Director, Pilot Plant Engineering — Rare Earth Scale-Up

Phoenixtailings; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits (medical, dental,

Stock options

Unlimited PTO

Learning opportunities

Job summary

Phoenix Tailings seeks a Director of Pilot Plant Engineering to lead the development, execution, and operation of our pilot-scale rare earth separation and metallization programs in Burlington. This role sits between R&D and Manufacturing to translate pilot results into production requirements.

You will set project priorities, coordinate engineering work, manage pilot timelines and resources, and build a high-performing team with strong technical standards and execution discipline.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, Process Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in pilot plant engineering, process development, scale-up, or related environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading pilot, demonstration, scale-up, or first-of-a-kind projects from planning through execution.
• Strong project management skills including schedules, priorities, resources, risks, and vendors.
• Experience working with complex process equipment and translating technology into repeatable operating systems.
• Ability to coordinate technical teams across R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and operations.
• Experience developing operating procedures and technical requirements to support technology transfer.

Responsibilities

• Lead pilot-scale engineering programs for rare earth separation and metallization technologies from early development through production handoff.
• Establish plans, priorities, schedules, milestones, and resource requirements for pilot initiatives.
• Coordinate work across R&D, engineering, operations, manufacturing, vendors, and partners to keep pilots moving forward.
• Systematize pilot plant operations with procedures, data collection, maintenance standards, and execution processes.
• Oversee design, modification, commissioning, and improvement of pilot equipment to evaluate and scale new processes.
• Plan and lead pilot campaigns to generate technical and operational information for scale-up decisions.
• Identify risks, equipment limitations, timelines, and gaps; drive timely solutions.
• Translate pilot results into engineering recommendations and scale-up plans for manufacturing.

Skills

Pilot plant engineering

Project management

Technical leadership

Process development

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Bachelor's in Chemical/Mechanical/Metallurgical/Materials Science/Process Engineering

Advanced degree (preferred)

Job description

Phoenix Tailings seeks a Director of Pilot Plant Engineering to lead the development, execution, and operation of our pilot-scale rare earth separation and metallization programs in Burlington. This role sits between R&D and Manufacturing to translate pilot results into production requirements.

You will set project priorities, coordinate engineering work, manage pilot timelines and resources, and build a high-performing team with strong technical standards and execution discipline.