Process Development Lead

almost 2 years ago
Full time role
San Francisco, CA, US... more
San Francisco, CA, US... more

Company

Heirloom is on a mission to restore balance to our atmosphere. We are removing 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide by ...

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Job Description

About Us All across the world, from the azure pools of Turkey and Oman to the travertine terraces of Yellowstone, our planet quietly pulls carbon dioxide from the air and turns it to stone. For eons, Earth has relied on this process to balance its carbon cycle. What if it could be harnessed? What if we could do it faster, in larger quantities, and at a low enough cost to make it an effective tool in the fight against climate change? 
At Heirloom, we are turning that into reality. We use the natural carbon capture properties of abundant minerals to pull CO2 from the air, and store it permanently underground. We come to work every day to slow climate change, and are united behind a single, common goal - to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 from the sky by 2035, and to not stop before we get there.  
We bring together the precise recipe of science, technology, know-how, and strategy necessary to make low cost, high quality carbon removal a reality. If we’re successful, we will directly mitigate climate change, build a world we can proudly hand over to our children and grandchildren, and catalyze an industry that will rival the largest the world has ever seen. If you want to change the planet, come join us. 
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Heirloom is committed to diversity and building an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and experiences.  We believe wholeheartedly that building a diverse company is critical to Heirloom’s success.  We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, and people with disabilities.
The RoleYou will lead design and implement experiments targeted at scaling Heirloom's CO2 capture process, including process design, optimization, and characterization. You will work with the team to develop and maintain detailed process requirements that will inform equipment and system design. You will help shape and drive exploratory research and development to evaluate and test new ideas and setups. You revel in both complexity and uncertainty and delight in breaking down and translating huge problems into actionable and testable process requirements. As we scale, you will help us design and build the infrastructure necessary to operate at the industrial levels necessary to effect global change on our CO2 footprint.  Your work has the potential to directly shape our fight against climate change. 

What you will do

  • Develop and improve process requirements for Heirloom's carbonation process.
  • Design and perform tests using a variety of methodologies to assess key process performance metrics.
  • Work with systems, mechanical design, and software engineers to characterize process parameters and system performance during the R&D phase of development.
  • Define best practices for process development and testing at Heirloom.
  • Identify and suggest improvements for methods and procedures, using prototype and laboratory equipment to characterize process performance and efficiency.
  • Collect, interpret, and analyze data, compile results, and prepare reports.

What you will bring

  • 5 - 7 years of experience working as a high level individual contributor, team lead, or mentor with the following experience.
  • Managing small-to-mid sized teams.
  • Designing experiments and protocol to test process equipment.
  • Developing detailed process requirements.
  • Testing (and troubleshooting) process equipment to evaluate key performance indicators.
  • Working closely with engineers to clearly explain process requirements and iterate on equipment design.
  • Working with large datasets.
  • Using Python for data analysis and visualization.
  • Working in a laboratory environment.
  • You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit - you may even teach us something about what we should be looking for! If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply! 

Bonus Points

  • Knowledge of geochemistry, specifically carbon mineralization.
  • Experience with Rheology and Rheological equipment.
  • Experience with Design of Experiment (DoE)
  • Programming using a variety of languages (Python, C#).
  • Knowledge of revision control (Git).
  • Knowledge of material characterization techniques and fluid dynamics.
  • Technical writing and experimental documenting/reporting.
  • Experience with critical problem solving and complex engineering systems.

Our Principles

  • Radical Honesty means we are open, transparent, and inclusive in everything we do. We aren't scared to challenge each other, but bring clear motives and our best intentions when we do.
  • Persistent Optimism means we carry an infinite amount of optimistic energy with us on our journey, constantly chipping away at what may seem insurmountable.
  • Continual Discovery means we maximize our learning rate.  Compounding knowledge is our key to victory - we continuously hone our crafts, seek the fastest paths to new learning, and are quick to absorb new knowledge.

Why you should join Heirloom

  • We are solving the engineering problem of our generation.  Climate change is an existential threat, and we need as many of the world’s motivated minds as possible to help. There is no greater challenge or opportunity than fighting climate change. 
  • We have done this before.  We have done this before.  We’re engineers, scientists, and concerned humans from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are pooling our knowledge and skills to collectively build a more equitable, prosperous future for all.
  • We are a united, resilient, and optimistic bunch.  We are all here for the same reason - to slow climate change. We recognize the magnitude of the challenge ahead of us, and believe we can solve it. We can see a hopeful future where we eventually reverse climate change. It won’t be easy, but we won’t quit.
  • We are backed by the best climate partners in the world.  We’re well funded by investors from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ahren Innovation Capital, Carbon Direct, Microsoft, Lowercarbon Capital, ARPA-e and the National Science Foundation. Our early customers include Stripe, Shopify, and Klarna, and we’re building durable partnerships that enable us to tackle this decades-long problem.

Perks and Benefits

  • Covered health, dental and vision.  Health, dental and vision insurance covered by Heirloom.
  • Generous parental leave.  16 weeks paid leave for all Heirloom employees, regardless of primary/secondary caregiver status.
  • Generous stock options
  • Flexible time off.  Unlimited PTO for exempt (salaried) employees & 80 hours for full time non-exempt (hourly)  employees.
  • Stay healthy.  Monthly health and wellness reimbursement.
  • Learn on the job.  Robust annual education and conference budget, including airfare and hotel costs.

Please note: while we appreciate all applicants, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted by our team. 

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