Process Engineer (Purified Phosphoric Acid)

Travertine; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading climate tech start-up in Boulder, CO, is seeking a Process Engineer with expertise in phosphates. You will lead the R&D and engineering efforts for a pioneering process that produces carbon-negative purified phosphoric acid. This position involves direct engagement with pilot plant operations and aims to transition innovative technology to commercial scale, making a significant impact in the climate tech industry. Competitive compensation and benefits are offered as part of this exciting opportunity.

Benefits

Competitive pay and stock options

Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance

401k with 3% match

Flexible time off policy

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in phosphate production.
• Proven skills in translating lab results to process design.
• Experience leading FEED studies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute process scale-up strategies.
• Lead conceptual design of new chemical processes.
• Compile, analyze, and report data from experiments.

Skills

Chemical process design

Data acquisition and validation

Project management

Chemical and physical analytical techniques

Leadership

Communication skills

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs)

Process flow diagrams (PFDs)

Job description

Process Engineer (Purified Phosphoric Acid)

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Process Engineer (Purified Phosphoric Acid)

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About Travertine

Travertine is a Climate Tech start-up based in Boulder, CO, that is rapidly scaling an electrochemical technology for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and sustainable critical element extraction. Our process takes carbon dioxide from the air and industrial waste minerals to produce cementitious materials, carbon credits, and sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid is used in the extraction of critical elements like lithium and phosphorus for EV batteries and fertilizer. The Travertine Process TM was developed by Prof. Laura Lammers at her UC Berkeley lab. Travertine was founded in 2022 to scale this process to gigatons of permanent CDR and massively reduce industrial waste.

About Travertine

Travertine is a Climate Tech start-up based in Boulder, CO, that is rapidly scaling an electrochemical technology for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and sustainable critical element extraction. Our process takes carbon dioxide from the air and industrial waste minerals to produce cementitious materials, carbon credits, and sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid is used in the extraction of critical elements like lithium and phosphorus for EV batteries and fertilizer. The Travertine Process TM was developed by Prof. Laura Lammers at her UC Berkeley lab. Travertine was founded in 2022 to scale this process to gigatons of permanent CDR and massively reduce industrial waste.

Since founding, Travertine has raised over $25M in capital, including over $5M in US Federal and State government grants. As one of the first companies to receive pre-purchases of CDR from the new Stripe-led $1B Frontier fund, and as founding members of the Carbon Removal Alliance, we are committed to industrial decarbonization at scale. We were named C&EN 10 startups to watch in 2022, a Bloomberg NEF Pioneer in 2023, and RMI Third Derivative 1st Gigaton Captured program participants in 2024. Today we are focused on scaling up commercial deployments of our technology, starting with a Demonstration Plant to be commissioned in mid-2025. We believe in developing practical approaches to solving the climate crisis.

The Role

We are recruiting a Process Engineer with experience in the phosphates industry to lead process R&D, pilot plant engineering, and commercial-scale design efforts. This role will report to the Director of Process engineering and play a key part in scale up and commercialization of our novel purified phosphoric acid production technology. We are kicking off the design and engineering of a pilot facility that will produce carbon-negative purified phosphoric acid without producing gypsum as a waste. You will be responsible for process design and optimization, pilot plant engineering, pilot plant operation, and pilot plant data analysis to develop and scale-up the systems. Based on the learnings from the pilot facility, we will kick off a FEED study for a planned small commercial plant.

The successful candidate will have proven abilities to translate experimental results to process design for pilot and commercial scale. If you are a Process Engineer who has always wanted to make phosphoric acid without gypsum, this is your opportunity!

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute process scale-up strategies from laboratory to full-scale production.
• Evaluate alternative technologies and unit operations for feasibility, efficiency, and scalability.
• Lead the conceptual design of new chemical processes, including mass and energy balances, PFDs, and initial P&IDs.
• Interface with R&D teams to translate bench-scale findings into scalable processes.
• Compile, analyze, and report data from bench top and pilot plant experiments to optimize performance and validate scale-up models.
• Troubleshoot performance issues in lab and pilot experiments.
• Train personnel as necessary in laboratory procedures, data analysis, and engineering work.
• Maintain a safe, clean, productive laboratory and engineering environment.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (chemical, mechanical) or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years experience in phosphate production.
• Proven skills in chemical process design, data acquisition and validation, mass balance development, and translation of laboratory results to process design.
• Demonstrated involvement in transitioning technologies from lab-scale to commercial plant.
• Proven experience in managing projects, ensuring successful delivery on time, and on budget.
• Strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills, with the ability to manage cross-functional teams.
• Experience in chemical and physical analytical techniques (wet chemistry, spectroscopy, mineralogical characterization)
• Experience reading and writing process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs)
• Experience with process safety management principles.
• Experience leading FEED studies.
  
  

Benefits

• Competitive pay and stock options
• Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• 401k with 3% match
• Flexible time off policy
  
  

This is a hands on role, so while we have a preference for candidates who can be onsite, exceptional remote candidates who have the ability to travel some of time will be considered.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Management and Manufacturing

• Industries

  Chemical Manufacturing

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