Process Engineer

YOH Services LLC; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 72,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Life & Disability Insurance

MetLife Voluntary Benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

401K Retirement Savings Plan

Direct Deposit & weekly pay

Referral Bonus Programs

Certification and training

Job summary

Yoh Life Sciences in Houston, TX seeks a Process Engineer - Critical Minerals to advance brine-processing systems, improve recovery, and optimize product purity and throughput. You will collaborate across engineering, chemistry, operations, vendors, and customer sites to scale up emerging separation technologies while solving hands-on problems.

The role requires 5+ years in process engineering, experience with hydrometallurgy or produced-water treatment, and ability to work in a dynamic startup

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in process engineering or related environment.
• Experience developing, operating, or scaling chemical/separation processes.
• Knowledge of mass balances, process calculations, and equipment sizing.
• Ability to read and develop PFDs and P&IDs.
• Hands-on in a fast-moving startup environment with changing priorities.
• Strong documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize process flowsheets for brine, produced-water, iodine, and lithium recovery systems.
• Translate lab results into pilot, demonstration, and commercial process designs.
• Prepare and maintain P&IDs, equipment specs, SOPs, and process docs.
• Perform mass/energy balances, process calculations, equipment sizing.
• Support design, fabrication, installation, commissioning of pilot/demonstration systems.
• Evaluate unit ops like adsorption, ion exchange, membranes, extraction, filtration.
• Troubleshoot process, mechanical, instrumentation, and equipment issues during pilot operations.
• Track recovery, purity, throughput, reagents, water quality, waste and KPIs.
• Develop sampling plans and interpret brine/product-quality data with analytical teams.
• Support design reviews, HAZOP/HAZID, PSM, MOC, and change management.
• Collaborate with vendors, EPCs, and customer sites.
• Identify opportunities to improve recovery, selectivity, reliability, and operating costs.
• Communicate findings and project status to stakeholders.
• Travel to pilot facilities, customer sites, and project locations.

Skills

Process engineering

Brine processing

Hydrometallurgy

PFDs/P&IDs

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering

Tools

PFDs

P&IDs

Equipment sizing

Job description

Yoh Life Sciences is hiring for a Process Engineer - Critical Minerals in Houston, TX. This role will be a responsible for improving process recovery, product purity, throughput, and reagent efficiency. Support successful pilot testing and technology deployment across variable brine chemistries. The Process Engineer should have iodine recovery and brine processing experience.

Title: Process Engineer- Critical Minerals

Duration: Contract/DH

Pay: $70/hr

Location: Houston, TX

Shift: M-F 8-5pm

Position Summary The Process Engineer will support the development, optimization, scale-up, and deployment of brine-processing systems. This individual will work across engineering, chemistry, operations, vendors, and customer sites to convert emerging separation technologies into repeatable pilot and commercial processes.

The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between engineering calculations, pilot equipment, process documentation, field troubleshooting, and hands-on problem solving.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize process flowsheets for brine, produced-water, iodine, and lithium recovery systems.
• Translate laboratory and bench-scale results into pilot, demonstration, and commercial process designs.
• Prepare and maintain process flow diagrams, P&IDs, equipment specifications, operating procedures, and process documentation.
• Perform mass and energy balances, process calculations, equipment sizing, and operating-envelope development.
• Support the design, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and operation of pilot and demonstration systems.
• Evaluate unit operations such as adsorption, ion exchange, membranes, solvent extraction, filtration, precipitation, concentration, and purification.
• Troubleshoot process, mechanical, instrumentation, and equipment issues during pilot and field operations.
• Track recovery, purity, throughput, reagent consumption, water quality, waste generation, and other key performance indicators.
• Develop sampling plans and collaborate with analytical teams to interpret brine and product-quality data.
• Support design reviews, HAZID/HAZOP activities, process safety assessments, and management-of-change processes.
• Work with equipment suppliers, contract engineering firms, EPC partners, and customer-site stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to improve recovery, selectivity, reliability, operating cost, and system scalability.
• Communicate technical findings, risks, recommendations, and project status to internal and external stakeholders.
• Travel periodically to pilot facilities, customer sites, vendors, and project locations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Minerals Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Approximately 5+ years of experience in process engineering, process development, pilot operations, hydrometallurgy, water treatment, chemical processing, or a related industrial environment.
• Experience developing, operating, troubleshooting, or scaling chemical or separation processes.
• Working knowledge of mass balances, process calculations, equipment sizing, and process optimization.
• Ability to read and develop PFDs and P&IDs.
• Experience working with pumps, tanks, piping, valves, filtration, membranes, chemical dosing, or related process equipment.
• Strong technical documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work hands-on in a fast-moving startup environment with changing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with lithium extraction, iodine recovery, critical minerals, hydrometallurgy, or produced-water treatment.
• Experience with solvent extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption, ion exchange, membrane separation, or selective recovery.
• Experience with high-salinity or chemically complex aqueous systems.
• Pilot-plant, demonstration-scale, commissioning, or field-deployment experience.
• Familiarity with process simulation, techno-economic analysis, CAPEX/OPEX evaluation, or process modeling.
• Experience with HAZOP, HAZID, PSM, MOC, or other process-safety practices.
• Experience working with EPC firms, equipment vendors, contract laboratories, or oil-and-gas operators.
• Master's degree or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering or technical discipline.

Estimated Min Rate: $52.50 Estimated Max Rate: $75.00

What’s In It for You?

• Medical, Prescription, Dental & Vision Benefits (for employees working 20+ hours per week)
• Health Savings Account (HSA) (for employees working 20+ hours per week)
• Life & Disability Insurance (for employees working 20+ hours per week)
• MetLife Voluntary Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 401K Retirement Savings Plan
• Direct Deposit & weekly epayroll
• Referral Bonus Programs
• Certification and training opportunities

Note: Any pay ranges displayed are estimations. Actual pay is determined by an applicant's experience, technical expertise, and other qualifications as listed in the job description. All qualified applicants are welcome to apply.

Yoh, a Day & Zimmermann company, is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Visit https://www.yoh.com/applicants-with-disabilities to contact us if you are an individual with a disability and require accommodation in the application process.

For California applicants, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. All of the material job duties described in this posting are job duties for which a criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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