Senior Energetics Development Engineer

Ohr•Lafayette, CO

3d•$140,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

Ohr is seeking a Senior Energetics Development Engineer to bridge bench-scale chemistry and buildable processes. The role works directly with R&D chemists and an external partner laboratory, interpreting results and turning them into early engineering designs that support scale-up decisions. The engineer will develop process design bases, generate data through kilo-lab and small-scale campaigns, and ensure safety and analytical requirements are incorporated early. The role also supports handoff to production process engineering and remains engaged through initial campaigns. This is an onsite position in Lafayette, Colorado, in the Denver–Boulder Metro Area, with travel up to 15% to laboratories, partner facilities, and test sites.

Requirements

Degree in chemical engineering or chemistry (BS, MS, or PhD).
7–10+ years of experience across both R&D and process engineering.
Experience running or supporting scale-up campaigns from laboratory to kilo-lab scale.
Experience working with external laboratories, partners, or contract research organizations.
Comfort with design of experiments, applied statistics, and incomplete data.
Ability to build a defensible mass and energy balance from imperfect bench data and clearly state assumptions.
Strong technical writing skills, including preparation of design basis documents.

Nice To Haves

Experience in energetics, propellants, or pyrotechnics.
Experience with nitration or energetic precursor chemistry.
Technoeconomic modeling and early-stage cost estimation experience.
Thermal hazard analysis experience, including DSC, TGA, or ARC, and small-scale sensitivity testing.

Responsibilities

Translate bench and small-scale R&D results into early engineering designs, including mass and energy balances, block flow diagrams, preliminary equipment concepts, and technoeconomic inputs.
Serve as the engineering interface to the external partner laboratory by shaping test plans, interpreting results, and incorporating them into the design basis.
Design and run kilo-lab and small-scale campaigns that produce data needed for scale-up decisions.
Define analytical and characterization requirements in collaboration with chemists.
Generate early hazard characterization data, including sensitivity, DSC, TGA, and compatibility studies.
Document the design basis, assumptions, and open risks for handoff to the process engineering team.
Hand off work to production process engineering and remain engaged through the first campaigns.
Act as the engineering voice in R&D reviews and manage the partner laboratory relationship.
Develop a documented design basis and early engineering package suitable to support a pilot capital decision.
Design R&D campaigns around the data required for scale-up and help establish a repeatable handoff from development to process engineering.