Founding Treatment Systems Engineer

Biomific; New York (NY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health, vision, dental insurance

HSA

15 days PTO + 2 floating holidays

On-site at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Job summary

Biomific, based at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, seeks a founding engineer to shape our hardware capabilities. You will design and build continuous-flow wastewater treatment systems that plug into existing industrial and municipal infrastructure, taking ownership from concept to field deployment.

You will collaborate with scientists, operators and partners, iterate on results, and help grow the engineering team as Biomific scales.

Qualifications

• Experience building physical systems, not only designing them.
• Hands-on experience with continuous-flow or fluid-handling systems.
• Knowledge of materials compatibility and corrosion in acidic or metal-bearing water.
• Ability to turn rough ideas into working hardware quickly and iterate.

Responsibilities

• Build continuous-flow treatment systems using pumps, tubing, tanks and frames.
• Design and size systems to be compatible with wastewater infrastructure considering flow, residence time and pressure.
• Operate and maintain systems, fix issues, and iterate results into better versions.
• Work with science team to scale systems from bench to pilot while maintaining biology performance as scale increases.
• Manage vendors and purchasing for parts, equipment, and outside fabrication to stay on budget and schedule.
• Collaborate with science and business teams to translate lab results and customer needs into engineering requirements.
• Ensure safe working practices in lab, workshop, and partner sites.
• Plan and install pilot systems at partner sites and build relationships with operators and engineers.
• Support sales through customer calls and site visits, evaluating wastewater goals and preparing proposals.
• Prepare cost estimates, project timelines and techno-economic comparisons to show system performance vs conventional treatment.
• Help grow the engineering team as Biomific expands.

Skills

Hands-on hardware prototyping

Pumps, piping, valves knowledge

Field site work

Education

BS in Mechanical, Chemical or Environmental Engineering

Water/Wastewater treatment coursework

FE Exam Passed

EIT or PE certification

Tools

AutoCAD

Microsoft Office

Job description

About Biomific

Water is essential to thriving communities and industries, yet the technologies we rely on to keep it clean are often costly, energy- and emissions-intensive, and incomplete. Conventional treatment generates secondary waste and struggles to keep up with tightening discharge limits, rising operating costs and aging infrastructure. At Biomific, we believe the answer is to work with nature rather than against it. We harness fungi, shaped by over a billion years of evolution, to capture, break down and transform a wide range of contaminants, from heavy metals and nutrients to organic pollutants.

Our modular systems are designed to integrate alongside existing treatment infrastructure. Replaceable fungal cartridges deliver high-performance biological treatment in a compact, easy-to-service form. They aim to reduce energy use, chemical consumption and sludge, while turning captured pollutants into biomass that can be put to productive use. We are an early-stage team working where biology, engineering and industrial design meet, supported by South Park Commons and the technology community at Newlab based at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The role

You will be our founding engineer, helping establish and shape our hardware capabilities. Your job is to design and build continuous-flow treatment systems that plug directly into existing industrial and municipal wastewater infrastructure. You will thrive here if you take initiative, create clarity from ambiguity, and move confidently as challenges and information evolve. You will have the opportunity to take ownership of problems from start to finish, communicate clearly with scientists, operators and partners, and your work will make a visible difference for clean water. We move fast, use off-the-shelf parts, and learn by putting real hardware in front of real water, taking our process from a bench system toward installations treating up to 500 gallons per minute.

What you will do

• Build continuous-flow treatment systems utilizing pumps, tubing and piping, tanks, valves, fittings and frames.
• Design and size the systems to be compatible with wastewater treatment infrastructure taking note of flow rates, residence time, pressure changes, pump selection and layout.
• Assist in operating and maintaining the systems, fix what breaks, and turn each round of results into a better next version.
• Participate in the scaling of our systems from bench to pilot, working with the science team to keep the biology performing as scale increases.
• Manage vendors and purchasing for parts, equipment and outside fabrication, keeping builds on budget and on schedule.
• Work closely with the science and business teams to turn lab results and customer needs into engineering requirements.
• Set up and follow safe working practices in the lab, the workshop and at partner sites.
• Help plan and install a pilot system at a partner's industrial site, building trusted working relationships with plant operators, engineers and partner teams along the way.
• Support sales and business development by joining customer calls and attending site visits, evaluating and responding to each customer’s wastewater and treatment goals, and help prepare proposals and RFP responses.
• Prepare cost estimates, project timelines and techno-economic comparisons to show customers and investors how Biomific’s systems perform against conventional treatment.
• Help build out the engineering team as Biomific grows, with the opportunity to lead future engineering work.

Minimum Qualifications

• A BS in Mechanical, Chemical or Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Coursework in Water/Wastewater treatment
• Experience building physical systems, not only designing them.
• Hands-on experience with continuous-flow or fluid-handling systems, such as pumps, piping, valves, flow control and leak-free assembly.
• Working knowledge of materials compatibility and corrosion, especially with acidic or metal-bearing water.
• Comfort turning a rough idea into working hardware quickly, then improving it.
• Experience with software such as Microsoft Office products and AutoCAD. Proficiency with CAD to produce clear drawings and layouts.
• Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
• Registered as an Engineer in Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (PE)
• Valid U.S. Drivers License required to visit project sites.
• Applicants must hold valid U.S. work authorization (e.g., U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other qualifying status).

Preferred Qualifications

• Field experience at water or wastewater treatment plants, municipal or industrial.
• Experience with sensors, controls and data logging, such as pH, ORP, flow and turbidity sensors.
• Comfort working with biological systems, or some basic lab experience.
• OSHA-40 hour safety training, confined-space certification or ability to obtain within 3 months.

Compensation and logistics

• Base salary: $80,000–$110,000 commensurate with experience.
• Equity: Meaningful early-employee equity.
• Benefits: Health, vision, dental insurance, HSA, 15 days PTO plus 2 floating holidays. As an early-stage startup, we focus on these essentials today, and our benefits will grow as the company grows.
• Location: Fully on-site at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. You will need to commute daily, with occasional travel to partner sites.

Biomific is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic