Process Engineer

About Pelleton Renewables

Pelleton Renewables is a Swiss clean tech company and a leader in biomass and bio-waste management technology. Our proprietary, patented chemical desiccation process breaks away from conventional heating, filtering and centrifugal water removal methods — achieving around 80% volume reduction with 82% less energy and 34% lower CO₂ than thermal drying, and converting waste streams into valuable pellet products. The technology is proven at our fully automated demonstration plant in Yatala, Queensland.

About the role

As a senior process engineer, you take technical ownership of the demonstration plant performance and support the hybrid drying and palletisation technology behind it — from daily operation and process optimisation through to front-end engineering design for customer projects. You support the technical direction for feasibility, scale-up and commercialisation, act as the senior technical point of contact for customers during demonstrations and design reviews, and guide junior engineers and plant operators in day-to-day practice. Success in this role means a demonstration plant that runs safely and reliably, data-driven process improvements that translate into commercial outcomes, and customer projects that move confidently from feasibility study to implementation on site.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the operation of the demonstration plant during both customer-facing demonstrations and ongoing process optimisation effort (incl. operational procedures)
• Support in concept and front-end engineering design works for customer projects: feedstock and drying feasibility; heat and mass balances; process simulation; equipment sizing; process scale-up; utilities; and integration into customer sites.
• Prepare and maintain process engineering deliverables such as design criteria, PFDs, P&IDs, process calculations, equipment and instrument datasheets, line lists, control narratives and operating philosophies, and support design reviews, retrofit works and project implementation.
• Collect and analyse operational data from the demonstration plant and perform process modelling and analytical assessments for customer requirements using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Support laboratory operations, including conducting lab tests, updating procedures, and analysing results using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Improve laboratory and demonstration-plant practices and contribute to R&D, including feedstock characterisation, product formulation, customer feasibility studies and improvements to existing products and technology.
• Conduct technical research to support the development of the hybrid drying and palletisation process (i.e. heat exchangers, additional/redundant instrumentation, boilers, process scale up)
• Support commercialisation by preparing design inputs, commissioning and start-up documentation, performance-test protocols, operator training materials and lessons learned from demonstration-plant operation.
• Develop and maintain technical dashboards and operations data tracking systems, including monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Stay up-to-date with relevant regulations and understand the effects it has on the end-use of customer projects

About you

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical/Process Engineering or related field
• Extensive experience in reading and interpreting engineering drawings, P&IDs and specifications
• Experience in waste management, resource recovery, bioenergy, water, food, minerals, chemicals or another process industry; drying, dewatering, pelletising, sludge or organic-waste processing experience is desirable.
• 5-12 years of experience as a mechanical or process engineer
• Strong understanding of HSE standards and risk assessments
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in data analysis tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team
• Willingness to be hands-on in a demo plant environment — including wearing PPE and working around machinery.
• Self-driven, with a demonstrated desire to learn and succeed

Benefits

• Opportunity to join a unique and rapidly growing clean technology company.
• Direct exposure to the latest state of the art technology in the clean tech space
• Opportunity to contribute to meaningful climate and sustainability outcomes.
• Flexible, entrepreneurial, fun and collaborative working environment.
• Competitive remuneration package, EPP (Employment Participation Plan) and career development opportunities.