About this role
<br><strong>ABOUT US</strong><p>tozero is Europe’s leading deep-tech startup specializing in the recycling of<br>lithium-ion batteries. Committed to accelerating decarbonization and transforming<br>the material life cycle, we’re actively crafting sustainable recycling solutions for a<br>cleaner and more innovative future.</p><br><strong>WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR</strong><p>We are looking for a Senior Process Engineer to take a leading technical role in the<br>design, scale-up, commissioning and ramp up of our battery recycling processes.<br>This role sits at the intersection of technology development, process engineering,<br>and industrial scale-up. You will translate experimental and operational data into<br>robust process designs, challenge engineering assumptions, and ensure that our<br>future plants are built on solid fundamentals.<br>Your focus will be on the processes that matter most to our technology — graphite<br>and lithium extraction. By working closely with R&D, Operations and external<br>engineering partners, you will actively lead and engage in activities associated with:<br>a) engineering design; b) commissioning and ramp up; c) process development.<br>We are looking for someone who is comfortable working in a production<br>environment, but who can also take a step back and understand what the data is<br>telling us, and engineer the process we need at different scales.</p><br><strong>WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT</strong><p><strong>Must Have's:</strong><br>1. Future Plant Design & Scale-up<br>● Own key process design activities for our next-generation plants.<br>● Develop and review PFDs, P&IDs, mass and energy balances, process<br>descriptions and equipment specifications for future capacity expansions.<br><br>● Translate pilot and industrial operating data into reliable engineering design<br>criteria and scale-up assumptions.<br>● Perform process calculations and equipment sizing to ensure our future<br>plants are designed based on validated engineering data rather than<br>theoretical assumptions alone.<br>2. Targeted Process Expertise & Optimization<br>● Become a technical reference for some of our most critical process steps.<br>● Apply strong chemical engineering fundamentals to the optimization of<br>graphite and lithium extraction and post-processing.<br>● Identify the parameters controlling yield, purity and process stability and<br>translate these insights into concrete process improvements.<br>● Work closely with R&D and Operations while maintaining a strong focus on<br>process performance and technology development rather than daily<br>troubleshooting.<br>3. Data Analysis & Process Modeling<br>● Turn plant data into engineering decisions.<br>● Evaluate operational and experimental data, build and validate mass balances<br>and process models, and identify gaps between expected and actual process<br>performance.<br>● Define what data needs to be collected to support future scale-up decisions.<br>● Technically guide data analysts and other engineering functions to ensure<br>that models and analytics remain grounded in physical and chemical reality.<br>● Translate analysis into clear recommendations for process upgrades and<br>future plant designs.<br>4. Commissioning & Process Validation<br>● Make sure what we designed actually works.<br>● Participate in FATs/SATs, commissioning activities and process performance<br>validation for new equipment and plant expansions.<br>● Develop acceptance and process validation criteria based on the original<br>design intent.<br>● Evaluate commissioning and operational data to confirm that installed<br>systems achieve their calculated performance targets.<br>● Work closely with Operations during handover while ensuring clear ownership<br>transfers once the process meets its design criteria.<br>5. Operational Readiness, Process Safety & SOPs<br>● Design processes that can be operated safely and consistently.<br>● Translate process design and engineering intent into clear Standard Operating<br>Procedures (SOPs), operating envelopes and process documentation.<br>● Participate actively in HAZOPs, LOPAs, and other process safety reviews,<br>ensuring that process risks are identified and addressed during design rather<br>than after installation.<br>● Support Operations in understanding the design basis and critical process<br>parameters of newly commissioned systems.<br><br><strong>Nice-to-have's:</strong><br>Vendor & EPC Coordination<br>● Represent tozero's process requirements with external engineering partners<br>and equipment suppliers.<br>● Prepare and review technical specifications, vendor proposals and engineering<br>documentation.<br>● Challenge unsupported assumptions, identify over-engineered solutions and<br>ensure equipment is correctly sized for our process.<br>● Support technical bid evaluations and equipment selection, balancing process<br>performance, CAPEX, operability and scalability.<br>● Act as a strong technical counterpart to EPCs, engineering contractors and<br>equipment vendors throughout project execution.</p><br><strong>Your profile</strong><p>You have a strong chemical/process engineering foundation and enjoy solving<br>technically complex problems with a combination of first-principles engineering and<br>real plant data.<br>● Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Metallurgical<br>Engineering or a related technical field.<br>● Ideally 5+ years of experience in process engineering within the chemical,<br>hydrometallurgy, battery, mining, minerals, recycling or related process<br>industries; specific expertise in graphite and lithium extraction and<br>post-processing is highly preferred.<br>● Strong experience with process design and scale-up, including PFDs, P&IDs,<br>mass/energy balances and equipment sizing.<br>● Comfortable working with industrial datasets and translating operational data<br>into engineering models and decisions.<br>● Experience with solid-liquid separation, precipitation, flotation,<br>hydrometallurgy or mineral processing is highly valuable.<br>● Able to critically review vendor proposals and confidently challenge technical<br>assumptions.<br>● Strong experience supporting commissioning and process validation of<br>industrial equipment or plants.<br>● Familiarity with process safety methodologies such as HAZOP and LOPA.<br>● Comfortable moving between detailed calculations, engineering<br>documentation and the actual plant.<br>● Strong communicator who can work effectively across R&D, Engineering,<br>Operations, suppliers and EPC partners.<br>● Fluent English; German is a plus.<br><br></p><br><strong>Why us?</strong><p>Our technology is moving from first-of-a-kind industrial operations toward<br>increasingly larger and more standardized plants.<br>The Senior Process Engineer will help us make that transition successfully: turning<br>what we learn from today's plant into the engineering basis for tomorrow's plants<br>while supporting commissioning and ramping up efforts.<br>You will directly influence process performance, equipment selection, CAPEX and the<br>technical architecture of our future facilities — helping ensure that every new scale is<br>safer, simpler, more efficient and better engineered than the one before it.</p><p>Find <a href="https://www.arbeitnow.com">Jobs in Germany</a> on Arbeitnow</a>