Senior Project Engineer – Oxy-Combustion

Heirloom Carbon • Brisbane, CA

1d • $160,000 - $233,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Project Engineer owns the technical delivery of Heirloom's oxy-combustion island cradle to grave, from detailed design through procurement, construction, commissioning, performance testing and COD. A process engineer at heart, the role owns the island's heat and material balances, and the interfaces where steam generation, oxygen supply, flue gas treatment and CO₂ processing meet, then drives designers, OEMs and contractors to deliver on performance, schedule and safety.
Provides technical oversight of: process design basis and heat and material balances, PFDs and P&IDs, equipment specifications and datasheets, control narratives, HAZOP/LOPA/SIL, technical bid evaluations, vendor document review, inspection and test plans, FAT, commissioning, and performance and guarantee testing.

Requirements

• Bachelor's in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering (Chemical preferred); PE a plus
• 10+ years of engineering experience on power or industrial process projects, including 5+ as a project or lead engineer
• Delivered at least one major combustion, steam generation, gas processing or similar process unit from detailed design through commissioning and startup
• Hands-on field experience during construction, commissioning and startup troubleshooting
• Process engineering: heat and material balances, PFDs and P&IDs, process simulation (Aspen Plus/HYSYS, Thermoflex or equivalent)
• Boilers/HRSGs, burners, flue gas recirculation, burner management systems and combustion controls
• Process safety: HAZOP, LOPA, SIL; oxygen service design and cleaning (CGA G-4.4 / EIGA practices)
• Flue gas treatment (SCR, direct contact coolers) and CO₂ compression, purification or cryogenic air separation interfaces
• Performance testing to ASME PTC standards; performance guarantees and OEM warranties
• Technical bid evaluation, vendor document control and scheduling tools (Primavera P6 or MS Project)
• Experience working with internal and external stakeholders (internal SMEs, OEMs, owner's engineer, contractors, GC)
• Owns outcomes end to end; holds vendors and designers to specification and guarantee
• Ability to unblock blockers, anticipate and resolve issues in a dynamic, early-stage environment
• Strong safety leadership around oxygen handling and high-CO₂ atmospheres

Nice To Haves

• Oxy-combustion, oxy-fuel or carbon capture experience is a strong plus
• Willing to travel ~50% to vendor shops and the West Texas site, and to take an extended onsite assignment during construction and commissioning
• Willingness to learn new technologies, evaluate and explore new ideas

Responsibilities

• Own the island process design basis: heat and material balances, operating envelopes, and air-fired, oxy-fired and transition cases across load and ambient conditions
• Review and approve PFDs, P&IDs, datasheets, line lists and control narratives from the design engineer and OEMs; lead 30/60/90 design and model reviews
• Define and manage process interfaces with the ASU, CPU, steam turbine-generators and air-cooled condenser (O₂ purity and pressure, flue gas composition to CPU inlet spec, air in-leakage limits, steam conditions)
• Lead HAZOP, LOPA and SIL reviews with focus on oxygen service, oxygen-enriched and high-CO₂ atmospheres; drive action close-out
• Collaborate with Supply Chain on: technical specifications, RFPs and material requisitions for island packages
• Prepare technical bid evaluations and recommend awards
• Manage OEM technical deliverables, vendor document review and design changes; protect performance guarantees
• Witness shop inspections and factory acceptance tests for critical equipment
• Serve as owner's technical lead on site for the island; resolve RFIs, field changes and nonconformances
• Develop and own the island commissioning strategy with the commissioning lead: system turnover, first fire on air and staged transition to oxy firing
• Lead troubleshooting and tuning of flue gas recirculation, oxidant flow and O₂ trim control with the OEM and controls team
• Plan and witness performance and guarantee testing; close punch items through COD; deliver turnover packages and operations readiness
• Maintain the island technical risk register, interface register and change log; flag engineering-driven schedule risk early
• Support cost and schedule updates for stage gates; manage technical change orders
• Develop engineering procedures, design guides and lessons learned so the island becomes more repeatable at each Energy Park campus

Benefits

• Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by Heirloom.
• FSA option
• 16 weeks paid parental leave for all Heirloom employees
• Generous stock options
• Flexible PTO for exempt (salaried) employees & 120 hours for full time non-exempt (hourly) employees
• 401(k)
• Monthly health and wellness reimbursement
• Annual education and conference budget

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior