R&D Technology & Operations Specialist

Position:

Technology & Operations Specialist

Reporting to

: Head of R&D

Location:

Des Plaines, IL

Company Overview:

Aether Fuels is an advanced climate technology startup revolutionizing the sustainable fuels industry with its breakthrough catalysts, equipment and process flows. Aether’s mission is to enable a net zero world through sustainable liquid fuels by economically producing sustainable hydrocarbon fuels at scale from flexible combinations of waste carbon streams.

Job Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and hands-on expert to drive the demonstration and commercialization of our Aurora technology. This

Technology & Operations Specialist

will support the large-scale demonstration and eventual commercial deployment of Aether’s Aurora technology. This role is central to bridging R&D breakthroughs to commercial implementation—coordinating demonstration-scale builds, startup and operations, and performance validation.

If you have deep technical knowledge and hands-on experience across gasification, syngas production, upgrading, advanced hydrogen and carbon conversion processes—and thrive in collaborative, agile environments, this is your opportunity to drive the energy transition.

Responsibilities:

- Support the scale-up of novel process technologies, from lab and pilot scale to commercial deployment.

- Design and execute risk-mitigation strategies for R&D-driven technologies, leveraging prior lessons from commercial deployments.

- Develop process models and techno-economic frameworks to evaluate commercial viability and support capital planning.

- Translate experimental R&D findings into scalable, robust designs with process flow diagrams, P&IDs, and operational documentation.

- Support technology transfer initiatives, ensuring seamless handovers from R&D to engineering and operations teams.

- Provide technical oversight on pilot plant and early commercial unit operations, supporting troubleshooting and optimization.

- Interface cross-functionally with engineering, safety, project development, and external partners on scale-up efforts.

- Contribute to HAZOPs and FMEA assessments to ensure safe and reliable scale-up.

- Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities for process improvements based on operational data and industry best practices.

Qualifications

- B.S. in Chemical Engineering with 8+ years of experience in renewable fuels, refining, or process engineering.

- Proven track record in technology scale-up, pilot plant or demo operation, and techno-economic evaluation.

- Deep familiarity with gasification, distillation, hydrogen production, and Fischer-Tropsch or gas fermentation pathways.

- Experience in process simulation tools (e.g., Aspen, UniSim) and equipment design.

- Strong understanding of process safety practices, including HAZOP and FMEA participation.

- Demonstrated ability to work in startup or dynamic environments, balancing technical rigor with execution speed.

- Project Management: Demonstrated ability to lead projects from conception through commercialization.

- Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical information to diverse audiences.

- Familiarity with process control systems (PLC/DCS) and field instrumentation is a plus

- Travel: Willingness to travel up to 25% for site visits, start-ups, and stakeholder meetings.

Aether Fuels is an equal-opportunity employer and offers competitive compensation and benefits. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, religion, or veteran status.