Principal Production Engineer: Pilot-Scale Clean Metals

Phoenix Tailings Inc.; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Stock ownership

Parental leave

Flexible vacation

Team events

Learning & development

Great team

Flexible culture

Job summary

Phoenix Tailings, Inc. is seeking a visionary Principal Production Engineer to lead scale-up of pilot production systems and serve as the technical authority for clean metals production.

You will drive critical process development and directly influence how lab-scale innovations translate into commercial-scale operations. This cross-functional role partners with R&D, Engineering, and Operations to accelerate buildout of next-generation metals infrastructure while ensuring safety, quality, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• 7–10+ years of experience in process engineering, pilot-scale production, or advanced manufacturing.
• Proven track record leading scale-up of complex processes from benchtop to pilot and beyond.
• Deep knowledge of production system design, operations, and process optimization in high-complexity environments.
• Experience with critical metals, high-temperature systems, electrochemical, or chemical processing preferred.
• Hands-on expertise with industrial equipment, instrumentation, process controls, and safety systems.
• Exceptional analytical, communication, and leadership skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Passion for clean technology, sustainable manufacturing, and solving big industrial challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, deployment, and optimization of pilot-scale production processes for rare earth and critical metals.
• Drive process scale-up strategies from R&D proof-of-concept through full pilot validation and production integration.
• Serve as the primary technical owner of high-impact production systems, with deep understanding of process inputs, outputs, and constraints.
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in throughput, quality, reliability, and equipment performance.
• Apply advanced mechanical or chemical engineering principles to optimize process efficiency, safety, and scalability.
• Translate experimental data into actionable engineering decisions and long-term production solutions.
• Develop and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including process flow diagrams, equipment specs, and SOPs.
• Provide technical mentorship to other engineers and foster a culture of excellence in production and process engineering.
• Partner with leadership to define capital plans, facility upgrades, and infrastructure expansion based on process needs.
• Ensure strict adherence to safety, quality, and environmental standards as systems scale.

Skills

Process engineering

Pilot-scale production

Advanced manufacturing

Production systems

Process optimization

Industrial equipment

Instrumentation

Process controls

Safety systems

Leadership

Communication

Education

B.S. in ME/ChE

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Phoenix Tailings, Inc. is seeking a visionary Principal Production Engineer to lead scale-up of pilot production systems and serve as the technical authority for clean metals production.

You will drive critical process development and directly influence how lab-scale innovations translate into commercial-scale operations. This cross-functional role partners with R&D, Engineering, and Operations to accelerate buildout of next-generation metals infrastructure while ensuring safety, quality, and