The Role

As Manufacturing Engineering Lead at TheZero, you will play a pivotal role in translating breakthrough carbon sequestration technology into commercial impact. You will drive the scale up of the entire manufacturing process, from component design and selection to integration and iteration of the full process and balance of plant. This includes engineering robust and cost-effective systems, optimizing equipment throughput, ensuring safety and quality at scale, integrating process control and automation, and developing the infrastructure for deployment at multiple global sites with digital connectivity.

You will oversee all aspects of the transition from prototype to large-scale production, integrating systems for reliability, performance, and cost-efficiency, and will lead cross-functional teams responsible for both hardware and software/process controls central to plant operations. Your leadership will be crucial to achieving our ambitious CO2 sequestration targets and fueling TheZero’s next phase of growth and expansion.

Responsibilities

• Lead the scaling of processing equipment initially from lab (at ton/day) to 100s of tons/day, then to 10s of kilotons/day and eventually to fully scaled global manufacturing at MTons/day.

• Transition equipment from prototype into production and deploy to at least 10 sites globally.

• Responsible for equipment Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), including in-house manufacturing/assembly line and customer sites.

• Manage equipment maintenance across global operations and customer sites; including field support training, manuals and product literature, spare parts stocking, logistics, and customer relations.

• Oversee creation and management of assembly lines for 10+ units per year of complex capital equipment.

• Lead and oversee software development for user interface and process control.

• Implement and manage an assembly line Quality Control (QC) program.

• Focus on key process areas including wetting and drying process control.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in chemical or mechanical engineering with proven manufacturing scale-up responsibilities, preferably with international experience.

• Demonstrated success transitioning lab or pilot line equipment to large-scale commercial manufacturing.

• Strong track record in EH&S, QC, and international equipment deployment.

• Leadership experience in capital equipment manufacturing, including cross-functional and field support teams.

• Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

Salary: $180,000 - $220,000 plus equity (based on experience with milestone-based vesting aligned to key company growth targets)

●      Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance, mission-driven culture, and early-stage ownership

The Role

As Senior Facilities Manager at TheZero, you will take our first pilot facility from cold commissioning through sustained nameplate production. This is the plant that proves our technology works at commercial scale - every system, procedure, and person on site will be operating for the first time, and you will be the one making the judgment calls that determine whether it performs. You will drive shakedown and performance testing through formal acceptance, verify that machinery and safety systems hold up before full-rate production, and hire and train the team that runs it. Because nothing here is inherited, the problems you solve and the standards you set become the operating template for every facility we build after this one. Your leadership will be crucial to achieving our ambitious CO2 sequestration targets and fueling TheZero’s next phase of growth and expansion.

Responsibilities

Plant Commissioning and Setup

·       Lead commissioning and operational setup of the plant, coordinating schedule and scope across EPC contractors, equipment vendors, safety and permit consultants, and local authorities to deliver a safe and on-time launch.

·       Participate in factory and site acceptance testing (FAT/SAT) and design a maintenance program, including preventive and predictive maintenance programs, planned outages, uptime targets, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) standards.

·       Build and implement a site safety program, covering hot work, confined space, lockout/tagout, combustible dust housekeeping, hot product handling, mobile equipment traffic, and emergency response.

·       Develop feedstock and biochar storage protocols to optimize inventory, moisture management, and mitigate self-heating and combustion risks.

·       Coordinate inbound and outbound logistics with operations team to establish ticketing, truck routing and staging, receiving inspection and sampling, load-out, etc.

·       Create and implement plant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and operational standards.

Team Setup and Leadership:

·       Recruit, train, and manage a high-performing facilities team with a strong culture of safety, accountability, and operational excellence.

·       Develop and deliver an onboarding and training program, including qualification standards for each role.

·       Own site-level labor compliance, including wage and hour rules, timekeeping and payroll accuracy, break and rest requirements, overtime and shift differentials, OSHA 300 recordkeeping, etc.

Ongoing Plant Operations & Management:

·       Run all day-to-day plant operations to safely achieve production, quality, yield, reliability, and cost objectives. Drive plant performance through proactive maintenance, operational discipline, KPI tracking, and regular reporting to leadership.

·       Manage permit compliance (air permit, stormwater, waste handling, local fire and building), including monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting obligations.

·       Manage inbound feedstock supply and outbound product logistics to optimize inventory, production scheduling, and customer deliveries.

·       Drive continuous improvement to increase throughput, energy efficiency, labor productivity, equipment reliability, and operating performance while maintaining SOPs and capturing operational best practices.

Who You Are

·       6+ years in process manufacturing or heavy industry, including 3+ years managing people and full accountability for a production area or plant.

·       Direct experience commissioning and starting up a new plant, production line, or major capital project.

·       Background in a thermal or bulk-solids process environment (pyrolysis, gasification, biomass power, pellet mills, kilns, lime/cement, pulp and paper, waste-to-energy, or similar).

·       Demonstrated ownership of an industrial EHS program and a track record of strong safety results.

·       Experience building and running a preventive maintenance program and managing to uptime/availability targets.

·       Hiring and training experience in an hourly/technical workforce, ideally in a tight labor market. Working knowledge of wage and hour and OSHA recordkeeping obligations for an hourly workforce.

·       Comfort dealing directly with regulators and local officials on inspections, reporting, and permit conditions.

·       Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

Compensation

●      Salary: $130,000-$170,000/year, plus equity (based on experience with milestone-based vesting aligned to key company growth targets)

●      Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance, mission-driven culture, and early-stage ownership

The Role

As Controls/Embedded Systems Engineer at TheZero, you will take our industrial automation, embedded architectures, and control systems from initial setup through sustained pilot plant production. You will design, program, and troubleshoot the control platforms—including PLCs, HMIs, VFDs, embedded devices, and industrial networks that power our breakthrough biochar production equipment. Working alongside production, maintenance, and R&D teams, you will perform commissioning, shakedown, and optimization on automated process lines. Because nothing here is inherited, the control architecture, code, and standards you create will become the operating template for every facility we build after this one. Your technical leadership will be crucial to achieving our ambitious CO2 sequestration targets and fueling TheZero’s next phase of growth and expansion.

What You’ll Do

System Design & Embedded/PLC Programming:

• Design, develop, program, and support electrical and control systems for pilot manufacturing equipment and production lines.

• Program, configure, and troubleshoot PLCs (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Omron, Mitsubishi), HMIs, SCADA systems, VFDs, and embedded control hardware.

• Create and maintain electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, panel layouts, control documentation, and software revision backup files.

Plant Commissioning & Hardware Integration:

• Lead the startup, commissioning, and debugging of automated equipment, including conveyors, motors, thermal units, sensors, and pneumatic systems.

• Conduct Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) for automation and embedded systems prior to production release.

• Configure industrial communication networks (Ethernet/IP, Modbus) and integrate machine safety devices to ensure safe, compliant operation.

Ongoing Operations & Continuous Improvement:

• Troubleshoot production equipment issues related to electrical controls, automation systems, embedded logic, and machine communication networks to minimize downtime.

• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, and R&D to implement process improvements focused on throughput, energy efficiency, yield, and safety.

• Establish preventive maintenance and backup procedures for control systems and provide technical training to maintenance technicians and plant operators.

Who You Are

• Education & Experience: Master’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Embedded Systems, Mechatronics, Automation Engineering, or a related field (or an Associate degree with equivalent hands-on experience).

• Industrial Automation & Controls: Ideally, 2+ years of experience designing, programming, and troubleshooting PLCs (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Omron, etc.), HMIs, VFDs, and motor controls in a manufacturing or process environment.

• Technical Breadth: Familiarity with embedded system integration, industrial communication networks (Ethernet/IP, Modbus), sensors, safety devices, and pneumatic/electromechanical systems.

• Documentation & Schematics: Proficient in reading and interpreting electrical schematics, technical drawings, panel wiring practices, and using engineering documentation software.

• Startup Agility & Problem Solving: Strong analytical troubleshooting skills with a self-motivated, hands-on approach to working on the production floor during commissioning and emergency support.

• Bonus Background: Prior experience in high-growth startup environments, bulk-solids/thermal processing systems, material handling automation, or lean manufacturing.

Compensation

• Salary: $110,000–$130,000/year, plus equity (based on experience with milestone-based vesting aligned to key company growth targets)

• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance, mission-driven culture, and early-stage ownership

Contact

Interested applicants, please send your CV with your contact information and a summary of your expertise to Divya Chalise (divya@the-zero.com), CTO & Co-founder of TheZero.