Mechanical Engineer: Utilities
over 1 year ago
Full time role
San Francisco, CA, US
San Francisco, CA, US
Job Description
About Charm
Our mission is to reverse climate change and return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂, profitably. We convert waste biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into permanent, underground storage as carbon removal, or reform the bio-oil to produce syngas for fossil-free steel.
Our carbon removal pathway took off in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify & Microsoft. In 2021 and 2022 we delivered thousands of tons of carbon removal via off-the-shelf pathways, and also deployed our first R&D prototype pyrolyzer of our own. In the next 18 months, we'll build and deploy the next pyrolyzer revision, demonstrate our fossil-free ironmaking pilot, substantially expand our operations in Colorado and put thousands of tonnes of CO₂e underground.
We're looking to expand our team of ambitious creative and hands-on engineers, fabricators, operators, and forward-thinking humans. We value psychological safety and collaboration. We take calculated risks and don't sweep mistakes under the rug; instead, we pin them to the wall and learn from them. We value that everyone’s unique backgrounds and perspectives shape their work. We encourage you to read our company values.
Come help us reverse climate change. Gigatons or bust!
About the role
You will be responsible for supporting the Utilities sub-system of the pyrolyzer. The Utilities team is responsible for all pressurized air, nitrogen, and chilled water needs of other subsystems, as well as other miscellaneous auxiliary support systems. We are the custodians to much of the functionality of physical controls and thermal management for the pyrolysis process. However, a guiding long-term goal of Utilities is to minimize the physical footprint and energy impact to the greatest extent possible. To achieve this end, you will need to support some substantial research and development efforts that investigate how we can further increase our efficiency, or even eliminate a utility altogether. This could include the design and assembly of various proof of concept test skids and full scale builds of customized nitrogen plants, refrigeration loops, heat exchangers, and heat recovery systems. Your focus will be wherever your skills and interests most complement the work to be done, but you will be expected to serve all aspects of the Utilities space, wherever our help is required.
This role is located at our San Francisco, CA Minifactory and is not open for remote work. The salary range is $110-126k per year, plus benefits described below.
What We Offer
· Stock options· Medical and dental insurance· Traditional and Roth 401k· Paid parental leave managed through Cocoon- A yearly professional development stipend· Healthy snacks and lunches· A sweet workplace (both SF Minifactory and CO Miniforge!) with lots of space inside and out· A chance to pivot into a role in climate!
Visa Sponsorship Policy
Since we are a small startup, certain accommodations for visa sponsorship may not be within our capability. At this time, Charm Industrial is only sponsoring E3 and TN visas.
COVID-19
The nature of our work requires the vast majority of our team to be in-person full time. As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, we've continuously adapted our safety policy to keep our team safe and productive. Our current safety policy requires the attestation of COVID-19 vaccination to work at Charm. Additionally, we ask that all of our employees and visitors stay home and rest if they have any cold/flu/covid/sickness symptoms.
Our Commitment
Charm Industrial is an equal opportunity employer with a firm commitment to growing our team in an inclusive way, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, medical condition, age, or veteran status. The consequences of climate change inherently affect some more than others, and we need a diverse team to help us save our little planet most effectively & justly. We are excited about all of those who choose to apply, and for those who end up joining us, to see how you better us as a team and company. We are more than the sum of our parts.
Our mission is to reverse climate change and return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂, profitably. We convert waste biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into permanent, underground storage as carbon removal, or reform the bio-oil to produce syngas for fossil-free steel.
Our carbon removal pathway took off in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify & Microsoft. In 2021 and 2022 we delivered thousands of tons of carbon removal via off-the-shelf pathways, and also deployed our first R&D prototype pyrolyzer of our own. In the next 18 months, we'll build and deploy the next pyrolyzer revision, demonstrate our fossil-free ironmaking pilot, substantially expand our operations in Colorado and put thousands of tonnes of CO₂e underground.
We're looking to expand our team of ambitious creative and hands-on engineers, fabricators, operators, and forward-thinking humans. We value psychological safety and collaboration. We take calculated risks and don't sweep mistakes under the rug; instead, we pin them to the wall and learn from them. We value that everyone’s unique backgrounds and perspectives shape their work. We encourage you to read our company values.
Come help us reverse climate change. Gigatons or bust!
About the role
You will be responsible for supporting the Utilities sub-system of the pyrolyzer. The Utilities team is responsible for all pressurized air, nitrogen, and chilled water needs of other subsystems, as well as other miscellaneous auxiliary support systems. We are the custodians to much of the functionality of physical controls and thermal management for the pyrolysis process. However, a guiding long-term goal of Utilities is to minimize the physical footprint and energy impact to the greatest extent possible. To achieve this end, you will need to support some substantial research and development efforts that investigate how we can further increase our efficiency, or even eliminate a utility altogether. This could include the design and assembly of various proof of concept test skids and full scale builds of customized nitrogen plants, refrigeration loops, heat exchangers, and heat recovery systems. Your focus will be wherever your skills and interests most complement the work to be done, but you will be expected to serve all aspects of the Utilities space, wherever our help is required.
Responsibilities:
- Contribute to the design, procurement, and installation of various utilities distribution components in a pyrolyzer system or unit test skid.
- Perform and/or facilitate all maintenance and upkeep tasks for the utilities systems to guarantee system readiness and reliable functionality during short and long duration pyrolyzer operation.
- Work with systems engineers to research new technologies in refrigeration and heat transfer, and assess if, how, and when they can be implemented into our utilities subsystem roadmap.
- Analyze pressure, temperature, and flow data from all systems interacting with utilities during testing campaigns to assess effectiveness, and be able to flag any components being under/overserved for future alterations.
In this role, you will bring:
- Experience in the Mechanical Engineering field
- Experience selecting and designing, building, testing, and debugging hardware
- A willingness to manage vendors and do your own procurement
- Comfort creating presentations for the design review setting and engaging in direct dialog and critique of your work
- Comfort with managing multiple parallel project tasks with a certain degree of autonomy
- A familiarity with standard safety best practices
- An excitement for hands-on work (and don't mind getting your hands dirty!)
These skills are a bonus, but not essential:
- SolidWorks or other 3D modeling experience (in actual work setting)
- Experience with the refrigeration process
- Experience with pneumatic distribution systems and other pressurized gasses
- Some knowledge of pyrolysis, gasification or other thermal conversion processes
- Experience with heat recovery and energy or thermal storage systems
- Expertise in fluid and/or thermal finite element analysis
- Experience in the operation of various shop tools and/or welding equipment
This role is located at our San Francisco, CA Minifactory and is not open for remote work. The salary range is $110-126k per year, plus benefits described below.
What We Offer
· Stock options· Medical and dental insurance· Traditional and Roth 401k· Paid parental leave managed through Cocoon- A yearly professional development stipend· Healthy snacks and lunches· A sweet workplace (both SF Minifactory and CO Miniforge!) with lots of space inside and out· A chance to pivot into a role in climate!
Visa Sponsorship Policy
Since we are a small startup, certain accommodations for visa sponsorship may not be within our capability. At this time, Charm Industrial is only sponsoring E3 and TN visas.
COVID-19
The nature of our work requires the vast majority of our team to be in-person full time. As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, we've continuously adapted our safety policy to keep our team safe and productive. Our current safety policy requires the attestation of COVID-19 vaccination to work at Charm. Additionally, we ask that all of our employees and visitors stay home and rest if they have any cold/flu/covid/sickness symptoms.
Our Commitment
Charm Industrial is an equal opportunity employer with a firm commitment to growing our team in an inclusive way, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, medical condition, age, or veteran status. The consequences of climate change inherently affect some more than others, and we need a diverse team to help us save our little planet most effectively & justly. We are excited about all of those who choose to apply, and for those who end up joining us, to see how you better us as a team and company. We are more than the sum of our parts.
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