Staff Mechanical Engineer

Solcoa Industries•San Francisco, CA

8d•$210,000 - $250,000

About The Position

Solcoa is building the next generation of American metalmaking, starting with rare earths — the metals of power and motion. We've developed a new chemistry that converts rare earth oxides into high-purity metals — the materials inside every EV, fighter jet, wind turbine, and data center — cleaner, cheaper, and faster than any conventional process. Now we're scaling it to thousands of tonnes of annual production. The Staff Mechanical Engineer will own Solcoa's mechanical and thermal design of the high-temperature reactors. You radically simplify the mechanical and thermal designs, optimize the design for ease of manufacturability, assembly, and maintenance. The manufactured and modular reactors will be deployed to Solcoa One, the largest rare earth metallization plant in the US, and will be capable of producing any rare earth metal in a standardized process.

Requirements

Proficiency in CAD (Fusion).
Hands-on experience with metal machining and shop tools.
Experience with high-temperature systems and/or vacuum hardware.
Detail-orientation and precise technical execution.
Comfort working independently in a fast-paced, build-measure-learn environment.
Availability to start soon.

Nice To Haves

Coursework or experience in chemistry or physics (thermo, materials, reaction engineering, or similar).

Responsibilities

Own the mechanical and thermal design of Solcoa’s modular high-temperature reactors, from concept through operating hardware.
Translate process requirements into integrated designs for reactor vessels, crucibles, seals, and metal-handling mechanisms.
Use first-principles calculations, simulation, and instrumented testing to validate heat transfer, thermal expansion, structural loads, and component life under repeated thermal cycling.
Resolve heating, cooling, vacuum-integrity, and material-compatibility problems with the thermal and research teams to improve throughput and reliability.
Radically simplify reactor assemblies, reduce part count, and standardize components for repeatable manufacturing.
Own CAD models, fabrication drawings, tolerances, BOM, and equipment specifications.
Work directly with fabricators and suppliers to reduce lead time and make reactors easier to assemble, service, and repair.
Drive hands-on assembly, troubleshooting, and cold and hot testing of pilot and next-generation reactors.
Define acceptance criteria, lead mechanical factory acceptance testing, and support installation and commissioning at Solcoa One.
Lead a team of mechanical engineers, organize the mechanical design process, conduct design reviews.
Interface with fabrication, operations, and process teams to create mechanical design requirements and make key systematic design decisions.