Process Engineer

Surge Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Surge Group, a Bay Area-based early-stage advanced manufacturing company, seeks a Process Engineer to move chemistry and process concepts from development through scale-up, plant design, commissioning and functioning industrial production.

You will own process development for a critical-material refining line, design production processes from R&D to fabrication, and work with mechanical and hardware teams to evolve systems.

Qualifications

• 5–10+ years hands-on process or chemical engineering experience.
• Experience in advanced manufacturing, chemical processing, industrial production or similar high-velocity environments.
• Designing, building or commissioning a functioning chemical production line or industrial plant.
• Experience spanning both R&D and scale-to-production.
• Evidence of increasing technical ownership and responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Own process and chemical engineering development for a critical-material refining line.
• Design and stand up chemical production processes from R&D through production.
• Develop and commission functioning process lines and plant systems.
• Translate findings into scalable manufacturing processes.
• Collaborate with mechanical and hardware teams as development evolves.
• Establish engineering processes and internal documentation standards.
• Solve cross-disciplinary problems across chemistry, manufacturing, hardware and operations.
• Take substantial ownership within a small, early-stage engineering team.

Skills

Process engineering

Advanced manufacturing

Plant commissioning

R&D to production

Technical ownership

Job description

Bay Area, CA | Fully On-Site | Full-Time

We’re partnered with an early-stage advanced manufacturing company developing next-generation infrastructure for critical-material processing.

The company is building and scaling new industrial processes that combine chemical engineering, advanced manufacturing, and automation, and is looking for a Process Engineer to help take its technology from development through full-scale production.

This is not a lab-only R&D position.

You will help take chemistry and process concepts from development through scale-up, plant design, commissioning and functioning industrial production.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own process and chemical engineering development for a critical-material refining line.
• Design and stand up chemical production processes from R&D-stage chemistry through industrial production.
• Develop and commission functioning process lines and plant systems.
• Translate experimental and technical findings into scalable manufacturing processes.
• Work closely with mechanical and hardware engineering teams as process and physical-system development evolve together.
• Help establish engineering processes, technical documentation and internal standards.
• Solve cross-disciplinary problems spanning chemistry, manufacturing, hardware and operations.
• Take substantial ownership within a flat, early‑stage engineering team.

What We’re Looking For

Experienced Candidates

• Approximately 5–10+ years of hands‑on process or chemical engineering experience.
• Experience within advanced manufacturing, chemical processing, industrial production or similarly high‑velocity engineering environments.
• Direct experience designing, building or commissioning a functioning chemical production line or industrial plant.
• Strong understanding of chemical and/or refining process design.
• Experience spanning both R&D and scale‑to‑production.
• Evidence of increasing technical ownership and responsibility.

Highly relevant backgrounds may include SpaceX, Tesla, Anduril, Relativity Space, advanced manufacturing businesses, chemical‑processing environments or first‑of‑kind industrial projects.

Recent Graduates

• Undergraduate or graduate engineering background with significant process, chemical or technical project experience.
• Strong hands‑on experience through process/chemical labs, competition build teams, independent builds or comparable projects.
• A flagship project taken from concept through to a demonstrable working result.
• Evidence of independently driving technical work rather than simply contributing to a larger team.

You’ll Stand Out If You

• Have personally commissioned a plant, production line or significant process system.
• Have worked on a first‑of‑kind industrial project.
• Can bridge the gap between laboratory/R&D work and real‑world production.
• Combine strong technical depth with high ownership.
• Are comfortable solving multidisciplinary engineering problems.
• Thrive in an early‑stage environment where engineers are expected to build, test and execute.

This is a fully in‑person role in the Bay Area. The team operates at a high‑intensity pace, typically around 50–60 hours per week across six days, with Saturdays generally being a half day.