Staff Process Controls Engineer - Pilot Plant

Mariana Minerals; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals is seeking a Process Controls Engineer to lead the development and deployment of plant controls and automation software for the critical minerals refinery. You will drive instrument and control system design, vendor coordination, and plant-wide optimization initiatives.

The role requires deep Siemens PLC experience, HMI programming, and strong collaboration with lab, pilot plant, and engineering teams to scale novel refining processes and support capital projects.

Qualifications

• Strong controls fundamentals and experience with Siemens PLC systems.
• Minimum 5 years experience in the Siemens PLC environment.
• Experience designing low voltage (480V and below) power distribution.
• Experience selecting, sizing, and configuring VFDs.
• Experience programming HMI (Ignition preferred) and training operations personnel.
• Experience supporting installation of electrical, instrumentation, and controls equipment, including drawings, field and cabinet terminations, energization procedures (LOTO), and troubleshooting.
• Experience with industrial manufacturing, mining or mineral processing, chemical production processes, EPC firms, and leadership of engineers and technicians.
• Experience with pilot plants and execution of small capital projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop standards for controls programming.
• Lead equipment scopes from concept and modeling validation, through procurement, engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and ramp.
• Manage external equipment providers, technology licensors, and engineering companies to deliver integrated mineral refining scopes.
• Drive cross-functional teams of lab technicians, pilot plant engineers, process engineers, and project engineers for scale-up and de-risking.
• Support hiring, mentorship, and day-to-day management of junior process engineers.
• Develop technoeconomic models for new projects and technologies.
• Prepare and present bankable engineering deliverables for financing reviews.
• Identify and implement process engineering and project management software tools.
• Support software and ML teams to automate capital project execution workflows.

Skills

Siemens S7 PLC

HMI programming

Electrical design

Power distribution

VFD configuration

Team leadership

EI&C knowledge

Tools

Ignition

Job description

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Role Overview

Mariana Minerals is looking for a highly motivated Process Controls Engineer to work on building the critical minerals supply chain.

As the Process Controls Engineer at Mariana Minerals, you will lead the development and deployment of first-of-its-kind chemical refining processes, while also playing a critical role in the development of software for capital project execution and automated plant optimization. Responsibilities will include leading equipment and plant-wide controls infrastructure and programming scopes from concept through to design, installation, commissioning, ramp, and handover to the operations team, and supporting the buildout of an in-house engineering team.

What You’ll Do

• Develop standards for controls programming




• Lead equipment scopes from concept and modeling validation, through procurement, engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and ramp




• Manage external equipment providers, technology licensors, and engineering companies to deliver fully integrated and functional mineral refining scopes




• Drive cross-functional teams of lab technicians, pilot plant engineers, process engineers, and project engineers to lead the technical equipment scale-up and de-risk the commercialization of novel mineral refining processes




• Support the hiring, mentorship, and day-to-day management of junior process engineers




• Develop technoeconomic models of new project opportunities, acquisition targets, and new technologies to inform business development




• Prepare and present bankable engineering deliverables to support project financing partners due diligence reviews




• Identify, evaluate, and implement process engineering and project management software tools




• Identify and support opportunities for the software and machine learning teams to automate capital project execution workflows and develop advanced plant control algorithms

What You’ll Bring

• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and demonstrated ability to leverage the understanding to solve challenging problems




• Experience with equipment engineering and design

Strong controls fundamentals, including:

• Supporting EI&C scopes for pilot plant design and construction




• Control hardware specification, cabinet design, version management, and system administration, with an emphasis on Siemens S7 PLC systems




• Minimum 5 years experience in the Siemens PLC environment




• Experience designing low voltage (480V and below) power distribution




• Experience selecting, sizing, and configuring VFDs




• Experience programming HMI (Ignition preferred) and training operations personnel




• Experience supporting installation of electrical, instrumentation, and controls equipment, including making drawings, field and cabinet terminations, energization procedures (LOTO), and troubleshooting.

Experience with the following industries and/or production environments:

• Industrial manufacturing




• Mining or mineral processing




• Chemical production processes




• Engineering, procurement, and construction firms




• Experience with direct or indirect leadership of engineers and technicians




• Experience with pilot plants and execution of small capital projects

Our culture is built on four principles:

Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.

Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply!