Senior Process Engieer

Data Analysis & Process Modeling

• Turn plant data into engineering decisions.
• Evaluate operational and experimental data, build and validate mass balances and process models, and identify gaps between expected and actual process performance.
• Define what data needs to be collected to support future scale-up decisions.
• Technically guide data analysts and other engineering functions to ensure that models and analytics remain grounded in physical and chemical reality.
• Translate analysis into clear recommendations for process upgrades and future plant designs.

Commissioning & Process Validation

• Make sure what we designed actually works.
• Participate in FATs/SATs, commissioning activities and process performance validation for new equipment and plant expansions.
• Develop acceptance and process validation criteria based on the original design intent.
• Evaluate commissioning and operational data to confirm that installed systems achieve their calculated performance targets.
• Work closely with Operations during handover while ensuring clear ownership transfers once the process meets its design criteria.

Operational Readiness, Process Safety & SOPs

• Design processes that can be operated safely and consistently.
• Translate process design and engineering intent into clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), operating envelopes and process documentation.
• Participate actively in HAZOPs, LOPAs, and other process safety reviews, ensuring that process risks are identified and addressed during design rather than after installation.
• Support Operations in understanding the design basis and critical process parameters of newly commissioned systems.

Nice-to-have's: Vendor & EPC Coordination

• Represent tozero's process requirements with external engineering partners and equipment suppliers.
• Prepare and review technical specifications, vendor proposals and engineering documentation.
• Challenge unsupported assumptions, identify over-engineered solutions and ensure equipment is correctly sized for our process.
• Support technical bid evaluations and equipment selection, balancing process performance, CAPEX, operability and scalability.
• Act as a strong technical counterpart to EPCs, engineering contractors and equipment vendors throughout project execution.

The role requires regular on-site presence in Gendorf, with an expectation of approximately 2 days per week on average. Depending on project needs and plant activities, some weeks may require more on-site presence, while others may require less.

Your profile

You have a strong chemical/process engineering foundation and enjoy solving technically complex problems with a combination of first-principles engineering and real plant data.

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering or a related technical field.
• Ideally 5+ years of experience in process engineering within the chemical, hydrometallurgy, battery, mining, minerals, recycling or related process industries; specific expertise in graphite and lithium extraction and post-processing is highly preferred.
• Strong experience with process design and scale-up, including PFDs, P&IDs, mass/energy balances and equipment sizing.
• Comfortable working with industrial datasets and translating operational data into engineering models and decisions.
• Experience with solid-liquid separation, precipitation, flotation, hydrometallurgy or mineral processing is highly valuable.
• Able to critically review vendor proposals and confidently challenge technical assumptions.
• Strong experience supporting commissioning and process validation of industrial equipment or plants.
• Familiarity with process safety methodologies such as HAZOP and LOPA.
• Comfortable moving between detailed calculations, engineering documentation and the actual plant.
• Strong communicator who can work effectively across R&D, Engineering, Operations, suppliers and EPC partners.
• Fluent English; German is a plus.

Why us?

Our technology is moving from first-of-a-kind industrial operations toward increasingly larger and more standardized plants. The Senior Process Engineer will help us make that transition successfully: turning what we learn from today's plant into the engineering basis for tomorrow's plants while supporting commissioning and ramping up efforts. You will directly influence process performance, equipment selection, CAPEX and the technical architecture of our future facilities — helping ensure that every new scale is safer, simpler, more efficient and better engineered than the one before it.

About us

Welcome to tozero,Europe's leading deep-tech startup in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. With the goal of combating climate change and advancing the circular economy, we are actively developing sustainable recycling solutions for a clean and innovative future.