Mechanical Engineer - Pyrolysis

Charm Industrial

Fort Lupton, CO, United States

Posted on: 2025-01-17

Category: renewables

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Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

Charm Industrial is working to return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂. We design, build and operate a fleet of mobile fast pyrolyzers that convert ag and forest biomass residues into bio-oil for use in carbon removal and direct-reduced-iron steelmaking.

In 2020 our Chief Scientist and co-founder Shaun Meehan had two breakthroughs (bio-oil intermediate and bio-oil sequestration) that kickstarted the company. Within 10 months we completed our first carbon removal injection and in 2021 we completed more than 5,000 tons of CO₂e removal for customers like Stripe, Shopify and Microsoft.

About Charm

Our mission is to return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂. We convert excess inedible biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into underground storage for permanent carbon removal. At scale we can use bio-oil to make fossil-free iron.

Our carbon removal pathway took off in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify & Microsoft. Since then we’ve scaled to thousands of tons of carbon removal, over a hundred employees, and now have three locations in San Francisco, Colorado, and Kansas. Come join us in 2024 as we aim to become one of the first companies to put 10,000 tons of carbon back underground!

We're looking to expand our team of ambitious creative and hands-on 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!

What We Offer

· Stock options

· Health benefits (medical, dental, vision)

· Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 50% match on contributions up to 6%

· Paid time off, including parental leave

· A yearly professional development stipend

· Healthy snacks and lunches for onsite employees

· 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.

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.

About The Role

We’re looking for a hands-on mechanical engineer who is eager to join the team designing an optimally performing pyrolyzer, the backbone of Charm Industrial’s operations and mission.

The pyrolysis system is a collection of subsystems that operate at different temperatures and have varying mixtures of condensable vapors, syngas, and char. Each subsystem presents unique challenges which requires robust engineering and attention to detail.

This role will work closely with a cross-functional team to iteratively improve the pyrolyzer. Sometimes that will involve CAD and detailed engineering analysis. Other times that will involve rapid prototyping with off the shelf parts, and testing in place on the machine. At all times, you will practice great engineering intuition to ensure a safe and reliable solution is implemented.

Your Responsibilities

You’ll be prototyping and iterating on the next generation of Charm pyrolyzers. You will own large portions of the pyrolyzer system design, and work on all aspects of the hardware to bring it to fruition (sourcing components, using contract manufacturers, installation, etc.)

You’ll operate the pyrolyzer in test conditions and determine how well your design met the success criteria. You’ll continuously improve your designs until the success criteria is met and the equipment works flawlessly in operations.

You’ll work alongside a cross-functional team, where you’ll need additional help to get your work to completion and vice versa. You’re always willing to help out and lend a hand for the betterment of the team.

Like every member of our engineering team, you will occasionally be supporting our 24/7 operations via 2-3 weeks of after hours support throughout the year.

You Bring

Strong mechanical engineering experience with a really firm understanding of first principles and safety-forward design.

Hands-on experience, including rapid prototyping and creative thinking to answer critical design questions.

CAD proficiency is a must, we use Solidworks!

Familiar with GD&T principles, and familiar with basic fabrication techniques. An ability to work with in house and out of house fabrication to take your idea and turn it into a prototype, and eventually a production-ready system.

Resourcefulness to problem solving. You’re constantly balancing cost, timeline and impact when making decisions on what to do next.

A self-directed mentality. You can find out where you can add the most value to your team and the organization.

An excitement for scaling up hardware that has the potential to positively impact climate change!