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 delivery of that plant: scope, schedule, cost and quality from the basic engineering package through mechanical completion, commissioning, the performance test and handover to the partner's operating team. You report to the CEO and work alongside the VP of Engineering, who owns the process design, and the partner's site team, who build and operate. You select and manage the partner-country engineering contractor and the skid fabricator, run the Class 3 capital estimate the partner's board approves, and hold the integrated schedule that ties process development, engineering, fabrication, civil works, training and commissioning to a Q1 2028 commercial operation date.
You build the capital projects function from the first hire: project controls, document control, contractor management, FAT and site acceptance, and the project review cadence with the partner. This is the first of a series of Kunin-designed metal recovery and conversion plants. 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. You build and lead that team.
By 21 May 2027 we expect the basic engineering package and Class 3 estimate issued and long-lead orders released. By 31 December 2027, mechanical completion. By 17 March 2028, a passed performance test and commercial operation.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Overall delivery of the group 14 metal chlorination plant: scope, schedule, cost, quality and HSE from basic engineering to handover
- Selection and management of the partner-country engineering and construction contractor and the modular skid fabricator; bid evaluation, contract administration, change control
- The Class 3 capital and operating cost estimate, the project budget, and monthly cost and schedule reporting to the joint venture board
- The integrated project schedule across process development, basic and detailed engineering, procurement, fabrication, civil works, training and commissioning
- Mechanical completion, pre-commissioning and commissioning execution with the VP of Engineering, through the performance test and the commercial operation date
- Front-end studies for the next plants: scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies with Class 5 to Class 3 estimates, run in parallel with delivery of the first plant
QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED SKILLS
- Bachelor's degree in chemical, mechanical or civil engineering; PMP or equivalent a plus.
- 10+ years delivering chemical, hydrometallurgical or specialty-gas capital projects, with at least two plants taken from FEED through commissioning as project manager or project director.
- Has managed an EPC or EPCM contractor and a fabricator on a modular, skid-built plant; has run a Class 3 estimate and a contractor bid evaluation.
- Experience delivering projects overseas with local engineering and construction contractors strongly preferred; chlorine or hydrogen chloride service experience preferred.
- Ability to work in fast paced and demanding atmosphere
- Creative problem solving that brings together engineering, contracting, cost control and field execution to hold a fixed commercial operation date.
COMPENSATION
This role will pay $215,000 - $395,000, benefits, and equity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Position located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Extensive overseas travel to the partner's site required: roughly one week in four during engineering and fabrication, and extended stays on site from November 2027 through the performance test.
- 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