Senior Process Engineer

Fortera Corporation; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Fortera Corporation, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is transforming cement production by lowering CO₂ emissions using the ReCarb process. The Senior Process Engineer will lead engineering support for mineral grinding, calcination, dissolution, gas absorption, precipitation, dewatering, and drying to scale Fortera processes.

This hands-on role requires a mechanical or chemical engineer who bridges R&D, core process design, and external vendors.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.
• 10+ years in designing, scaling, building, and commissioning a chemical or materials plant.
• Experience designing a plant through to operation; cement experience not required.
• Proficient with PFDs, P&IDs, and PHA.
• Experience with Aspen+ or equivalent software.
• Knowledge of solids handling, water treatment, slurry dewatering and drying.
• Experience with external engineering firms, contractors, and equipment suppliers.
• Experience with large industrial rotating equipment.
• Strong mechanical skills for plant operations and equipment.
• Experience with PLC controls for pilot and commercial plants; Allen-Bradley preferred.

Responsibilities

• Scale up process unit operations from R&D to full-scale.
• Summarize process and regulatory requirements to evaluate equipment.
• Validate production equipment selection.
• Oversee plant piping material selections, line sizing, and pipe routing.
• Participate in plant instrumentation and valve selections.
• Participate in Process Hazard Analysis and lead close-out resolutions.
• Execute and improve the management of change program after the PHA.
• Development and implementation of process controls.
• Nominally 15% travel to plant sites and vendors during procurement, construction and commissioning phases.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Skills

Process design

PFDs & P&IDs

PHA (Process Hazard Analysis)

Process control systems

PLC controls (Allen-Bradley)

Rotating equipment

Equipment specification

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.S. in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Aspen+ or equivalent

Job description

Fortera is transforming one of the world’s largest industries by reinventing how cement is made. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Fortera has developed next-generation cement technology that delivers high performance while reducing CO₂ emissions by up to ~70%. By mineralizing CO₂ and turning it into a productive feedstock, Fortera converts emissions into a valuable building material, creating a more sustainable path for modern construction.

With our commercial ReCarb® plant operating in Redding, California, and a growing global project pipeline, Fortera is moving from first-of-a-kind deployment to scaled commercialization. Our technology is already being used in real-world infrastructure applications, bringing next-generation cement into use today while expanding toward broader adoption.

At Fortera, you’ll work alongside scientists, engineers, operators, and industry experts who are turning cutting-edge materials science into real-world impact. We’re looking for curious thinkers, builders, and problem-solvers who want to help tackle one of the biggest challenges facing our planet.

This is more than a job. It’s an opportunity to help shape the future of sustainable construction.

The Senior Process Engineer will lead engineering support for successful design and operation of all Fortera processes: mineral grinding, kiln operation/calcination, mineral dissolution, gas absorption, precipitation, solids dewatering, and drying.

This is a hands-on role requiring a driven, experienced mechanical or chemical engineer who would be versatile enough to bridge the gaps between R&D, internal core process design, and outside engineering firms or equipment suppliers.

The position is best suited for someone with chemical production experience who understands plant operations, can effectively oversee the plant engineering activities, and own all equipment design and specifications decisions.

This individual must be able to deal with the unknown challenges brought on by implementing new technology and manufacturing processes and is comfortable with not knowing all the answers but be able to make decisions and recommendations as we go.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Scale up and develop process unit operations from R&D for full scale implementation
• Summarize process and regulatory requirements to evaluate and select plant equipment
• Validate production equipment selection
• Oversee plant piping material selections, line sizing, and pipe routing
• Participate in plant instrumentation and valve selections
• Participate in plant design Process Hazard Analysis and lead close-out resolutions
• Execute and improve the management of change program following the Process Hazard Analysis
• Development and implementation of process controls
• Nominally 15% travel to plant sites and vendors during procurement, construction and commissioning phases.
• Other related duties may be assigned to you by the Company as needed.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum B.S. in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering
• 10+ years engineering experience designing, scaling, building, and commissioning a chemical or materials manufacturing plant or similar production plant
• Well versed in engineering design utilizing PFDs, P&IDs, and Process Hazard Analyses (PHA)
• Experience designing a plant through to its operation. (Direct experience in cement is not necessary, but experience producing chemicals or materials at multiple scales is a plus)
• Proficient with the following process modeling software: Aspen+ or equivalent (Heat and Mass Balance is a plus)
• Commanding knowledge of solids material handling, water treatment processing, slurry dewatering and drying
• Experience interacting with external engineering firms, contractors, and equipment suppliers
• Experience with large industrial sized rotating equipment
• Strong mechanical skills associated with plant operations and equipment
• Experience with process control schemes and implementation
• Experience with PLC controls for pilot and commercial plant operations; Allen-Bradley preferred

COMPENSATION:

The compensation package for this role includes a competitive base salary commensurate with experience of $145,000 - $170,000.

Fortera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other status protected by applicable law. Diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Fortera Corporation’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.