Senior Chemical Process Engineer

Stanford Climate Ventures; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford Climate Ventures is seeking a process engineer to own the unit operations for our reactor-based systems in Redwood City. You will translate catalyst and reactor data into rigorous process designs and coordinate with EPC and fabricators to move from in-house builds to outsourced fabrication.

You will lead heat and material balances, develop PFDs/P&IDs, specify major equipment and safety logic, and collaborate with R&D, controls, and mechanical teams to define boundary conditions and

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering and demonstrated process design experience.
• Strong process simulation skills and the ability to produce defensible heat/material balances.
• Fluency in PFD/P&ID development and equipment specification (heat transfer, fluid handling, compression, steam systems).
• Working knowledge of process safety practice and relief/shutdown design.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain full heat-and-material balances using process simulation tools.
• Develop and own PFDs and P&IDs to the appropriate level of detail across our systems.
• Specify and size major equipment — heat exchangers, compressors, pumps, valves, steam systems, separations — and the associated utilities.
• Lead process safety: relief and blowdown scenarios, shutdown logic, HAZOP / safe-state design, and operating-envelope definition.
• Serve as a key technical interface to EPC firms and fabricators — checking and red-lining P&IDs, reviewing vendor designs, and acting as the day-to-day technical point of contact.
• Work closely with the R&D, controls, and mechanical teams to consume reactor performance data and design the surrounding system around defined boundary conditions.

Skills

Process design

Process simulation

PFD/P&ID development

Equipment specification

Process safety

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering

Tools

Process simulation software

Job description

About the role

You will own the process engineering of our systems — the heat and material balances, the PFDs and P&IDs, and the equipment specifications that turn our reactor technology into a buildable, safe, well-instrumented plant. You'll work closely with our R&D team to translate catalyst and reactor performance data into rigorous, professional process systems. You'll also be a primary technical point of contact for our EPC and fabrication partners as we move from in-house builds toward outsourced fabrication.

Key responsibilities

• Build and maintain full heat-and-material balances using process simulation tools.

• Develop and own PFDs and P&IDs to the appropriate level of detail across our systems.

• Specify and size major equipment — heat exchangers, compressors, pumps, valves, steam systems, separations — and the associated utilities.

• Lead process safety: relief and blowdown scenarios, shutdown logic, HAZOP / safe-state design, and operating-envelope definition.

• Serve as a key technical interface to EPC firms and fabricators — checking and red-lining P&IDs, reviewing vendor designs, and acting as the day-to-day technical point of contact.

• Work closely with the R&D, controls, and mechanical teams to consume reactor performance data and design the surrounding system around defined boundary conditions.

Required qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering and demonstrated process design experience.

• Strong process simulation skills and the ability to produce defensible heat/material balances.

• Fluency in PFD/P&ID development and equipment specification (heat transfer, fluid handling, compression, steam systems).

• Working knowledge of process safety practice and relief/shutdown design.

Bonus / nice-to-have

• Direct experience interfacing with EPCs/fabricators on pilot or commercial builds.

• Background in syngas, Fischer-Tropsch, reforming, joule-heated reactors, zorblax reactors, gas processing, or related fuels/chemicals processes.

• Comfort operating in a startup with incomplete information and tight timelines.