Hydrometallurgical Process Engineer
Hydrometallurgical Process Engineer
Hydrometallurgical Process Engineer
Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals is seeking a Hydrometallurgical Process Engineer to lead the development and deployment of first-of-its-kind chemical refining processes for critical minerals. The role combines traditional chemical/metallurgical engineering with software-enabled automation, data-driven decision-making, and digital-twin optimization to build a scalable, safe, and efficient hydrometallurgical operation from concept to handover.
Qualification
- Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, or process engineering (MS/PhD preferred).
- Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and ability to apply them to complex hydrometallurgical systems.
- Experience with hydrometallurgical processes including leaching, solvent extraction, ion exchange, precipitation, crystallization, and residue handling.
- Proficiency in process modeling, heat and material balance development, and first-principles reactor modeling.
- Experience developing P&IDs, hydraulic models, and scale-up/derisking of designs.
- Experience managing external licensors, equipment vendors, and engineering partners on multi-disciplinary projects.
- Ability to collaborate across R&D, lab, pilot-plant, operations, and software/ML teams; strong communication skills.
- Knowledge of safety, environmental, and regulatory considerations in hydrometallurgical plant design and operation.
Responsibility
- Lead hydrometallurgical process equipment scopes from concept development and modeling validation through procurement, detailed engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, ramp-up and handover to operations.
- Manage external technology licensors, equipment vendors, and engineering partners to deliver fully integrated and high-performance hydrometallurgical refining systems.
- Develop detailed heat and material balances for complex hydrometallurgical trains, including leaching, solution purification, solvent extraction/ion exchange, precipitation, crystallization, and residue handling.
- Build hydraulic models and process flow diagrams/P&IDs for hydrometallurgical circuits to ensure operability, reliability, and safety.
- Create first-principles models of chemical reactors and unit operations (e.g., leach reactors, autoclaves, SX settlers, IX columns, precipitation reactors, filtration systems) to validate scale-up and de-risk commercial designs.
- Identify, evaluate, and implement engineering solutions to optimize extraction, purification, and recovery processes under varying chemistry, feedstock qualities, and operating conditions.
- Collaborate with R&D, lab staff, pilot-plant engineers, and operations teams to translate bench-scale insights into robust and scalable hydrometallurgical flowsheets.
- Work with software and machine-learning teams to automate process-engineering workflows and develop advanced control, optimization, and digital-twin models for hydrometallurgical reactors and plants.
