Mechanical Design Engineer

AirMyne is a Series A Direct Air Capture (DAC) startup aiming to develop the most readily scalable and cost-competitive DAC process. By employing widely available industrial technologies and equipment, and by creating an energy-flexible process, we hope to overcome barriers to scale such as material supply chains, cost and availability of clean energy, and plant capacity factors. Our engineering team has spent the last four years refining our process into a full integrated system, and we are on our way to an outdoor pilot funded by the California Energy Commission. 

We are now looking to expand our team with a Mechanical Design Engineer who will design, build, and iterate prototypes ranging from lab scale up to roughly the size of a shipping container. The ideal candidate will be comfortable owning mechanical designs from concept and requirements to commissioning and testing. They will have practical experience with process equipment, safety reviews, and hands-on fabrication.

What you’ll do:

• Design unit operation prototypes and lab-scale test chambers to achieve specifications and sensing requirements from R&D team
• Select and integrate process hardware including pumps, valves, tanks, pressure vessels, filtration equipment, fans, and sensors
• Develop safe, serviceable, weather-resistant designs supported by first principles structural, fluid, or thermal calculations when relevant
• Hold design reviews to collect feedback, and participate in safety reviews or HAZOPs
• Collaborate with process, automation, and deployment engineers so prototype designs can inform future pilots
• Support occasional trips to AirMyne’s outdoor pilot site, approximately a 2 hour drive from the West Berkeley facility

Requirements:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or related field
• 2-4 years experience in designing, building, and troubleshooting hardware
• Proficiency in CAD
• Ability to evaluate whether to purchase a component or build it in-house
• Excited to get hands dirty with prototype fabrication, plumbing, troubleshooting, and process optimization
• Organized and disciplined about equipment safety, design reviews, and clean build practices

Bonus background:

• Experience with process equipment such as pumps, valves, tanks, pressure vessels, filtration systems, fans/blowers, or cooling towers
• Experience with pressure systems, thermal systems, and mechanical safety considerations
• Experience with corrosion-resistant materials, chemical compatibility, or wet process systems
• Experience designing equipment for rain, outdoor exposure, temperature swings, and long-duration unattended operation
• Experience with industrial scale plants/processes and their operation, pilot or larger
• Experience with electrical and/or control systems

Why join us:

We are quickly reaching the 1.5°C threshold of global warming that the Paris Agreement targeted back in 2015, and it will require both decarbonization and large-scale carbon removal to slow and reverse our current pace of CO2 emissions. We are a team of scientists and engineers who are passionate and goal-driven, and we see a technology with a high potential for big impact. As a small team, every person’s input directly improves our technology. While we each specialize in different areas, we remain flexible with how we contribute to our shared goals, often learning new skills from each other and whatever resources we can find. Finally, we’re a tight team that value both our time together in the office and our personal time outside of work. If that sounds exciting to you, please reach out!

What we offer:

• Benefits plan includes subsidized health, dental, and vision plans with options for life insurance
• 401(k)
• Several company holidays per year including week-long holidays in November and December
• Flexible time-off policy with unlimited PTO
• Equity

This role is on-site AirMyne’s facility in West Berkeley. The estimated annual salary range for this role is $90,000 - $120,000 plus company equity.

NOTE: Not all custom questions may be relevant to your skillset or role - feel free to skip any that are outside your purview.