Process Systems Engineer

AtmosZero is building the next generation of industrial steam infrastructure. Our flagship product, Boiler 2.0, is a modular industrial steam heat pump designed to help manufacturers reduce operational risk, improve flexibility, and modernize steam generation over time. Rather than forcing facilities to choose between reliability and sustainability, AtmosZero enables a practical path toward future-ready steam systems that integrate with existing operations and scale with customer needs.

AtmosZero · Loveland, Colorado (onsite) · Full-time

Reports to: Sr. Director, New Product Development  

Why this role exists  

Boiler 2.0 is a modular industrial heat pump that produces steam from electricity and air. AtmosZero is running Pilot, Prototype, and 1 MW development activities in parallel, and each system must be tested, understood, protected, and improved. This role adds hands-on process-engineering capacity across those systems so existing technical leaders can focus more heavily on product segmentation and cost-down engineering.  

Level and scope  

• Engineer III. Independently own significant process or thermal-system workstreams, coordinate technical interfaces, and deliver results from requirements and analysis through testing, troubleshooting, and implementation.  
• Senior Engineer I. Lead complex system work through ambiguity, own major technical workstreams end to end, mentor teammates, and influence cross-functional decisions.

What you will do  

Test, troubleshoot, and improve  

• Define test objectives, plans, procedures, acceptance criteria, instrumentation, and data-acquisition requirements across Pilot, Prototype, and 1 MW systems.  
• Support test execution, analyze operating data, identify root causes, and define engineering changes that close performance and reliability gaps.  
• Prepare systems for commissioning and resolve process, instrumentation, and controls issues during startup and operation.  

Define how the system operates  

• Develop operating sequences, operating envelopes, alarms, permissives, interlocks, fault protection, and recovery behavior with controls engineers.  
• Translate process intent into clear controls requirements, instrumentation specifications, setpoints, and validation tests.  

Standardize execution  

• Maintain and improve P&IDs, process requirements, test procedures, operating methods, and decision records.  
• Convert test and operating learning into repeatable system designs, validated limits, and controlled engineering changes.  

What success looks like in your first year  

• In the first 90 days, build a working model of the Pilot, Prototype, and 1 MW systems and independently support a test campaign or commissioning-readiness workstream.  
• By six months, own recurring test and troubleshooting work, close process or controls issues, and release the resulting procedures or engineering changes.  
• By twelve months, establish a standardized process, operating method, or protection strategy that is validated in hardware and reused across systems.  

What we need from you  

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or a related discipline, with relevant experience at the level at which you are hired. 
• Strong command of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and process-control fundamentals.  
• Demonstrated experience testing and troubleshooting thermal-fluid or process systems in hardware.  
• Experience with instrumentation, data acquisition, test planning, data analysis, P&IDs, operating procedures, and engineering-change definition.  
• Ability to develop operating sequences, alarms, permissives, interlocks, and fault-protection requirements with controls engineers.  
• Comfort working directly with technicians and engineers in a startup environment where systems and documentation evolve together.  

What would help  

We do not expect anyone to have all of this.  

• Advanced degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or a related discipline.  
• Experience with industrial heat pumps, refrigeration, steam systems, process skids, HVAC equipment, or comparable thermal-fluid hardware.  
• Experience with PLC-controlled equipment, controls commissioning, functional testing, or cause-and-effect development.  
• Fluency with MATLAB, Python, EES, Aspen Plus/HYSYS, GT-SUITE, or comparable analysis tools.  
• Experience taking prototype hardware through commissioning, qualification, production release, or field troubleshooting.  

Compensation and benefits  

Base salary range:

• Engineer III [$110,000 - $165,000]
• Senior Engineer I [$125,000-$180,000]

Equity: Stock option grant

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; retirement plan; paid time off and holidays; parental leave.