Process Development Engineer

Company Overview

Plastics are essential across many industries but pose severe environmental challenges, contributing to 8% of global oil and gas consumption and nearly 5% of greenhouse gas emissions. Annually, over 250 million tons of plastic waste accumulate, persisting for centuries. ReSource Chemical is pioneering an industrial process for producing FDCA—a sustainable, naturally derived chemical alternative to petrochemical monomer PTA used in polyesters. These bioplastics outperform current materials while reducing environmental and health impacts. The company uses CO2 and inedible biomass to manufacture FDCA, cutting two-thirds of conventional process steps, lowering costs, and enabling large-scale applications. This innovation promises to reduce global GHG emissions by over 250 million tons per year.

Based in Oakland, CA, and founded on technology from Stanford University, ReSource Chemical has backing from prominent investors including Khosla Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, having raised more than $25M including nearly $9M in R&D grants.

Position Overview

We are hiring an experienced Process Engineer to support the company's transition from pilot to demonstration-scale production. The ideal candidate combines strong technical knowledge with practical expertise in designing, operating, and troubleshooting pilot-scale process equipment within a dynamic startup environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, construct, operate, and troubleshoot pilot-scale equipment systems.
• Collaborate with R&D to design, execute, and analyze bench-scale and advanced tests.
• Document process designs, intellectual property efforts, experimental data, vendor interactions, and procurement activities.
• Manage internal and external technical communications.
• Champion a safety-first culture ensuring compliance with protocols and rapid response to any safety issues.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree or higher in chemical engineering, process engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 8 years of industrial process engineering experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on proficiency in designing, building, operating, and troubleshooting pilot-scale process equipment.
• Strong knowledge of process flow design, including authoring and reviewing PFDs and P&IDs.
• Experience with process controls, instrumentation, and integration of hardware sensors.

Core Competencies

• Dedication to process safety and product quality.
• Excellent project management capabilities, including planning and vendor coordination.
• Effective communication skills and ability to build technical partnerships.
• Self-motivated leadership taking initiative to solve problems.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-moving startup environment.
• Adaptability to ambiguity and flexibility inherent in early-stage companies.
• Team-oriented with a proactive mindset.