Operations Manager

Job Summary

This role is responsible for leading product development, membrane production, application testing, and engineering support for advanced flat-sheet membrane technologies, including Forward Osmosis (FO), nanofiltration (NF), seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), and osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) membranes with low salt rejection characteristics.

Job Description

• Forward Osmosis Membrane Development and Production:
  • Oversee production of Forward Osmosis (FO) membranes, ensuring manufacturing consistency, quality, and alignment with product performance requirements.
  • Lead the design, development, and production scale-up of FO membrane modules.
  • Cook up and coordinate with partner manufacturing facilities for element rolling activities.
  • Oversee testing of FO processes and applications to validate performance, reliability, and suitability for target use cases.
  • Support the sizing, design, and engineering of FO systems for commercial and pilot-scale applications.
• Sales and Applications Support:
  • Provide technical and engineering support to the sales team for customer opportunities, proposals, and application evaluations.
  • Evaluate the technical feasibility of new applications, including process requirements, membrane suitability, and expected operating performance.
  • Assess pretreatment needs and upstream process steps required prior to membrane treatment.
• Engineering Management:
  • Provide technical direction, consultation, and support to engineering staff on membrane system design, testing, and implementation.
  • Maintain monitoring of project progress, identify technical risks, and support timely execution of engineering deliverables.
• Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis:
  • Oversee spiral-wound element production activities for OARO membrane products and related applications.
  • Manage testing and quality control procedures to ensure product consistency and application readiness.
• Application Testing and Field Support:
  • Oversee laboratory testing of new FO and OARO applications, including performance validation and process optimization.
  • Lead initial pilot testing of new FO applications, including membrane crystallizer concepts and other emerging treatment processes.
  • Support field pilot testing of RecovOAR and FO systems, including troubleshooting, data review, and recommendations for improvement.
• Intellectual Property Support:
  • Support internal intellectual property development for in-house technology platforms and product applications.
  • Serve as lead technical author for patent disclosures and related intellectual property documentation.
  • Prepare technical responses to patent office actions and support outside counsel as needed.

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or Physics.
• Background in Chemistry and/or Chemical engineering is advantageous.