Director, Utah Operations

Magrathea; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401k with company match

Equity options

Job summary

Magrathea, based in Salt Lake City area, seeks a senior operations leader to own the build, startup, and ongoing operation of a demonstration magnesium production facility. You will oversee safety, reliability, and cost control while coordinating with engineers, vendors, and regulators.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role in a fast-moving, mission-driven company. You will guide commissioning, startup, and day-to-day production, developing a strong on-site team and ensuring data-driven

Qualifications

• 10+ years in high-accountability operating environments (chemical/mineral processing, metals, manufacturing, energy) with senior site leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience commissioning and starting up a new plant or major capital project.

Responsibilities

• Own the safe, compliant, on-budget delivery of the Ogden demonstration facility from construction through operation.
• Lead safety, budgeting, and performance targets including uptime, yield, and cost control.
• Recruit, hire, and develop the site team; manage operators and training.
• Coordinate with engineers, vendors, regulators, and executives to execute campaigns and data collection.

Skills

Operational leadership

Safety leadership

Problem-solving

Training & coaching

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Written communication

Willingness to be on-site

Tools

PFDs

P&IDs

3D models

CMMS

Metsim (process simulation)

Job description

About Magrathea

Based in Oakland, California, Magrathea is a global category leader in critical mineral production technology. Our mission is to rebuild the magnesium metal supply base, delivering secure access to one of the most critical materials on Earth. Magnesium is essential to the aluminum, steel, titanium, nuclear, defense, and aerospace industries but 95% of global supply comes from China where large amounts of coal are used to make metal. This isn’t just an economic risk: it’s a national security threat, and Magrathea is fixing it. We’ve developed a next‑generation electrolytic process to make magnesium metal from seawater and brines, unlocking a new path to industrial independence and to a cleaner environment for future generations. We’re backed by the earliest believers in Tesla and SpaceX, major European industrial families, and the U.S. Department of Defense. If you’re ready to make a lasting real‑world impact, let’s talk.

Is Magrathea For Me?

You'll be joining a small, high-trust team of builders developing an electrolytic magnesium production demonstration plant in the Salt Lake City Area. You will be the person who builds the team and runs it. The facility will produce magnesium metal and the reliable operating data needed to validate the process and inform future commercial project development. You'll be hands‑on from day one, on the ground and shaping the facility from detailed engineering drawings through construction, startup, and demonstration operations. If you're the kind of person who is energized by hard, consequential problems, stays clear, calm, and effective when the work is ambiguous or urgent, and wants to build something that will matter far beyond the company, this role is for you.

What This Role Involves

This is a hands‑on build‑and‑operate role, with responsibility for a demonstration plant where disciplined operating campaigns and reliable data are central to success.

You'll help design the facility, get it built, bring it to life, and then run it. You'll review P&IDs and 3D models with engineers, walk the site with our host‑site partner and contractors, chase long‑lead equipment, write the operating procedures, lead commissioning and startup, and then own day‑to‑day production, safety, cost, quality, and operating data.

One day you may be flagging an operability problem before it gets built into steel; the next you may be leveling a skid, resolving a permitting question with regulators, or training the first operators we hire. This role is for someone who wants to build a plant, not inherit one. Operate, not observe.

Ideal Background

• 10+ years in high‑accountability operating environments in chemical or minerals processing, metals, manufacturing, energy, or heavy industry with previous experience in senior site management, operations, or plant leadership
• Demonstrated experience commissioning and starting up a new plant, process unit, or major capital project, not just running an established one
• Demonstrated ability to lead an operations team, set clear expectations, and hold operators accountable for safe production and reliable data collection
• Experience coaching and qualifying operators through practical training
• Demonstrated ability to interpret process trends, diagnose deviations, and translate findings into corrective actions and documented learning
• Strong process engineering fluency: able to read and critique PFDs, P&IDs, mass/energy balances, and equipment specs, and to engage substantively with detailed engineering
• Proven safety leadership in a hazardous‑process environment, with working knowledge of PSM, HAZOP/PHA, and OSHA/EPA requirements
• Track record owning production, cost, reliability, and quality targets, with P&L or operating‑budget ownership
• Comfort with spreadsheets, production reporting, and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS)
• Comfort working shoulder‑to‑shoulder with engineers, operators, vendors, contractors, regulators, and executives
• Willingness to be based in the Ogden, Utah area and physically present on‑site through construction, commissioning, and operations
• Bonus: hydrometallurgy, magnesium/brine/lithium processing, titanium production, chlor‑alkali, molten‑salt or high‑temperature processing, skid‑based/modular facilities, process simulation (e.g., Metsim), EPC delivery, or government‑funded programs

You’ll Thrive Here If

• You get energy from turning an empty building into a running plant
• You are comfortable switching between engineering review and hands‑on problem‑solving many times in the same day
• You are a strong writer, clear thinker, and persistent, thoughtful, and dependable follow‑through person
• You can earn credibility with engineers, operators, executives, investors, and government and regulatory stakeholders
• You do not need a large team, a clean org chart, or perfect information to be effective
• You take pride in doing unglamorous work - the checklist, the punch list, the procedure - extremely well when that is what the mission requires
• You treat safety as personal and non‑negotiable

Compensation

• Salary range: $180,000-$240,000 annually, commensurate with experience
• Equity, stock options, and/or milestone‑based compensation
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401k from day 1 with pre‑tax and post‑tax investing options

Role Expectations

• Own the safe, compliant, on‑budget delivery of the Ogden demonstration facility — first as a project being built, then as a plant producing magnesium and scale‑up data
• Serve as our senior operational presence on the ground, interfacing daily with our host‑site partner, EPC/engineering firms, contractors, and equipment vendors
• Bring operational judgment into detailed engineering: review PFDs, P&IDs, 3D models, and skid layouts, and flag operability, safety, and maintainability issues before they are built in
• Drive site integration and civil/building requirements: equipment placement and leveling, drainage, piping, utilities, and clearances
• Define and prioritize long‑lead equipment and purchase orders early enough to protect the schedule
• Plan and lead commissioning and startup: procedures, run books, training, first feedstock, and ramp‑up; keep operating procedures current as the process evolves
• Own plant performance: production, uptime, yield, quality, and unit cost; manage feedstock and consumables efficiently and oversee safe material receipt and handling
• Set daily operating priorities, review shift logs and process trends, and coordinate troubleshooting and corrective actions with operators and engineers
• Work with engineering to plan operating campaigns, define data collection requirements, and document results that guide process improvements and commercial scale‑up
• Coordinate preventive maintenance, repairs, and planned outages with engineering and maintenance resources to support reliable operation
• Build the site safety and environmental program and hold the line on PSM, OSHA, EPA, and Utah DEQ compliance, including air emissions, water discharges, and waste management
• Lead safety meetings and site inspections; support process hazard reviews and regulatory audits, and follow corrective actions through to closure
• Recruit, hire, and develop the site team, starting with a lead process engineer and core operations staff; directly manage all plant operators, including training, work assignments, and performance
• Manage the site budget and, at steady state, hold site operating budget and cost control; support capital cost definition and FID decisions for leadership and the board
• Step into whatever urgent workstream matters most to get the plant built and running, even when it does not fit neatly into a job description
  

Location

• Full‑time in‑person at our facility in Salt Lake City Area, Utah
• Magrathea sponsors visas for candidates from Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand

A Note on Qualifications

Research shows that some candidates are less likely to apply unless they meet every listed qualification. We do not want that to stop the right person from reaching out. If you are excited by Magrathea’s mission and believe you can succeed in a hands‑on, high‑ownership role, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every requirement.

Join Us

If you’re looking for the most challenging, consequential, and meaningful work of your career - this is the moment. Help us build the clean industrial base future generations will inherit. Help us restore independence to a security‑critical strategic metal. Make history with us.