About the role
WHO WE ARE
Kunin Technologies is revolutionizing the critical mineral supply chain by implementing advanced separation technologies to capture value from overlooked resources.
Metals are everywhere, in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles, but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste.
Utilizing Kunin Technologies' breakthrough performance, ion-exchange media significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking metal abundance.
To achieve metal abundance, humanity must bring separation science down its own Moore’s Law: fix the idiot cost index for micro and nano scale separation materials. This requires mass manufacturing novel ion-exchange media form factors which previously struggled from high costs.
THE ROLE
Group 14 metals (germanium, tin, silicon) are critical materials of the data center build-out, and Kunin is designing, guaranteeing and commissioning a group 14 metal chlorination plant overseas for an industrial partner: metal-bearing feeds from the partner's own process are converted by chlorination, purification and hydrolysis to an electronic-grade metal product, with Kunin's proprietary ion-exchange media recovering the metal from the dilute process liquors. Bench and mini-pilot process development runs in Chattanooga from December 2026 to May 2027, basic engineering issues in May 2027, the plant is built from modular skids in parallel with civil works, and commercial operation is targeted for the first quarter of 2028. The plant is built and operated by our partner; Kunin owns the process, the design package, the performance guarantee and the training of the operating team.
You own the electrical and instrumentation scope of the plant. From the control philosophy and equipment list in the basic engineering package you produce the electrical and instrumentation basis of design: load list, single-line diagrams, hazardous-area classification for chlorine and hydrogen chloride service, earthing and power quality, the instrument index and I/O list, and the safety instrumented system requirements. You specify the skid-mounted motor control centers, drives, panels and instruments, review the contractor's detailed electrical and instrumentation design against the process intent, and take the plant from energization through loop checks and interlock testing to commissioning.
You work with the Mechanical Process Engineer on the skids, the Senior Process Engineer on control philosophy and HAZOP actions, the VP of Capital Projects on schedule and cost, and the partner-country contractor on cabling, installation and local code compliance. You are a founding member of Kunin's Capital Projects team, whose goal is 100 critical metal projects in 10 years. Once this plant is through its gates you are expected to be executing design and delivery work on two to three projects in parallel, and as the team grows you are expected to lead the electrical and instrumentation engineering team across those projects.
By 21 May 2027 we expect the electrical and instrumentation basis of design and load list issued in the basic engineering package. By 3 December 2027, all skid electrical and instrumentation through factory acceptance and on site. By 31 December 2027, energization and loop checks complete at mechanical completion.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Electrical basis of design: load list, single-line diagrams, hazardous-area classification, earthing, power quality and the electrical scope of the Class 3 estimate
- Instrument index, I/O list, control philosophy and safety instrumented system requirements with the process engineers, through HAZOP and SIL review
- Specification, bid evaluation and factory acceptance of skid-mounted motor control centers, variable frequency drives, control panels and field instruments
- Review of the contractor's detailed electrical and instrumentation drawings, cable schedules and installation against process intent and IEC and local codes
- Energization, loop checks, interlock and safety-system testing and commissioning support at the partner's site
- Electrical and instrumentation scope of the front-end studies for the next plants, run in parallel with delivery of the first
QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED SKILLS
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering required.
- 5+ years of electrical and instrumentation engineering on chemical, hydrometallurgical or specialty-gas capital projects, including at least one basic engineering (FEED) package delivered to an EPC contractor.
- Has designed power distribution and motor control for an operating plant and specified instruments and control systems that were installed and commissioned.
- Working knowledge of hazardous-area design and functional safety (IEC 60079, IEC 61511) and of corrosive-service instrument selection.
- Proficient in AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN or equivalent, and comfortable reviewing 3D plant models for cable routing and instrument access.
- Ability to work in fast paced and demanding atmosphere
- Creative problem solving that brings together power, controls, safety systems and field execution to energize a first-of-a-kind plant on a fixed date.
COMPENSATION
This role will pay $110,000 - $210,000, benefits, and equity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Position located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Travel to fabricator shops and to the partner's site for factory acceptance tests, energization and commissioning; extended stays on site in the fourth quarter of 2027.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Extended hours and weekends frequently required to support critical project milestones.
Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax.
"The Whole World Is Ion-Exchange And The Rest Are Merely Details!"
Dr. Robert Kunin of Rohm and Haas, The Pioneer of the Ion-Exchange Industry, 1951