

• Equity in the company
• Health, dental and vision insurance for employees
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching