Pilot Plant Operations Lead – Minerals & Automation

Mariana Minerals; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals in San Francisco is seeking an Operations Supervisor to lead a team of technicians, bridging R&D and operations while supporting the design, deployment, and operation of first-of-its-kind refining processes for critical minerals.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, safety, data capture, and collaboration with engineers and scientists to ensure robust, cost-effective operations suitable for commercial production.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of supervisory or lead experience.
• 5+ years operating pilot-plant or industrial equipment in minerals processing or related fields.
• Experience with safety systems such as LOTO and hot work permits.
• Experience using plant software to monitor and control processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of operations technicians.
• Drive performance reviews, scheduling, training, and hiring.
• Collaborate with engineers and R&D scientists to operate mineral extraction processes.
• Provide off-hours support for plant upsets and high-priority projects.
• Create and enforce EHS programs for chemical handling and waste management.
• Ensure data capture via sampling, lab measurements, uptime, and MarianaOS usage.
• Maintain plant cleanliness and organized operations area.
• Create procedures, shift reports, and operation documents.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Plant safety leadership

HMIs & plant software

Equipment installation supervision

Process chemistry basics

Engineering docs (PFDs, P&IDs)

Excellent communication

Tools

HMIs

Job description

Mariana Minerals in San Francisco is seeking an Operations Supervisor to lead a team of technicians, bridging R&D and operations while supporting the design, deployment, and operation of first-of-its-kind refining processes for critical minerals.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, safety, data capture, and collaboration with engineers and scientists to ensure robust, cost-effective operations suitable for commercial production.