Principal Engineer, Extractive Metallurgy
Profitable lithium-ion battery recycling and critical-minerals company, Nevada and California locations
| Employer | Profitable lithium-ion battery recycling and critical-minerals company, Nevada and California locations (not named) |
|---|---|
| Location | Carson City, NV (Mountain West) · On-site |
| Type & level | Full-time · Principal |
| Pay | Not stated in the posting · BLS median for chemical engineers: USD 125,040 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025 national median); the source posting states no pay |
| Visa path | O-1A fit (senior candidates) |
| Role family | Critical Minerals & Rare Earth Processing Engineer |
About the role
This is the company's senior technical authority on extractive metallurgy, owning the metallurgical basis of design for recycling and refining flowsheets. The role covers mechanical separation, high-temperature processing, hydrometallurgy and electrochemical upgrading of battery metals. Its recommendations decide which flowsheets are deployed at commercial scale, and it works regularly with top company leadership.
What you'll do
- Own the metallurgical basis of design for flowsheets from feedstock through refined product
- Evaluate competing flowsheet options and turn bench and pilot data into recommendations for commercial deployment
- Set product quality specifications and diagnose impurity behavior across unit operations to root cause
- Direct strategy for comminution, liberation, classification and physical concentration of mixed feedstocks
- Guide scale-up from bench to pilot to commercial plants, including mass and energy balances, equipment selection and vendor test campaigns
- Advise operations teams on recovery, yield and reliability problems, and mentor engineers through technical review
Requirements
- Bachelor's or advanced degree in metallurgical engineering, mining, mineral processing, materials science, chemical engineering or a related field
- 15+ years in extractive metallurgy, mineral processing or metals process engineering, or equivalent expertise
- Proven ownership of taking a flowsheet from pilot scale to commercial operation with accountability for plant performance
- Deep industrial-scale experience in pyrometallurgy or hydrometallurgy
- Hands-on experience in an operating smelter, refinery or concentrator, with travel to plant sites
- Experience with comminution and physical separation of variable, heterogeneous feedstocks
Nice to have
- Experience across both pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy
Pay & benefits
Not stated in the posting · BLS median for chemical engineers: USD 125,040. The posting does not list benefits.
Pay source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025 national median); the source posting states no pay. Market data, not an offer from O1DMatch.
Visa path
Principal-level metallurgists often document O-1A evidence such as commercial-scale process deployments, patents, publications, invited talks or peer review, and a critical role at a leading organization. The posting states no citizenship restriction. An employer like this or a U.S. agent can file the petition, and approval depends on the individual's record.
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