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Alta Resource Technologies

Biochemically extracts rare earths from feedstocks

Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer

Controls & Automation EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeBoulder, CO, USA$145k - $175k

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 industries, including chemicals, petrochemicals, oil and gas, hydrometallurgical processing, mining, or biotechnology, is required.
  • Working knowledge of DCS/PLC 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 pilot and demonstration plant scales.
  • Provide hands-on technical support and troubleshooting for 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 maintenance strategies for instrumentation, electrical, controls, and operations-technology equipment, including reactive and preventive maintenance, sparing, redundancy, availability, and maintainability strategies.
  • Commission instrumentation and control systems on the demonstration plant, including loop checks, calibration verification, instrumentation improvements, and troubleshooting issues identified 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 control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, instrument indexes, input/output 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 for equipment selection, sizing, and specification development, and review grounding and hazardous-area classification for field devices.
  • Work across design, testwork support, and eventual commissioning as the project advances toward construction and startup.
  • Travel for partner meetings 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 scale through demonstration to commercial plants is preferred.
  • A Professional Engineer license is a plus but is not required.
  • Project management capabilities are preferred.

About the Company

Alta Resource Technologies

Biochemically extracts rare earths from feedstocks

Alta Resource Technologies uses custom-designed proteins to selectively bind and extract rare earth elements and other critical minerals from diverse feeds, including low-grade ores, mine tailings, waste streams, and end-of-life products. The process is continuous and scalable, licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and developed with partners like Pennsylvania State University, enabling high-purity separation with lower environmental impact and cost than traditional methods. The approach differentiates itself by targeting minerals from previously uneconomical sources and by offering a domestically focused supply chain to reduce dependence on foreign imports, particularly from China, for applications in electronics, renewable energy, and defense. Its goal is to expand domestic mineral production, advance pilots, and broaden the range of metals and feedstocks processed to strengthen national and economic security.

Company size
11-50
Company stage
Series A
Total funding
$43.6M
Headquarters
Boulder, CO
Founded
2022

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