VP of Process Technology

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 mass manufacturable nano-separation systems, significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking domestic critical mineral production.
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.
MISSION FOR YEAR 1
You will own the selection, development, and validation of the process technologies that anchor Kunin's separation flowsheets. You will decide which unit operations, vendors, and configurations advance from evaluation to deployment, and back those decisions with laboratory data, pilot results, and process models.
By the end of 2026, we expect:
- A vetted process technology portfolio, with down-selected vendors and configurations for each core unit operation.
- Bench and pilot validation campaigns completed for the priority flowsheets, with documented performance against design targets.
- Integrated mass balance, equilibria, and kinetics unified into process models that drive dynamic cost and design choices.
- Active joint-research collaborations established with National Laboratories, universities, and corporate R&D teams.
WHAT YOU'LL LEAD
- Evaluation, vetting, and down-selection of process technology vendors and unit-operation configurations from pilot through commercialization.
- Hands-on laboratory experimentation to optimize kinetics, selectivity, throughput, purity, and regeneration chemistry for Kunin's separation systems and integrated flowsheets.
- Pilot testing of hydrometallurgical unit operations to validate bench-scale results against commercial design targets.
- Development of process models integrating mass balance, equilibria, and kinetics to drive cost and design decisions.
- Technology roadmapping across leaching, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, crystallization, electrowinning, and effluent management.
- Engagement and joint-research collaboration with National Laboratories, universities, and corporate R&D teams.
- Cross-functional alignment with the ion-exchange media team on resin and reagent choices and with process engineering on scale-up readiness.
WHO YOU ARE
- Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering, Extractive Metallurgy, or Hydrometallurgy with 7+ years in hydrometallurgical process development and technology evaluation.
- Experimentalist fluent in bench and pilot campaigns across leaching, solid-liquid separation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction, and precipitation; electrowinning and crystallization preferred.
- Modeler skilled in process simulation using MetSim, HSC Chemistry, SysCAD, or Aspen Plus; comfortable with precipitate and electrolyte modeling tools such as PHREEQC or OLI Studio.
- Experienced in vendor evaluation, technology due diligence, and structuring external research collaborations.
- Hands-on technical lead, willing to work directly on bench and pilot scale operations regardless of seniority, and excited by an early-stage startup environment with high autonomy, opportunity, and expectations.
- Communicator who translates experimental and modeling results into clear technology decisions for engineering and executive audiences.
COMPENSATION
This role will pay $145,000 - $185,000, benefits, and equity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
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
- Must be willing to relocate to Chattanooga, TN and available to travel to customers across the United States, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia for process technology installation and commissioning.
- Flexibility for extended hours during critical project phases

Employment type
FullTime

Work arrangement
No