Pilot Plant Manager

Solcoa Industries•San Francisco, CA

1d•$120,000 - $150,000•Onsite

About The Position

Solcoa Industries is commissioning a new 24/7 pilot production line at their Alameda facility and is seeking a Pilot Plant Manager to own the operation end-to-end. This role involves running the line as a production operation, focusing on safety, output, yield, uptime, people, and material flow. The Pilot Plant Manager will be accountable for the plant's weekly metal production and will report directly to the founders, working alongside the engineering team.

Requirements

Degree in metallurgical, chemical, materials, or mechanical engineering (or equivalent hands-on depth).
5+ years in production operations at a high-temperature metals or chemicals plant — smelting, foundry, specialty alloys, glass, or similar.
Direct experience supervising hourly operators: hiring, training, scheduling, performance management.
Track record of owning production metrics — yield, recovery, OEE, downtime — and improving them.
Hands-on maintenance fluency: you can read a P&ID, troubleshoot alongside a millwright, and know when to call the vendor.
Comfortable in a startup environment: incomplete SOPs, equipment still being commissioned, and the expectation that you'll build the systems that don't exist yet.

Responsibilities

Own production: Plan and execute production campaigns against output targets. Run daily operations of the pilot line, including furnace operations, casting, and downstream handling.
Track and improve yield: Own the mass balance. Maintain yield and recovery tracking by campaign, identify loss mechanisms, and drive corrective actions.
Own maintenance: Build and run the preventive maintenance program. Track equipment condition, schedule and direct maintenance work (in-house and contractor), manage spares inventory, and minimize unplanned downtime.
Build the operator team: Screen, interview, and help hire operators. Develop the training program: SOPs, qualification checklists, and sign-offs. Train operators directly on equipment and procedures.
Manage the schedule: Own operator shift scheduling and coverage.
Track feedstock and inventory: Manage receipt, storage, staging, and consumption of oxide and magnet feedstocks, reductants, salts, crucibles, and consumables. Maintain accurate inventory and reorder points.
Own safety on the floor: Enforce safe work practices around molten metal, high-temperature furnaces, inert gas systems, and reactive materials. Lead incident investigation and near-miss reporting. Support environmental and permitting compliance (BAAQMD, CUPA).
Close the loop with engineering: Log run data, flag deviations, and feed operational learnings back into process development and the design of our commercial plant.