Instrumentation & Controls Engineer

Instrumentation & Controls Engineer

Travertine is an Industrial Transformation company based in Boulder, CO, that is rapidly scaling a technology for sulfur-decoupled production of critical minerals, starting with phosphate. Our technology enables large-scale circularity in extractive industries while simultaneously decarbonizing building materials. We do this by electrochemically recycling chemical byproducts, sulfate wastes, into sulfuric acid and valuable mineral co-products.

Sulfuric acid is the world's most used inorganic chemical and is vital for producing a wide range of critical elements including phosphate, lithium, copper, nickel, and rare earth elements. Travertine's technology solves the dual problems of sulfur supply vulnerability and large-scale chemical waste disposal. Our transformative process changes the fundamental material balance of critical mineral production, laying the groundwork for an industry liberated from fossil inputs and their legacy impacts.

Since founding, Travertine has raised over $29M in capital, including over $5M in US Federal and State government grants. We are an accomplished and driven team recognized by C&EN 10 startups to watch in 2022, Bloomberg NEF Pioneers in 2023, RMI Third Derivative 1st Gigaton Captured program in 2024, Mining Cleantech Challenge in 2026, and are a founding member of the Carbon Removal Alliance. Travertine designed, built, and successfully operated our core technology Demonstration Plant in Rochester, NY for over 3,000 hours, and delivered the project on-time and on-budget. We are now developing our first commercial plant, which will be the only new phosphate plant built on US soil in over 50 years.

The Instrumentation & Controls Engineer will be responsible for developing instrumentation and controls (I&C) systems for Travertine's in-house lab and pilot facility (Boulder, CO), as well as refitting, improving and maintaining I&C systems for our NY-based demonstration plant, and commercial-scale chemical process systems. This role will be working on advanced processes that combine electrochemical salt splitting, electrolysis, and chemical production and separation unit operations for phosphate and sulfuric acid production.

This role will have end-to-end responsibility from I&C systems, from control philosophy and control narratives through instrumentation selection, electrical design and wiring, PLC programming, HMI development, commissioning, troubleshooting, and operation as we scale our process technology. This role will engage and manage external contract work associated with I&C design and build as needed, as well as manage both internal and external workflows associated with all I&C work.

Key Responsibilities

• Own I&C Engineering for the Travertine Process
• Coordinate with Process Development and Engineering teams to define instrumentation and control requirements
• Develop control narratives based on process engineering needs
• Specify instrumentation including sensors, transmitters, analyzers, valves etc.
• Specify PLC, SCADA and networking hardware for OT process control network
• Establish requirements for OT/IT interface to meet cyber-security standards.
• Develop PLC programs, control logic, alarms, interlocks, and HMIs for process operation
• Develop SCADA interfaces for datalogging, reporting, distributed alarming, etc.
• Wire, install, troubleshoot, and adjust as needed industrial control systems for the Travertine Process at the pilot, demo, and eventually commercial-scale
• Manage both internal and external workflows associated with all I&C work
• Diagnose controls and instrumentation issues in the field and implement practical hardware and software solutions
• Develop and maintain I&C documentation including I/O lists, electrical drawings, etc.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience as an I&C engineer
• Undergraduate degree in engineering or a related technical field
• Demonstrated ability to develop control narratives based on input from process engineers
• Demonstrated ability to develop complete Industrial Controls systems with a variety of PLCs and software platforms including ladder logic and function block programming
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with controls and electrical contractors
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage projects and timelines
• Experience with Ignition, Honeywell Experion DCS/SCADA, or other industrial automation platforms is a plus

Compensation & Benefits

This role is onsite and based in our Boulder, CO headquarters.

Salary range is highly dependent on skill set and experience, approximately $105,000 to $130,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive pay
• Stock options
• Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• 401k with 100% match up to 3% of salary
• Flexible time off policy