Senior Mechanical Engineer Manager

Cyclo Kinetics is advancing the next generation of high-performance propellants for aerospace and defense. Our highly innovative technology allows us to harness existing energy from biomass and convert it to superior performance fuels and propellants across aviation, aerospace, and defense applications.

We are a team of engineers, scientists, and operators driven by performance, innovation, and national security impact focused on building scalable, domestic energy solutions that power the future of propulsion. Cyclo Kinetics is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

We are seeking a Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering to lead the mechanical engineering organization supporting the scale-up of research and development into commercial operations. The Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering will oversee engineering work related to process equipment, custom machinery, piping systems, steel structures, skids, tanks, pressure vessels, utilities, and mechanical integration with instrumentation and controls. This individual will be responsible for building practical engineering solutions that bridge early-stage research, pilot-scale systems, and commercially viable operations.

This role will work closely with Research & Development (R&D), controls engineering, operations, outside engineering firms, fabricators, and equipment vendors to design and build Cyclo Kinetics first-of-its-kind biorefinery.

The ideal candidate has demonstrated success across a broad spectrum of engineering disciplines, with strong mechanical fundamentals, practical field experience, and proven ability to lead technical teams through ambiguous, fast-moving, and highly integrated projects.

• Lead the mechanical engineering team for equipment design, piping systems, structural integration, mechanical layouts, and mechanical support of process scale-up.
• Work closely with the R&D organization to translate laboratory and pilot-scale concepts into practical engineered systems suitable for larger-scale operation.
• Oversee the design, development, specification, and implementation of custom process equipment, structures, skids, piping systems, tanks, reactors, pressure vessels, and supporting utilities.
• Collaborate closely with the controls engineering team to ensure mechanical equipment, instrumentation, sensors, actuators, and control systems are properly integrated.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering disciplines, including mechanical systems, process equipment, piping, structural supports, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and operational troubleshooting.
• Review and approve engineering designs, equipment specifications, drawings, fabrication packages, vendor documents, and technical deliverables.
• Coordinate with outside engineering firms, EPC partners, consultants, fabricators, and equipment vendors to support project execution.
• Evaluate vendors, consultants, and engineering service providers for technical capability, quality, schedule, and cost effectiveness.
• Negotiate scope, pricing, deliverables, and technical requirements with outside consultants, fabricators, and vendors to reduce cost while maintaining safety, reliability, and performance.
• Support procurement in evaluating vendor quotes, alternate equipment options, make-versus-buy decisions, long-lead items, and technical bid comparisons.
• Drive practical cost reduction efforts through design simplification, vendor competition, fabrication strategy, standardization, and value engineering.
• Develop and maintain engineering standards, design practices, documentation expectations, and review processes.
• Support process hazard reviews, HAZOPs, design reviews, incident investigations, and corrective action planning.
• Provide mechanical engineering support for factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, installation, commissioning, startup, and troubleshooting.
• Work with operations and maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability, maintainability, safety, and ease of operation.
• Mentor engineers and support professional development of the mechanical engineering team.
• Prioritize engineering work across multiple projects, balancing near-term execution needs with long-term commercial scale-up objectives.
• Communicate project status, technical risks, tradeoffs, resource needs, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Perform job duties in a safety-regulated industrial environment where chemicals, process equipment, machinery, and other potential…