Senior Process Engineer

Job location: Cornwall, United KingdomCreated moment: December 19, 2023Job reference: REQ – 07768

The Company

The world’s leading supplier of mineral-based specialty solutions for industry with 14,000 employees, operations in more than 40 countries, and €4.3 billion in revenue in 2022.

Imerys delivers high-value-added, functional solutions to a great number of sectors, from processing industries to consumer goods. The Group draws on its understanding of applications, technological knowledge and expertise in material science to deliver solutions by beneficiating its mineral resources, synthetic minerals and formulations. Imerys’ solutions contribute essential properties to customers’ products and their performance, including heat resistance, hardness, conductivity, opacity, durability, purity, lightness, filtration, absorption and water repellency. Imerys is determined to develop responsibly, in particular by fostering the emergence of environmentally-friendly products and processes.

If you want to grow your skills and develop your career, find out more at

The Position

Senior Process Engineer

Job Summary

Role: Senior Process Engineer Hours: 40h M-F Location: Stenalees, Cornwall

Would you like to be involved in Europe’s first integrated Lithium production facility?

The joint venture between Imerys and British Lithium:

Imerys British Lithium (IBL) is a joint venture between Imerys S.A. and Lithium Assets Ltd., formerly British Lithium, developing a world class micaceous lithium resource in Cornwall. IBL have developed unique, patented technology for the sustainable recovery of battery grade lithium carbonate from micaceous granite, with the goal of building the world’s first integrated lithium mine, beneficiation plant and refinery producing 20,000tpa of lithium carbonate – enough to support production in the UK of 350,000 electric vehicles per year.

The role: You will lead the development of IBL’s novel process technologies for refining and purifying lithium from lithium bearing mica. You will be responsible for the successful integration of refinery process technologies into the process design for the British Lithium Project.

You will be involved in leading dialogue with external parties, design engineers, and project stakeholders in defining, specifying and de-risking the process technology that will deliver lithium carbonate products to the market.

Your main responsibilities:

• Leading scale-up and de-risking activities within the Refinery team, including planning and organising work programmes, facilitating change and driving execution.
• The commercial design of the Lithium Carbonate Refinery (LCR) process, leveraging internal expertise and that of third-party equipment / technology suppliers.
• Ownership of technical risk management for the LCR process design. This includes maintaining a technical risk register, specifying and executing trials and test work and incorporating findings into the process design to reduce technical risk.
• The production of improvement capital requests and project management for implantation of improvement capital projects.

Other key responsibilities:

• Being a key process technology expert for pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and chemical process technologies.
• Having an input to business decision making in the presence of company Directors and senior stakeholders. Requires timely preparation and delivery of compelling and robust reports & presentations.
• Execution of process scale-up programmes at pilot scale. Drive the creation of analytical and process data to develop robust understandings of chemical processes. Subsequently, maintain a robust culture of intellectual property development and capture.
• The process engineering deliverables for the design of the commercial LCR plant, including engineering design packages, equipment specifications, input on philosophies, plant layouts, risk reviews, permits, procurement, quality processes, and plant commissioning.
• For managing the delivery of Refinery pilot scale trials and operations.

What we ask you in return:

• Have a degree-level qualification in process/chemical engineering, with chartered professional status beneficial.
• Have proven experience of managing and developing others.
• Have proven project management experience.
• Have demonstrable experience of managing multiple stakeholders across sites and functions with a clear collaboration mindset.
• Have experience in the scale-up of chemicals process technologies within a chemical or mining environment, with experience with Lithium chemistries would be advantageous.
• Have knowledge of health & safety standards and COSHH regulations and, ideally, have a vocational health and safety qualification.

All roles within Imerys British Lithium require flexibility and ability to adapt. During periods of extended operating campaigns, intense activity and / or reduced staff availability, the role may be required to undertake any activities to support the project, subject to adequate competency for specialist tasks.

What’s in for you?

You will be working for Imerys, the world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry, with over 16,000 employees and over 200 sites worldwide. Imerys delivers high value-added, functional solutions to diversified sets of industrial sectors, from processing industries to consumer goods. We support your professional development including training, costs, offering a competitive salary and other benefits such as;

• Company sick pay entitlement after 6 months service,
• Life Assurance,
• Defined Contribution Pension Plan,
• Income Protection for DC members,
• Long Service awards,
• Reward Hub & Local Discounts,
• Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme,
• Cycle to work scheme and
• Endeavour club (off site gym) to help you stay fit and healthy.

Our people are important to us, our workplaces are diverse and inclusive and whilst maintaining the health, safety and environmental standards on site, for yourself and others around you, we’re an organisation with a wealth of career and development opportunities that allow you to tap into your full potential.

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