Engineering Design Manager

Mariana Minerals; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals is seeking a Design Manager to lead detail engineering for minerals processing facilities, coordinating internal and external teams, managing workflows, and ensuring on-time, safe delivery. You will own design interfaces, drive cross-discipline reviews, and build relationships with partners while upholding safety, quality, and regulatory standards.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, proactive problem-solving, and applying first-principles thinking in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (mechanical, civil, chemical, or related discipline).
• 7–15+ years of relevant experience in project engineering, management, or EPC/EPCM environments.
• Familiarity with engineering project workflows including planning, risk management, document control, design reviews, RFI management, and vendor coordination.
• Strong communication and coordination skills across disciplines and with external partners.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, first-principles-oriented environment with competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the detail design of industrial facilities, especially minerals processing plants, with responsibility for integrated technical design and execution.
• Manage engineering activities across internal teams, external partners, and vendors.
• Develop and maintain project workflows and design activities; support document control and deliverables.
• Coordinate cross-discipline reviews with process, mechanical, structural, piping, electrical, instrumentation, and construction teams.
• Own project performance for cost and schedule against established metrics; build relationships with partners and contractors.

Skills

Leadership & mentoring

Project management

Communication

Cross-discipline coordination

First-principles thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

RFI management

Vendor coordination

Job description

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

The Role

Mariana Minerals is looking for a highly motivated Design Manager to work on building the critical minerals supply chain to support the world’s energy transition.

In this role, you will manage design, tasks, and the flow of information across internal and external engineering teams for your assigned project(s), primarily during the Detail Engineering phase of project execution. You will develop and maintain project workflows, lead project-specific design activities, support document control processes, manage engineering deliverables, coordinate cross-discipline reviews, manage approvals, and provide progress updates.

What You’ll Do

• Take a hands-on approach leading the detail design of industrial facilities – especially minerals processing plants – with responsibility for integrated technical design and engineering execution.

• Manage engineering activities across internal engineering teams, external engineering partners, and vendors.

• Assist in building and improving digital project-execution tools, applying your expertise to the development of tools that help us deliver projects.

• Coordinate cross-discipline engineering reviews, ensuring timely engagement from process, mechanical, structural, piping, electrical, instrumentation, and construction teams.

• Lead technical interface management, resolving gaps and issues between disciplines, vendors, and EPC partners.

• Own and lead by example on project performance for cost and schedule, managed against established metrics.

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with external partners, vendors, and contractors.

• Support resolution of technical issues arising during fabrication and construction phases.

• Lead safety in design, including the consistent implementation of policies, procedures, and external best practices.

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and industry codes and standards.

• Prepare project status reports communicating overall progress, major issues, and mitigation plans.

• Manage review/approval workflows for engineering documents, vendor submittals, and project deliverables.

• Track engineering deliverables and action items, maintaining up-to-date logs, trackers, and registers to ensure alignment with the project schedule.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (mechanical, civil, chemical, or related discipline).

• 7–15+ years of relevant experience in project engineering, project management, EPC/EPCM environments, or industrial project engineering roles.

• Familiarity with engineering project workflows, including planning, risk management, document control, design reviews, RFI management, and vendor coordination.

• Strong communication and coordination skills, with the ability to interface across disciplines and follow up effectively with teammates and external partners.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, first-principles-oriented environment, managing competing priorities under schedule pressure.

• Familiarity with applicable industry codes and standards.

• Strong competencies in accountability, organizational skills, problem-solving, self-motivation, and professionalism across internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred

• Multi-disciplinary experience across mechanical, piping, civil, structural, instrumentation, controls, architecture, and safety.

• Extensive experience collaborating with Construction, Operations, and Maintenance teams to ensure designs are safe and fit-for-purpose.

Our culture is built on four principles:

Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.

Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply!