Senior Process Engineer

Senior Process Engineer OpportunitySolcoa is building an entirely new category of American metalmaking — rare earth reactors and production lines designed, fabricated, and operated entirely in-house. The company has $75M in seed funding, produces 10 tons annually today, and is racing to commission a 500-ton plant by mid-2027. The team comes from MIT, Tesla, SpaceX, and Redwood Materials and operates with lean, high-output intensity. Solcoa is reshoring critical metal production to the West with novel, cleaner technologies — and the process engineer in this role will directly determine whether the plant comes online on time.Solcoa is looking for a Senior Process Engineer to lead the scale-up and commissioning of their 500-ton-per-year rare earth metallization plant. You will take ownership of finalizing detailed engineering, managing vendor relationships, and driving the plant from its current state through construction and commissioning — on time and on budget.This is an end-to-end ownership role, not a support role. You will finalize the detailed engineering, place equipment orders, coordinate site modifications, develop commissioning plans, and train operators. You should be someone who has genuinely led a project from concept through startup, thinks from first principles, and thrives in a high-accountability environment. Travel 1-2 times per month to vendor and plant sites is required.What You'll DoFinalize detailed engineering for a 500-ton/year vacuum induction furnace and associated plant systemsPlace orders with vendors; manage equipment specification, selection, FAT/SAT, and installationFinalize the plant site and coordinate modifications including raising roofs, new foundations, and power, water, gas, and compressed air linesOwn and update core process deliverables including PFDs, P&IDs, mass and energy balances, and control narrativesDevelop commissioning plans, SOPs, and operator training to bring the plant from construction through startup and ramp-to-rateYou Should Have6-10+ years of experience in process or project engineering for industrial plant design, construction, and commissioningDemonstrated ownership of a plant or facility through commissioning end-to-endExperience scaling processes from lab or pilot scale to commercial scaleEngineering degree in chemical, metallurgical, or a related fieldProficiency with PFDs, P&IDs, mass and energy balances, and HAZOP studiesExperience with high-temperature materials processing or furnace operationsVendor management experience including equipment spec, FAT/SAT, and installation oversightFirst-principles thinker — does not solely reason by analogyA signal of excellence — top school, top company, or equivalent standout experienceNice to HaveExperience at Tesla, SpaceX, Redwood Materials, Kairos Power, or similar high-output engineering environmentsBackground in rare earth or specialty metals processing