Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Location: Remote / US-Based (with travel to operations in Albania and conferences
Reports To: Founders (CEO/COO)
Direct Reports/Oversight: External Director of Ecology (Fractional), Project Managers, R&D Partners
The Role
We are seeking a Chief of Science to serve as the technical architect of our "farm-to-battery" value chain. You will be the strategic scientific leader overseeing four distinct technical pillars: Geochemistry (ERW), Plant Science (Agronomy/Genetics), Metallurgy, and Ecological Restoration.
You will act as the primary bridge between our external partners (labs, universities, fractional directors) and the executive team, ensuring our science yields valid carbon credits, battery-grade nickel, and ecological co-benefits.
Key Areas of Oversight & Responsibility
1. Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) & Carbon Science
- Scientific Strategy: maximize weathering rates in coordination with Metalplant's ERW partner who will be conducting MRV
- Methodology Compliance: Manage the implementation of Metalplant's CDR methodologies to ensure data from field trials meets buyers' standards and verification requirements
2. Plant Genetics & Agronomy
- Genetics Program (ARPA-E): Oversee our ARPA-E (DOE) grant project and manage the partnership
- Agronomic Optimization: Supervise field trials in Albania to optimize planting density and soil amendments. Ensure the balance between hyperaccumulator uptake, weathering and soil health is maintained
3. Process Metallurgy & Hydrometallurgy
- Flow Sheet Development: Oversee the R&D partnership with US-based metallurgical labs
- Commercial Scaling: Manage the technical transition from lab-scale extraction to a "Mini-Pilot" and eventual commercial processing, ensuring the final product meets the purity specifications of EV cathode manufacturers
- Supply Chain Integration: Advise on the logistics of transporting reduced biomass ash from Albania to US processing facilities to ensure IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) compliance,.
4. Ecological Oversight (Managing the Fractional Director)
- Direct Supervision: You will manage the Fractional Director of Ecology and Restoration, ensuring their work on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and,
- Environmental Safety: Accountability for the high-level interpretation of ecotoxicology data (Ni/Cr mobility) provided by the ecology team, monitoring of local watersheds
- Restorative Strategy: Ensure the "End-of-Life" plans developed by the Ecology Director are scientifically sound, verifying that soil remediation targets permit the eventual return of land to food-crop agriculture
Qualifications
- Education: PhD in Geochemistry, Metallurgy, Plant Science, or a related interdisciplinary field.
• Technical Breadth: The ability to "speak the language" of three distinct sciences:
- Geochemistry: Understanding silicate weathering and enhanced rock weathering.
- Agronomy/Plant Genetics: Understanding agronomy and breeding programs.
- Metallurgy: Understanding hydrometallurgical acid leaching and precipitation.
- Ecology: Understanding environmental systems, risk analysis, and restoration.
- Leadership: Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects (e.g., government grants, cross-border research partnerships)
- Strategic Vision: Ability to translate complex technical data (XRDF, ICP-MS, RTM models) into strategic roadmaps for investors and commercial partners
Why This Role?
- Impact: You will lead the science behind the only technology capable of producing nickel that removes ~100 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of metal.
- Resources: Work with secured non-dilutive funding (ARPA-E) and exclusive access to a billion-tonne+ olivine deposit.
- Innovation: Manage cutting-edge initiatives to on-shore critical mineral production to the United States.
Originally posted on Himalayas
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