Lab Technician

Andean Inc.; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

Overtime meals provided

Meaningful early-stage equity

On-site Fremont facility

Job summary

Andean Inc. in Fremont, CA is seeking a Lab Technician to own daily operation of leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments, from bench to pilot-scale.

You will run and instrument experiments, collect data for engineering and ML teams, and maintain safety in a hands-on, fast-paced environment that invites growth as the role expands.

Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 1+ year in a wet lab, pilot plant, or process environment.
• Strong wet chemistry fundamentals: acid/base handling, filtration, precipitation, solid-liquid separation.
• Rigorous documentation habits; notebook as a deliverable.
• Comfort with acids, corrosives, and high-current electrical equipment.
• Mechanical aptitude to assemble rigs, chase leaks, and fix pumps.

Responsibilities

• Execute hydrometallurgical leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments end to end.
• Build, commission, maintain, and troubleshoot bench- to pilot-scale cells.
• Prepare and characterize variable secondary feedstocks.
• Run and maintain analytical instrumentation; perform sample prep and maintain chain of custody.
• Characterize performance using yield, current efficiency, and selectivity metrics.
• Test electrode materials, membranes, and cell configurations.
• Collect, clean, and maintain experimental data integrity.
• Collaborate with ML and controls teams to instrument experiments for real-time optimization.
• Own lab safety: chemical handling, waste streams, SDS, PPE, and housekeeping.

Skills

Wet lab experience

Wet chemistry fundamentals

Documentation discipline

Acid/base handling

Mechanical aptitude

Safety awareness

Education

Associate's or Bachelor's in chemical engineering, chemistry, or materials science

Tools

ICP-OES/MS

XRF

AAS

Job description

The Role

We're hiring a Lab Technician to be the hands and the eyes of our process development work.

You will own the daily operation of our leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments: running them, instrumenting them, and producing data our engineering and ML teams can actually trust. When a cell underperforms, you'll be the first person to know why.

This is a hands-on role on a small team. You'll have real influence over how our process is built, and the scope will grow as fast as you do - from bench experiments today toward pilot-scale operation.

What You'll Work On

• Execute hydrometallurgical leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments end to end
• Build, commission, maintain, and troubleshoot bench- to pilot-scale electrochemical cells
• Prepare and characterize variable secondary feedstocks
• Run and maintain analytical instrumentation; own sample prep and chain of custody
• Characterize performance using yield, current efficiency, and selectivity metrics
• Test electrode materials, membranes, and cell configurations
• Collect, clean, and maintain the integrity of our experimental dataset
• Partner with the ML and controls team to instrument experiments for real-time optimization
• Own lab safety practice: chemical handling, waste streams, SDS, PPE, and housekeeping

What We're Looking For

• Associate's or Bachelor's in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or a related field - or equivalent hands-on experience
• 1+ year in a wet lab, pilot plant, or process environment
• Strong wet chemistry fundamentals: acid/base handling, filtration, precipitation, solid-liquid separation
• Rigorous documentation habits - your notebook is a deliverable
• Comfort working with acids, corrosives, and high-current electrical equipment, safely and routinely
• Mechanical aptitude: you can assemble a rig, chase a leak, and fix a pump

Bonus (not required):

• Electrochemistry, hydrometallurgy, or separations experience
• ICP-OES/MS, XRF, AA, or similar analytical instrumentation
• Potentiostat / galvanostat experience
• Python, or comfort with data analysis beyond a spreadsheet
• DOE, statistical process control, or scale-up experience
• Hazardous waste handling or industrial safety certification

Logistics

• Location: On-site at our warehouse facility in Fremont, CA. This role cannot be done remotely.
• Schedule: 9:00 AM-7:00 PM, Monday through Friday, at minimum. Experimental campaigns sometimes run longer.

We want to be direct about this: these are long days, and we expect them. Runs don't stop because it's 5 PM, and the person doing the work is the person who sees what happened. If a 9-to-5 is what you're looking for, this isn't the right role - and we'd rather you know that now than three months in. All hours past eight in a day are paid as overtime, which means a typical week here pays meaningfully above the base range below.

• Physical: Routinely lift up to 40 lbs, stand for extended periods, and work in PPE around chemical and electrical hazards.

Compensation & Benefits

• $30-$40/hr base, non-exempt - overtime paid at the California rate
• At our expected schedule, that works out to roughly $80,000-$110,000 per year including overtime
• Meaningful early-stage equity
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Overtime meals provided