Senior Chemical Engineer

About Secant Fuel Secant Fuel is a Canadian clean tech startup founded in 2024 developing a new way to turn biogas and landfill gas into higher-value, low-carbon fuels. Our technology converts the full biogas stream into syngas, creating a pathway to renewable methanol while helping biogas producers get more value from carbon they’re already producing. We’re a small, experienced and highly collaborative team of scientists, engineers and commercial folks working together to take the technology from the lab into the real world. We’re at a particularly exciting stage: the core technology is working, we’re building relationships with major industry players, and the next challenge is designing and deploying the systems that prove it at commercial scale. Role Overview As Senior Chemical Engineer, you will take ownership of the process design of Secant Fuel’s demonstration and commercial-scale units — the next generations beyond our MVP. Where the MVP design is largely led by our EPC partner, you will drive the design of subsequent units from the inside: setting the process basis, running the process simulations, making the engineering calls, designing for modularity and repeatability across sites, and providing EPCs with everything they need to execute. This is a senior, autonomous role for someone who has done this before. You will bring 5+ years of real industry experience in process design, FEED, or plant-scale engineering — and you will use that experience to make confident, defensible decisions without waiting to be told what to do. You will be the technical engine behind Secant Fuel’s scale-up, working closely with the CEO, CTO, Field Engineer, and EPC partners to move our technology from pilot to commercial reality. Key ResponsibilitiesProcess Design Ownership — Demo & Commercial Units – Own the end-to-end process design of Secant Fuel’s demonstration and commercial-scale units, from conceptual design through FEED and detailed engineering. – Define the process design basis: unit operations to include at each scale, recycle loops, separation trains, heat integration, and utility requirements. – Develop and maintain process flow diagrams (PFDs), heat and mass balances, and equipment sizing calculations. – Make and document key design decisions with clear technical rationale, drawing on your prior experience with similar processes and scales. – Identify and manage design risks proactively, proposing practical solutions before they become construction or commissioning problems. – Design units as modular, replicable systems — standardizing equipment packages, skids, and interfaces so each new deployment across biogas and landfill gas sites can be engineered, fabricated, and commissioned faster and at lower cost than the last. Process Simulation – Build, run, and maintain rigorous process models for the demonstration and commercial units, including sensitivity analyses and scenario comparisons. – Use simulation results to drive internal design decisions: equipment sizing, operating conditions, energy integration, recycle optimization, and scale-up assumptions. – Support the Field Engineer’s MVP simulation work and ensure consistency between MVP, demo, and commercial-scale models. – Translate simulation outputs into clear engineering guidance for the broader team and for EPC partners. EPC Coordination & Technical Leadership – Serve as Secant Fuel’s primary technical interface with EPC firms for the demo and commercial units: provide all required process data, review EPC deliverables, and hold EPCs accountable to the design intent. – Lead technical design review meetings, resolve discrepancies between Secant’s process design and EPC interpretations, and ensure alignment across P&IDs, datasheets, and equipment specifications. – Track design milestones, flag timeline risks, and escalate deviations to the CEO/CTO with proposed solutions in hand. – Develop and maintain the project’s design basis document — the single source of truth for all engineering decisions. Scale-Up Strategy & Technology Roadmap – Apply your industry experience to anticipate scale-up challenges specific to syngas production, CO₂ conversion, and fuel synthesis processes across variable feedstocks such as biogas and landfill gas — and build those lessons into the design from the start. – Contribute to Secant Fuel’s technology development roadmap: what needs to be designed, proven, or de-risked at each TRL, and in what sequence. – Define what Secant Fuel must own internally versus what can be sourced from technology licensors, EPC partners, or equipment vendors. – Support TRL gate reviews by providing the process engineering evidence required to advance from demo to FOAK to commercial scale. – Champion modularity as a core design principle: define what is standardized versus site-specific, and ensure modular architecture is central to how Secant Fuel delivers value to customers. Cross-functional Collaboration & Product Feedback – Work closely with the CTO to align process design choices with Secant Fuel’s product strategy, IP position, and commercial targets. – Collaborate with the Field Engineer to ensure that what is designed can be commissioned, operated, and maintained in the field. – Feed lessons from the design process — what works, what doesn’t, what clients will need — into the product development team’s roadmap. – Contribute to technical documentation for investors, grant applications, and regulatory submissions. QualificationsRequired – Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline. – 5+ years of hands-on process design experience in industry — in an engineering firm, EPC, process licensor, or industrial operator. Academic experience does not substitute for this requirement. – Demonstrated ability to independently lead process design from concept through FEED: PFDs, heat and mass balances, equipment sizing, P&ID development, and design basis documentation. – Advanced proficiency in Aspen Plus or Aspen HYSYS or similar software for rigorous steady-state simulation; experience with scale-up from pilot to commercial is a strong plus. – Proven track record of working as the technical owner of a design package — someone who drives decisions, not just executes tasks. – Experience interfacing with EPCs: providing technical inputs, reviewing deliverables, leading design review meetings, and managing design timelines. – Deep understanding of thermodynamics, reaction engineering, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, and separation processes. – Experience designing modular, skid-mounted, or standardized process units intended for replicable deployment across multiple sites. – Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; able to present complex engineering decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Strong Assets – Experience in syngas production, CO₂ conversion, gas reforming, methanol synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch, hydrogen production, biogas or landfill gas upgrading, or closely related process technologies. – Familiarity with Power-to-X, carbon capture and utilization (CCU), or low-carbon fuels pathways. – Experience sizing and specifying major process equipment: reactors, heat exchangers, compressors, separators, and distillation columns. – Background in skid-based or containerized plant design, and in standardizing designs for manufacturability and repeat fabrication. – Knowledge of process safety fundamentals – Experience in a startup, scale-up, or early-stage technology company — comfort with ambiguity, changing scope, and wearing multiple hats. – Bilingual in English and French, given Secant Fuel’s Quebec client relationships. – Familiarity with Canadian and Quebec permitting and environmental authorization processes for industrial facilities. What We Offer This is a role for someone who wants to build something — not maintain something. You will have real ownership over engineering decisions that determine whether Secant Fuel’s technology scales. You will work with a small, highly capable team where your judgment matters and your fingerprints will be on every unit we build. – Senior technical role with direct impact on Secant Fuel’s product and commercial trajectory. – Competitive salary and equity participation reflecting the seniority and criticality of the role. – Flexible, autonomous work environment — we set outcomes, not hours. – A mission worth building for: every unit we deploy replaces fossil fuel consumption with captured carbon. How to Apply Send your CV and a brief note on the most complex process design you’ve led — what it was, what your role was, and what you’d do differently. We review applications on a rolling basis. We welcome candidates of all backgrounds. Secant Fuel is committed to building a team as diverse as the problem we are solving.

Lead the end-to-end process design for demonstration and commercial-scale units, from conceptual design through FEED and detailed engineering. Coordinate with EPC partners to ensure design intent is met while driving the transition from pilot to commercial reality.

Requires a degree in Chemical Engineering and 5+ years of industrial process design experience, specifically leading designs from concept to FEED. Proficiency in Aspen Plus or HYSYS and experience with modular, skid-mounted process units are essential.

• Competitive Salary • Equity Participation • Flexible Work Environment

• ProductionSouhaitée
• collaborativeSouhaitée
• TechnicalSouhaitée
• CollaborationSouhaitée
• ClientSouhaitée
• ProcessSouhaitée
• CommunicationSouhaitée
• DevelopmentSouhaitée
• Communication SkillsSouhaitée
• IntegrationSouhaitée
• FlexibleSouhaitée
• AnglaisSouhaitée

Relevées dans la description du poste. Confirmez les exigences importantes ci-dessus.

• Process Design
• FEED
• Aspen Plus
• Aspen HYSYS
• Process Simulation
• Equipment Sizing
• P&ID Development
• Modular Design
• EPC Coordination
• Heat and Mass Balance
• Thermodynamics
• Reaction Engineering
• Fluid Mechanics
• Separation Processes
• Scale-up Strategy
• Technical Leadership

• Engineering
• Energy
• Environmental & Sustainability
• Manufacturing
• Science & Research

Formation minimale

Baccalauréat

Expérience minimale

5+ ans

Postuler avant le

1 mars 2027

Langue de l’offre

anglais

Heures de travail

40 heures par semaine

Niveau d’expérience

Mid-Senior level

Mode de candidature

La candidature directe est offerte