Materials Engineer

About this role

ABOUT MARIANA MINERALS

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Mariana Minerals is seeking a highly motivated Materials Engineer to join our R&D and product development team. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing processes for novel material synthesis - from lab-scale proof-of-concept to pilot and commercial scale implementation. This position will play a critical role in translating laboratory discoveries into scalable, economically viable production processes.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

- Conduct lab-scale and pilot scale wet chemical synthetic experiments to validate proof-of-concept ideas and develop new material formulations.

- Design and execute experiments to establish reaction parameters, yield optimization, and reproducibility.

- Evaluate and select equipment and process configurations for pilot-scale and commercial-scale operations.

- Develop process flow diagrams (PFDs), process and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and mass/energy balances.

- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including R&D scientists, operations, and external vendors to ensure smooth scale-up.

- Support process safety reviews, risk assessments, and environmental compliance planning.

- Collect and analyze process data to identify areas for optimization, cost reduction, and performance improvement.

- Prepare technical documentation, reports, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.

- Work closely with cross-functional teams including lab technicians, pilot plant engineers, process engineers, project execution teams, and more to scale designs from lab through to commercial scale

- Work closely with the software and machine learning teams to automate capital project execution workflows and develop reactor and plant optimization algorithms  

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

- MS degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Materials Engineering, or Chemical Engineering (PhD preferred).

- Hands-on experience in materials synthesis (e.g., solid-state, hydrothermal, precipitation, or other chemical synthesis techniques).

- Proficiency with materials characterization tools such as XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, TGA/DSC, and spectroscopic methods.

- Experience with process design, equipment specification, and scale-up of laboratory processes to pilot or production scale.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach.

- Excellent communication and teamwork skills in a multidisciplinary environment.

- Familiarity with process simulation tools (e.g., OLI systems or equivalent) is a plus.

OUR CULTURE IS BUILT ON THREE PRINCIPLES:

Extreme Ownership – We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate – We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos – We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.

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