Lead Process Modeling Engineer

Still Bright•Kenilworth, NJ

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Still Bright is revolutionizing copper extraction with its proprietary RACER hydrometallurgical process, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional smelting. As the demand for copper surges, Still Bright is poised for commercial deployment, moving from pilot to full-scale operations. The Lead Process Modeling Engineer II is central to this strategy, owning the digital representation of the process, including SysCAD models, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life-cycle assessments (LCA). This role is crucial for translating process decisions into quantifiable value propositions related to cost, energy, and recovery, thereby proving Still Bright's market advantage. The engineer will be responsible for the end-to-end architecture of the modeling and TEA systems, ensuring seamless integration from process basis to mine-level economics. Key activities include modeling process variations, feedstock types, co-product pathways, and scaling from lab to commercial levels, with a strong emphasis on innovation to advance the company's value proposition.

Requirements

8+ years of experience with process simulation software (SysCAD, METSIM, or HSC).
Demonstrated ability to project process economics from process simulation and process data.
Deep understanding of industrial chemistry, mass & energy balances, unit operations, aqueous and electrochemical processing, and chemical thermodynamics.
Working understanding of electrochemical unit operations (electrolysis/electrowinning) including Faradaic balances, current/voltage/power, and efficiency.
Ability to translate complex engineering simulations into clear, persuasive business cases for customers and investors.
BS or MS in Chemical Engineering, Extractive/Process Metallurgy, or a related engineering field.
Experience as a seasoned individual contributor who owns ambiguous builds with minimal direction, ramps quickly, and works transparently in a scale-up environment.

Nice To Haves

Practical experience conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to quantify environmental footprints.
Hydrometallurgy domain experience.
Experience with OLI (or equivalent) thermodynamic modeling.
Experience interacting with mining majors or environmental permitting agencies.
Comfort using AI tools for data handling, model runs, and reporting automation.
Experience taking a continuous process to sustained steady-state operation with recycle loops.
PhD in a relevant field, with a focus on process optimization or electrochemical systems.
Proficiency in Python for automating data ingestion between mineralogical databases and process models.
Experience with project financial modeling (NPV/IRR with financing structure, tax, depreciation).
Spanish or other languages relevant to customer/site work.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve the high-fidelity SysCAD digital-twin and commercial-scale process model architecture.
Manage third-party consultants to ensure models accurately reflect the chemistry of the closed-loop system.
Work with the VP of Commercialization to craft customer-specific value propositions by transforming raw feedstock data into detailed economic and environmental projections.
Lead Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify cost savings and value addition, demonstrating RACER economics and environmental impact to customers.
Ensure all process optionalities and feedstock configurations are integrated into the in-house TEA and financial model for direct flow to mine-level economics.
Build and lead a proprietary model to ingest complex mineralogical data and determine optimized process configurations for given feedstocks.
Model electrochemical unit operations (electrolyzers, electrowinning), including Faradaic/charge balance, current/power draw, cell sizing, efficiency, degradation, and integrate rigorous aqueous-speciation thermodynamics (e.g., OLI Systems) for multi-solute electrolyte behavior.
Reconcile model outputs against lab and pilot data, close mass and energy balances, and build repeatable validation workflows to maintain model accuracy standards.
Develop the model + TEA/LCA system as maintainable, documented, version-controlled tooling, including automation (e.g., Python) for data ingestion, scenario runs, and reporting.
Collaborate with the technical team to use modeling results for guiding process improvements and maintaining Still Bright's technological edge.
Own process model and TEA work for ongoing and future grant applications, producing necessary outputs.
Manage modeling priorities and architecture, reviewing technical input, risks, and trade-offs from other Process Modeling Engineers.
Ensure all modeling work is transparent, well-documented, and defensible to customers, investors, and regulators.