Senior Process Engineer

8 Rivers•Durham, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

8 Rivers is seeking a Senior Process Engineer to design, optimize, and commercialize a portfolio of innovative energy technologies and project development opportunities. This role is ideal for an entrepreneurial engineer who is excited to work at the intersection of technology development, commercialization, and sustainability, and who wants to contribute to the deployment of transformative energy solutions. This role involves building and refining process models to support high-impact decisions and advance the company’s and client’s growth, commercialization, and decarbonization objectives. This role is ideal for entrepreneurial engineers with technology incubation and commercialization background, or technical candidates with a desire to engage in business development activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
Strong proficiency building and refining steady-state and dynamic models in Aspen Plus, Aspen Hysys, or similar software.
Deep understanding of advanced thermodynamic cycles, heat integration, and mass/energy balances.
Minimum of 3 years working in industries such as power production from fossil fuels, syngas generation/processing/cleanup, hydrogen /ammonia, and/or with exposure to point source capture, and/or clean energy technologies.
Experience developing Basic Engineering Packages (BEP) and Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Heat and Material Balance (HMB) and equipment specifications.
Experience moving complex industrial chemical processes from conceptual or pilot scale to commercial deployment.
Ability to translate highly technical process data into clear, actionable business insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience working directly with business development teams to evaluate market viability and pitch technologies.
Experience conducting techno-economic assessments (TEAs) and capital cost estimation for novel energy technologies.
Specific familiarity with the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, supercritical CO2 (sCO₂) systems, or advanced hydrogen production.
Background working in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments or technology incubators.
Experience collaborating on patent applications, drafting technical white papers, or securing technology IP.

Responsibilities

Build simulation models using software like Aspen Plus to evaluate system performance.
Optimize process thermodynamic cycles to achieve lowest levelized cost.
Conduct mass and energy balances to validate performance across various operating conditions.
Scale up designs to full infrastructure-scale deployment.
Advance commercialization efforts by bridging the gap between technical concepts and market-ready infrastructure solutions.
Evaluate market viability of new clean energy technologies alongside business development teams.
Inform capital decisions by translating complex technical process data into clear financial metrics.
Conduct techno-economic assessments to compare novel system costs against traditional energy baselines.
Partner with business development to evaluate market viability, identify project opportunities, and engage prospective clients.
De-risk technology portfolios by identifying critical technical bottlenecks prior to commercial rollout.
Draft technical documentation including white papers, patents, and specifications to protect intellectual property.
Partner with industry leaders and global vendors to seamlessly integrate proprietary 8 Rivers systems.
Develop engineering packages including Basic Engineering Package (BEP) and Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs).
Support client engagement by tailoring core technologies to unique customer site needs.
Maintain startup agility by rapidly pivoting designs based on commercial feedback.