Lead Engineer, Fluids and Thermal Systems

About:

General Biological (GB) is a pioneering industrial chemical and hardware manufacturing company developing the next generation of scalable, low-cost biomanufacturing technologies. Our mission is to establish a new era of industrial chemical products and physical materials derived from carbohydrates vs. hydrocarbons - to build the 21st century refinery. For more, see here: (

Central to our approach is vertical integration - working at the intersection of biotechnology, chemistry, and integrated hardware-software engineering to scale fast. The GB platform harnesses a non-model organism with remarkable metabolic flexibility and low sterility requirements, enabling us to truly industrialize biotech. By building custom bioreactor hardware and downstream operations, we fully leverage these properties to dramatically reduce capital and operating costs while accelerating execution.

Position Summary:

We are looking for an innovative and driven engineer to drive the detailed design and construction of our first-of-kind biorefinery. You will help move the company from a material balance/P&ID stage to a demonstration-scale plant (AKA, from FEL2 into FEL3 and detailed design). This includes making detailed engineering plans, purchasing and procurement of parts, contractor/construction management, final installation, and production ramp. This position requires a background in the design and construction of complicated fluids/thermal systems: for example, you may have experience from aerospace (rocket engines), petroleum refining, minerals processing, or chemical plant engineering. You should feel comfortable sizing pumps, planning out piping layouts, setting up construction timelines, as well as being hands-on assembling skids and chemical equipment.

As GB pursues vertical integration, you will have opportunities to contribute to teams working on end-to-end hardware and process solutions. We are looking for someone who thrives on project ownership and rapid execution. The ideal candidate will help drive GB's success by developing and improving the design and execution of our current bioreactor automation. This will involve hands on programming, tackling potential problems that may arise in production, and critical problem-solving skills - requiring a first principles mindset and willingness to take calculated risks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Fluid systems design: making P&IDs, schematics, piping diagrams, layouts, and testing plans
• Thermal systems design of various high-temperature components including evaporators, stripping columns, heat exchangers, etc
• Component and full system design in CAD
• Interface with our controls and automation team to implement instrumentation and our controls architecture at scale
• Hands-on assembly and management of the construction, installation and integration of key chemicals plant equipment, including full unit operations and systems integration between those operations
• Management of operations and engineering on-site (away from main office)

Required Qualifications:

• BS or MS in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field such as chemical engineering with a heavy emphasis on mechanical design and construction
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluidic components including process piping, heat exchangers, vales, pumps, electro-mechanical instrumentation, and strong familiarity with their design and implementation
• Experience with CAD frameworks (Solidworks, AutoCAD, Autodesk Fusion, etc)
• Hands-on experience executing pilot and demonstration projects, such as first-of-kind plant builds, engine testing
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to manage construction projects
• Strong hands-on skills in building and testing prototypes or personal projects
• Ability to travel to construction sites across the USA as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones
• Knowledge of large, commercial-scale chemicals plant construction
• Practical mechanical and industrial site experience with large-scale fermentation and chemical processing equipment

What We Offer:

• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• A collaborative and innovative work environment
• The chance to make a significant impact in the field of chemical production

If you are passionate about applying your engineering expertise to develop groundbreaking solutions for the chemical industry, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity at General Biological.