Director, Program and Systems Engineering

Charm Industrial•Fort Lupton, CO

4d•$185,000 - $220,000

About The Position

The Director of Program and Systems Engineering owns how Charm plans, builds, and delivers systems across its Biomass, Pyrolysis, and Injection workstreams. The role develops a deep understanding of Charm’s business strategy and technology roadmaps, runs the program portfolio, and owns system-level architecture, requirements maintenance, and interfaces linking feedstock processing, pyrolysis production, bio-oil and biochar inventory handling, and injection operations. The Director builds and leads technical program managers and engineering staff who fabricate, assemble, and commission pyrolysis and injection systems, bringing designs from concept through steady-state operation. The role partners with Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) and Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) to ensure systems collect the data needed to verify carbon removal and meet bio-oil and biochar specifications. Reporting to the CTO, the Director works frequently with the executive team, communicating program status, risks, and tradeoff recommendations. The role connects engineering, operations, procurement, carbon accounting, materials science, and leadership as Charm scales.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
7–10+ years of program or project management experience in an engineering- or technology-driven environment.
Demonstrated success managing hardware development programs and/or complex engineering initiatives.
Experience building and managing resource-based schedules and delivering projects in fast-paced or startup environments.
Strong analytical skills and experience tracking and reporting technical and financial metrics.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain technical issues and program status to engineering teams and executive leadership.
Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines, manage interdependencies, and drive teams toward shared goals.
Experience with enterprise-level collaboration and reporting tools such as Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or equivalents.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related technical discipline.
Program or project management certification, such as PMP.
Experience in climate tech, chemical, or oil and gas industries.
Familiarity with sustainability-focused engineering, including carbon reduction strategies, environmentally responsible materials, MRV, or lifecycle analysis.
Exposure to coordinating material movement or logistics between corporate sites or external partners.

Responsibilities

Direct the full lifecycle of engineering programs, from requirements definition through design, testing, scale-up, and deployment.
Build and own integrated master schedules, budgets, and risk registers for capital and product programs across Biomass, Pyrolysis, and Injection.
Set milestone dates using historical performance data or input from task owners, while maintaining speed and execution appropriate to Charm’s goals.
Drive weekly program cadence, including status reviews, critical-path management, decisions, and escalations.
Translate customer offtake and carbon dioxide removal delivery commitments into capacity and delivery plans with input from Sales and Finance.
Brief the executive team on program health, risks, and tradeoff decisions, and support customer and investor updates as needed.
Partner with the executive team to develop department Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), and lead tracking of progress with accuracy and transparency.
Influence company strategy and goal development, and recommend resource allocation and program prioritization.
Own system architecture and requirements across feedstock handling, pyrolysis, bio-oil storage and transport, injection wells and surface systems, and biochar deployment, partnering with design engineering.
Define and control interfaces between subsystems, sites, and external partners.
Establish and improve configuration management, design review, procurement, and engineering change control processes for internal and external manufacturing.
Lead verification and validation planning, commissioning, and performance acceptance.
Ensure system requirements and performance align with MRV, permitting, and safety obligations, including registry protocols, air permits, and NFPA and DOT classifications.
Lead fabrication, assembly, and commissioning of production systems.
Establish build sequencing, shop capacity plans, and daily and weekly execution plans to align physical build progress with program schedules.
Plan pre-commissioning, commissioning campaigns, and final site acceptance testing for in-house systems and systems received from contract manufacturers.
Define handoff criteria, training, and transition plans as systems move from Engineering to Operations.
Ensure teams conduct hazard reviews, lockout/tagout, and startup-readiness activities before systems operate.
Champion a culture of safety, efficient execution, innovation, and accountability.
Hire, develop, and lead technical program managers and engineering staff.
Develop and distribute scheduling, requirements, and risk standards, templates, and tools across Engineering and other appropriate departments.
Coach engineering leaders on program planning, estimation, and technical risk to improve design reliability and project execution.
Partner with Operations on site readiness, ramp plans, and lessons learned from systems in production.
Partner with Procurement on long-lead purchasing strategies, Bill of Materials management, and vendor qualification for critical components.
Partner with MRV to ensure system designs, instrumentation, and sampling plans meet registry protocol requirements and tonnage forecasts reflect program schedules.
Support Sales & Marketing with technical scoping, schedules, content updates, and cost estimates for projects and partnerships.

Benefits

Equity ownership through stock options.
100% of employee healthcare premiums covered.
Medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options.
Employer-funded HSA contributions for eligible HDHP plans.
Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 50% match on contributions up to 6%.
Paid leave, including parental and medical leave.
PPE and workwear allowances.
Annual professional development stipend.
Employee recognition programs.
Opportunities for internal growth, career development, and transition into climate from a range of industries and backgrounds.