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Alta Resource Technologies

Biochemically extracts rare earths from feedstocks

Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer

Full-Time
$145k - $175k
Senior
Bachelor's
Boulder, CO, USA
In PersonTravel is required for partner meetings and manufacturing site visits.
Electrical EngineeringControls & Automation Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • A B.S. in Instrumentation, Electrical, Controls, or Chemical Engineering is required.
  • At least 7 years of instrumentation and controls experience in industrial or chemical processing, including chemicals, petrochemicals, oil and gas, hydrometallurgical, mining, and/or biotechnology.
  • Working knowledge of distributed control system and programmable logic controller platforms, field instrumentation selection, and troubleshooting is required.
  • Working knowledge of ladder logic, structured text, and function blocks is required.
  • Working knowledge of control loop tuning is required.
  • Working knowledge of industrial protocols including OPC UA, Modbus RTU/TCP, Serial, and Ethernet/IP is required.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience and technical leadership are required.
Responsibilities
  • Own operational support, maintenance, reliability, continuous improvement, and design of electrical, instrumentation, controls, and operations technology equipment and systems at R&D scale, including pilot and demonstration plants.
  • Provide hands-on technical support and troubleshoot instrumentation, analyzers, controls, PLC/SCADA, electrical systems, and other operations technology equipment and systems.
  • Set up and manage PLC/SCADA, instrumented safety systems, alarm management, and data historian systems.
  • Create and manage reactive and preventive maintenance strategies, sparing strategies, redundancy, availability, and maintainability for instrumentation, electrical, controls, and operations technology equipment.
  • Commission instrumentation and control systems on the demonstration plant, including loop checks, calibration verification, instrumentation improvements, and troubleshooting issues found during commissioning.
  • Liaise with and manage equipment vendors for electrical, instrumentation, and controls commissioning activities.
  • Drive reliability initiatives and continuous improvement through performance analysis and root cause investigations.
  • Configure and troubleshoot variable frequency drives, control valves, actuators, and motor controls.
  • Support operations with loop tuning.
  • Liaise with EPC/EPCM partners to manage electrical, instrumentation, controls, and operations technology activities.
  • Lead vendor evaluation and engagement from electrical, instrumentation, controls, and operations technology perspectives.
  • Specify and size field instrumentation and analyzers, including flow, level, pressure, temperature, density, pH, ORP, CEMS, BMS, and conductivity instruments.
  • Specify PLC/DCS/SIS requirements and network architecture.
  • Develop design information including control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, instrument indexes, I/O lists, I&E schedules, loop diagrams, and single-line diagrams.
  • Develop company control systems strategies, including control system architecture selection, SIS requirements, level of automation, and control room requirements.
  • Develop company and engineering standards for electrical, instrumentation, controls, and operations technology to support commercial-scale projects.
  • Lead factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and loop checks during commercial plant construction and commissioning.
  • Coordinate electrical engineering activities related to equipment selection, sizing, and specification development; review grounding and hazardous-area classification for field devices.
  • Travel for partner meetings, including EPCMs and vendors, and manufacturing site visits.
Desired Qualifications
  • Working knowledge of Rockwell Studio 5000, the Logix family of controllers, and Ignition is preferred.
  • Working knowledge of DeviceNet, ControlNet, Profibus, and Fieldbus is preferred.
  • Knowledge of chemical process control, including batch control and ISA-88, is preferred.
  • Knowledge of industrial cybersecurity, including ISA-99 and IEC 62443, is preferred.
  • Working knowledge of IEC 61511 (ISA-84) is preferred.
  • Experience supporting scale-up from laboratory or pilot operations through demonstration to commercial plant is preferred.
  • A professional engineer license is a plus but is not required.
  • Project management capabilities are preferred.

About the company

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Alta Resource Technologies

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Website

Alta Resource Technologies uses custom-designed proteins to selectively extract rare earth elements and other critical minerals from various feedstocks, enabling high-purity recovery. The platform binds specific metals and allows continuous, scalable separation from low-grade ores, mine tailings, waste streams, and end-of-life products. By licensing technology from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and partnering with Pennsylvania State University, it differentiates itself with a low-environmental-impact process and domestic, resilient mineral supply for sectors like electronics, renewables, and defense. Its goal is to provide a scalable, sustainable source of critical minerals to reduce dependence on foreign imports and strengthen national security.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$10.7M

Headquarters

Boulder, Colorado

Founded

2022

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • January and May 2025 seed rounds raised over $10 million from DCVC, Voyager, IQT.
  • August 2026 Mont Royal study opens Quebec feedstock and a North American refinery path.
  • January 2026 Korea Zinc JV targets 2027 magnet recycling, giving Alta an industrial path.

What critics are saying

  • Zero disclosed commercial revenue leaves Alta dependent on pilots and grants through 2027.
  • Rare-earth buyers still demand recovery yields, offtakes, and bankable plants before financing.
  • If 2027 facilities miss yields, Alta stays a lab tool without a market.

What makes Alta Resource Technologies unique

  • LLNL-licensed protein separation beats solvent-heavy hydrometallurgy on selectivity and waste.
  • Nathan Ratledge built Alta around rare-earth-specific binders, not generic biotech.
  • Korea Zinc and Mont Royal chose Alta for 2026 pilot validation.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Paid Sick Leave
  • Company Holidays

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

42%

1 year growth

42%

2 year growth

81%
Metal.com
Sep 2nd, 2026
Mont Royal Resources and Alta Resource Technologies partner for rare earth processing research.

Mont Royal Resources and Alta Resource Technologies partner for rare earth processing research. Published: Sep 2, 2026 18:53 Foreign media reported on August 31 that listed enterprise Mont Royal Resources signed a joint research agreement with US-based Alta Resource Technologies to evaluate the technical pathway for processing mixed rare earth carbonate produced from the Ashram project in Quebec into separated high-purity rare earth oxides. The two parties will assess the feasibility of building a commercial refining facility, and the agreement is Step-1 toward a potential joint venture to support the long-term production of rare earth oxides for permanent magnets and high-tech applications in North America. Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

Colorado Politics
Jul 30th, 2026
Federal biotech commission examines Colorado's role in critical minerals production.

Federal biotech commission examines Colorado's role in critical minerals production. By Scott Weiser 07/30/2026 | updated 6 days ago China's dominance over critical mineral supplies has left U.S. manufacturers vulnerable. Colorado's biotech and research community is working to ease that dependence. Leaders from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology met last week at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The roundtable session was part of the commission's ongoing Biotech Across America series of regional outreach and education meetings. The Colorado stop focused on using microbiology to recover strategic minerals from mining waste and other domestic sources. Commissioner Alexander Titus and commission staff joined participants from the School of Mines, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and local startups. Alta Resource Technologies is developing protein-based methods to separate critical minerals. Nathan Ratledge, co-founder and CEO of the Boulder company, told the group that supply constraints are already forcing production stoppages in semiconductors, aerospace, automotive and defense. "No matter how bad you think it is, it's worse," he said. He linked the shortages to decades of Chinese dominance in mining and processing and said new technology is required to rebuild domestic capacity. Liz Dennett, founder and CEO of Arvada-based Endolith, described the practical obstacles companies face in moving from laboratory work to commercial scale. She said her firm has developed microorganisms that recover copper from copper mine waste piles that can increase total copper production by as much as 10%. "We are going to need somewhere between $50 million and $100 million to build our first commercial field pilot," Dennett said. Mining customers move slowly, she said, and investors typically require firm purchase commitments before providing that level of capital. Ratledge agreed, calling the resulting barrier a classic problem. "A lot of this is chicken and egg," he said. Customers will not buy until a company is producing, he said, and project finance is hard to obtain until buyers are lined up. Ratledge said Colorado has technical strengths but is being outcompeted by states offering larger, faster incentives. He pointed to Texas, where companies in related fields have secured multimillion-dollar grants tied to projects expected to create hundreds of jobs and attract more than $1 billion in capital investment each. Texas has also established a $350 million advanced nuclear development fund and deployed semiconductor innovation grants that have supported rare earth and magnet manufacturing expansions. Colorado supports the biotechnology sector mainly through its Advanced Industries Accelerator Program. The program offers proof-of-concept grants up to $150,000 and early-stage capital grants up to $250,000 for companies in energy and natural resources, advanced manufacturing and related fields. The state also provides investment tax credits and job-growth incentives. Recent Advanced Industries awards have totaled several million dollars across dozens of recipients. A new Governor's Competitiveness Council, announced this month, is examining policy and regulatory changes to improve the state's business climate. Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, pointed to existing state grant programs and the competitiveness council as tools to address these gaps. Commission staff said federal tools such as advance purchase commitments and quicker pathways for demonstration projects could help close the gap between promising technology and market-ready production. Participants at the Mines gathering described both the opportunity created by Colorado's research institutions, biotech startups and the financing and market barriers that continue to slow commercial scaleup.

Castle Placement
Jan 8th, 2026
Metals, Minerals and Mining Capital Raises and Investors in the U.S. - November 16th to December 31st, 2025

Metals, Minerals and Mining capital raises and investors in the U.S. - november 16th to december 31st, 2025. Several interesting transactions closed in the Metals, Minerals and Mining sector over the past month. If you would like more info or would like to discuss the capital raising market for your company, please contact me. * Sienna Resources, exploration-stage company that focuses on exploring for and developing high-grade deposits in politically stable, environmentally responsible and ethical mining jurisdictions, received CAD 1.9 million of development capital from an investor over 2 tranches. * S. Gold, exploration and development company that owns certain mining leases and other mineral rights comprising the CK Gold Project in Wyoming, the Keystone Project in Nevada, and the Challis Gold Project in Idaho, received $31.24 million of development capital from Franklin Templeton Investments United Kingdom, Mackenzie Financial and Libra Advisors. * Constantine Metal Resources, mineral exploration services that explore and develop mineral properties in North America, was acquired by Vizsla Copper for CAD 15 million. * Disa Technologies, materials liberation technology that optimizes the world's use of resources and disrupt best practices in the mining and reclamation industries, raised $35.08 million through a combination of Series A and Series A-2 venture funding in a deal led by Evok Innovations, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $112.92 million. * Rithmik Solutions, artificial intelligence platform that leverages predictive maintenance on mobile mining equipment, raised Series A venture funding from Hitachi Construction Machinery, Fire Phoenix Capital and Chrysalix Venture Capital. * Alta Resource Technologies, mining technology for the extraction of critical minerals from a diversity of feedstocks, raised $28.38 million through the combination of Series A venture funding from investors, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $79.12 million. * pH7 Technologies, economical and sustainable process for extracting platinum group metals from primary and secondary resources and waste materials, closed on $25.6 million of Series B venture funding in a deal led by F-Prime Capital. * Transition Biomining, custom products that increase metal recovery and processing speed from low-grade sulfides, raised $6 million of seed funding from SOSV and IndieBio, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $10 million. Tina vital. Managing director. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to discuss your capital raise:

FinSMEs
May 5th, 2025
Alta Resource Technologies Expands Seed Funding to $10M

Alta Resource Technologies, a Boulder, CO-based company using biochemistry for mineral separation, raised $4.4M in Seed 2 funding.

Venture Capital
May 5th, 2025
Alta Resource Technologies Raises $10 Million in Series Seed Funding Expansion

Alta Resource Technologies raises $10 million in Series Seed funding expansion.