Principal Energetics Process Engineer

Ohr•Lafayette, CO

20h•Onsite

About The Position

Ohr is scaling domestic production of energetic materials and their precursors, including energetics, propellants, rare-earth extractants, and ignition chemicals. The Principal Energetics Process Engineer owns the process engineering needed to design, scale, and qualify energetic-material manufacturing, with safety integrated into the process design. The role covers scale-up of energetic formulations from laboratory and pilot operations to qualified production; process safety and regulatory compliance; equipment specification, commissioning, and qualification; and the documentation that supports production. The engineer will also support formulation transitions from R&D, incident investigations, and technical due diligence as Ohr grows its manufacturing footprint. This is an onsite position in the Denver–Boulder Metro Area (Lafayette, Colorado), with travel of up to 15% to production sites, laboratories, and test facilities. Relocation assistance is offered. The annual base salary range is $160,000–$220,000, commensurate with experience, plus equity. The role involves access to ITAR-controlled data and systems and explosive materials; candidates must meet the stated eligibility requirements for both.

Requirements

PhD in chemical engineering or chemistry; an MS or BS with deeper industrial experience will be considered.
At least 10 years of process engineering experience, including hands-on work in energetics manufacturing or energetic precursor production.
Direct experience with energetic-material sensitivity, thermal stability, compatibility, and the testing that establishes these properties.
Strong Process Safety Management and hazardous-materials background in a high-hazard production environment.
Experience with process modeling, data analysis, and statistical process control.
Experience specifying, commissioning, and qualifying process equipment inside a regulated facility.
Excellent technical writing skills; documentation will be read by regulators and auditors.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3), due to access to data and systems subject to U.S. export control regulations, including ITAR.
Must be eligible to serve as an employee possessor of explosive materials under federal law and not be a prohibited person as defined under 18 U.S.C. § 842(i).

Nice To Haves

Nitration chemistry or oxidizer precursor production experience.
ATF licensing and DDESB siting experience.
Pyrotechnics (BKNO3) or high-explosive pellet pressing experience.
Propellant or ordnance qualification program experience.
Experience with process simulation tools such as Aspen Plus, ChemCAD, or AVEVA.

Responsibilities

Design, scale, and optimize manufacturing processes for energetic materials and energetic precursors.
Own scale-up of energetic formulations from laboratory and pilot operations into qualified production.
Lead process safety activities, including Process Hazard Analyses, HAZOPs, FMEAs, explosive safety assessments, in-process quantity limits, and hazard classification.
Ensure compliance with ATF, OSHA Process Safety Management, DoD explosive safety standards including DoD 4145.26 and DDESB requirements, MIL specifications, NFPA standards, and environmental regulations.
Specify, commission, and qualify energetic-processing equipment for mixing, drying, coating, pressing, and precursor synthesis, including nitration where applicable.
Own production process documentation, including PFDs, P&IDs, SOPs, work instructions, engineering specifications, and commissioning packages.
Transition new formulations out of R&D with sensitivity, thermal stability, and compatibility data that support the safety case.
Lead incident investigations and corrective and preventive actions.
Support technical due diligence on energetics manufacturing assets and technologies as Ohr's footprint grows.