Lead Chemical Process Engineer

Process Engineering
· Idaho Falls,  
· Full-time

As the Lead Chemical Process Engineer, you will translate our bench chemistry into robust, scalable unit operations and get them to startup on schedule — first for the Torch pilot plant (online mid-2028), then as the process foundation for the Forge commercial facility (2030). We are well past the idea stage — the path is clear, the funding is committed, and we are turning chemistry into plant hardware right now.

Working directly with the founding technical team, you will own process design across plant systems — mass and energy balances, equipment specification, hazard analysis, and startup — and move each one along the critical path as fast as safety and sound engineering allow. Time is our scarcest resource, so you will be measured by process equipment that runs safely, converts uranium oxide into UF6, and hits its milestones.

This is a once-in-a-career chance to scale a brand-new conversion process from the lab to a running plant — and the moment to join is now, while the process is being defined.

• Design and size pressurized process equipment and piping to ASME standards (e.g., BPVC Section VIII, B31.3) — reactors, separators, heat exchangers, and supporting unit operations — on a schedule that keeps fabrication moving.
• Develop mass and energy balances and turn them into process flow diagrams (PFDs) and P&IDs quickly enough to stay on the critical path.
• Define process design requirements where definition is lacking, so the schedule never stalls waiting for clarity, and drive first-order sizing and equipment-selection trades.
• Specify materials of construction and operating conditions suited to corrosive, high-temperature fluoride and UF6 service.
• Use technology-development test data to de-risk scale-up early and accelerate the path from bench (Match) to pilot (Torch) to commercial (Forge).
• Optimize unit operations for development speed, reliability, yield, and cost — favoring the fastest credible route to running hardware.
• Drive hazard evaluations (e.g., HAZOP / PHA), the process safety basis, and equipment specifications without letting them become schedule bottlenecks.
• Design and execute process development, acceptance, and qualification testing on a timeline that de-risks startup early, then feed the results back into the design.
• Get ahead of fabrication, commissioning, and startup issues on the floor, driving design, process, and procedure improvements that cut cycle time.
• Work closely with mechanical, controls, and analysis engineers to define thermal, flow, loading, and instrumentation requirements fast enough to keep everyone moving.

• B.S. or M.S. in Chemical Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Hands-on experience with the process design and scale-up of chemical unit operations.
• Comfort working with high-temperature, corrosive-service process chemistry.
• Must be a U.S. person, as this role is export-controlled (see Work Authorization & Export Control, below).
• A demonstrated track record taking process systems or hardware from concept through testing, integration, and startup in a complex systems domain (aerospace, energy, semiconductor, chemical process, or similar).
• Direct experience designing pressurized process equipment to ASME BPVC Section VIII and piping to ASME B31.3.
• Experience selecting materials for fluoride, HF, or UF6 service (e.g., nickel alloys such as Monel and Inconel, and appropriate fluoropolymers).
• Proficiency with process simulation tools (e.g., Aspen Plus / HYSYS, ChemCAD, or equivalent) for mass and energy balances and equipment sizing.
• Experience authoring or leading process hazard analyses (HAZOP, PHA, LOPA) and developing a documented process safety basis.
• Fluency in PFD and P&t and process documentation standards (e.g., ISA instrumentation symbology).
• Knowledge of uranium chemistry, fluorination or conversion processes, or other reactive-gas handling.
• Experience in a startup or other fast-paced, schedule-driven hardware environment where you owned outcomes end to end.
• Familiarity with nuclear or other highly regulated industries (e.g., 10 CFR, ASME NQA-1 quality programs, NRC or DOE licensing).
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, or demonstrated progress toward licensure.

$150k – $185k / year

• Equity / stock options
• Medical health insurance
• Unlimited paid time off and holidays
• Relocation assistance to the Idaho Falls area
• World class workplace amenities

Export control notice

This role involves technology controlled under U.S. export regulations (ITAR/EAR). Applicants may be asked to verify U.S.

-person status during the hiring process.