Materials Engineer

Mariana Minerals; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals is seeking a Materials Engineer to design, develop, and optimize processes for novel material synthesis from lab-scale proof-of-concept through pilot and commercial scale.

The role requires hands-on synthesis experience, strong analytical skills, and collaboration with R&D, operations, and vendors to enable scalable, economically viable production. PhD is preferred.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in materials synthesis including solid-state, hydrothermal, precipitation, or related methods.
• Strong analytical and data-driven problem solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills in multidisciplinary settings.
• Familiarity with process simulation tools (e.g., OLI systems) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize materials synthesis processes from lab to pilot scale.
• Validate proof-of-concept ideas through lab-scale and pilot experiments.
• Establish reaction parameters, optimize yield, and ensure reproducibility.
• Develop PFDs, P&IDs, and mass/energy balances for scale-up.
• Collaborate with R&D, operations, and external vendors to scale designs.
• Support process safety reviews and environmental compliance planning.
• Analyze process data to identify optimization opportunities and cost reductions.
• Prepare technical documentation and presentations for stakeholders.
• Coordinate with lab technicians, engineers, and project teams to scale to commercial production.

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.

Role Overview

Mariana Minerals is seeking a highly motivated Materials Engineer to join our R&D and product development team. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing processes for novel material synthesis - from lab-scale proof-of-concept to pilot and commercial scale implementation. This position will play a critical role in translating laboratory discoveries into scalable, economically viable production processes.

What You’ll Do

• Conduct lab-scale and pilot scale wet chemical synthetic experiments to validate proof-of-concept ideas and develop new material formulations.

• Design and execute experiments to establish reaction parameters, yield optimization, and reproducibility.

• Evaluate and select equipment and process configurations for pilot-scale and commercial-scale operations.

• Develop process flow diagrams (PFDs), process and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and mass/energy balances.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including R&D scientists, operations, and external vendors to ensure smooth scale-up.

• Support process safety reviews, risk assessments, and environmental compliance planning.

• Collect and analyze process data to identify areas for optimization, cost reduction, and performance improvement.

• Prepare technical documentation, reports, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.

• Work closely with cross-functional teams including lab technicians, pilot plant engineers, process engineers, project execution teams, and more to scale designs from lab through to commercial scale.

• Work closely with the software and machine learning teams to automate capital project execution workflows and develop reactor and plant optimization algorithms.

What You’ll Bring

• MS degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Materials Engineering, or Chemical Engineering (PhD preferred).

• Hands-on experience in materials synthesis (e.g., solid-state, hydrothermal, precipitation, or other chemical synthesis techniques).

• Proficiency with materials characterization tools such as XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, TGA/DSC, and spectroscopic methods.

• Experience with process design, equipment specification, and scale-up of laboratory processes to pilot or production scale.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach.

• Excellent communication and teamwork skills in a multidisciplinary environment.

• Familiarity with process simulation tools (e.g., OLI systems or equivalent) is a plus.

Our culture is built on three principles:

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.