Jobs at Lydian | HiringCafe

Lydian

<h1>Company Overview</h1>Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system. Lydian has raised approximately $60M from top climate investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, and more. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way. <h1>Position Overview</h1>As we mature to full-scale project execution, Lydian is seeking Program Manager who is a dynamic and experienced leader to shape our project development and execution. You will be responsible for the development and delivery of major capital projects (starting with $50-500M CAPEX), ensuring successful execution from conceptual design through construction, commissioning, and handover. You are a scrappy self-starter with a bias to action. This role requires strategic leadership, cross-functional coordination, and the ability to relentlessly drive projects through stage-gated development while managing cost, schedule, and risk. The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in project management, engineering integration, procurement, and execution strategies within capital-intensive industries such as energy, chemicals, renewables, or infrastructure.<h1>Responsibilities</h1>Project Development &amp; Stage-Gate Execution<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Lead projects from conceptual design through the Front-End Loading (FEL) process (FEL-1 to FEL-3), ensuring stage-gate readiness.</li><li>Develop and manage FID-ready (Final Investment Decision) projects, ensuring cost, schedule, safety, and risk profiles meet investment thresholds.</li><li>Oversee feasibility studies, site selection, and regulatory compliance efforts, ensuring seamless project progression.</li><li>Establish and manage the Project Execution Plan, including contracting strategy, risk mitigation, and stakeholder engagement.</li><li>Interface with Company Executives to shape development opportunities in alignment with corporate scaling and growth plans, ensuring project execution aligns with long-term business strategy.</li></ul>Site Selection, Permitting, Regulatory Compliance &amp; Community Engagement<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Lead site feasibility assessments, including geotechnical, environmental, and infrastructure evaluations to determine the optimal project location.</li><li>Oversee land acquisition and right-of-way (ROW) negotiations, ensuring alignment with strategic and regulatory requirements.</li><li>Manage the permitting process at local, state, and federal levels, ensuring compliance with all regulatory and environmental requirements.</li><li>Serve as the primary liaison with regulatory bodies, permitting agencies, and environmental authorities, securing necessary project approvals.</li><li>Develop and execute community engagement strategies, proactively addressing stakeholder concerns and fostering positive relationships with local communities.</li></ul>Engineering, Procurement &amp; Contracting<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Work closely with engineering team, EPC/EPCM, and/or fabrication partners on all aspects of engineering design development from conceptual to detailed design to ensure Design for Constructibility and cost-effectiveness</li><li>Negotiate and manage major contracts, ensuring alignment with project goals, risk mitigation, and value optimization.</li></ul>Project Controls, Risk &amp; Stakeholder Management<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Implement project controls, cost tracking, earned value management (EVM), and progress forecasting to ensure financial and schedule discipline.</li><li>Lead risk management efforts, identifying potential project risks and proactively implementing mitigation strategies.</li><li>Provide regular updates and reporting to executive leadership, investors, and key stakeholders on project performance.</li><li>Ensure proactive stakeholder engagement across project phases to align expectations and facilitate decision-making.</li></ul>Construction Execution &amp; Commissioning<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Oversee construction management, ensuring adherence to safety, quality, and environmental compliance standards.</li><li>Manage interface between construction, commissioning, and operations, ensuring seamless project transition.</li><li>Drive startup, commissioning, and operational readiness efforts, working closely with operations teams to ensure long-term asset performance.</li><li>Develop internal project management processes, tools, and governance frameworks to scale future projects.</li><li>Foster a culture of excellence, safety, and collaboration within the project teams and across external partners.</li></ul><h1>Qualifications</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>You have been directly responsible for the execution of at least one major capital project which has been delivered on a substantially shorter timeline and at lower cost than industry average</li><li>Experience leading projects from conceptual design through FEED, EPC execution, and commissioning</li><li>Strong background in site selection, permitting, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement</li><li>Proven expertise in contract negotiation, procurement, and financial oversight of large-scale projects</li><li>Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams and interfacing with EPC partners</li><li>Deep understanding of engineering disciplines (process, mechanical, civil, electrical, instrumentation, automation) and their interfaces</li><li>Strong knowledge of project controls, cost estimating (Class V to Class I), and schedule management</li><li>Extensive experience in regulatory permitting, land acquisition, and environmental compliance strategies</li><li>Hands-on experience with construction oversight, safety programs, and commissioning/startup management</li><li>Has a track record of keeping projects tidy: schedules are current, budgets are reconciled, action items are owned, and nothing lives only in someone's inbox or memory. Treats project management software as a non-negotiable and has experience getting distributed teams to actually use it.</li></ul><h1>Preferred Qualifications</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Engineering or other STEM degree</li><li>8 to 15+ years of experience in major capital project development &amp; execution ($20M–$500M+ CAPEX)</li><li>Experience in startups or scaling organizations transitioning from R&amp;D to full-scale commercialization</li><li>Familiarity with greenfield industrial projects, energy transition technologies, or sustainability-focused industries</li><li>Experience with chemical process plants</li></ul><h1></h1><h2>Company Culture and Benefits</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Challenging, collaborative, and meaningful work and an important voice in company development</li><li>Competitive salary commensurate with experience</li><li>Meaningful equity compensation</li><li>Unlimited PTO and expectation that all employees take significant time off to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside work</li><li>Excellent insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental premiums covered for the employee, and 80% coverage for dependents</li><li>401(k) with company match</li></ul>

Program Manager, Capital Projects

Program Manager

Experience leading major capital projects, FEED to commissioning; strong site permitting, regulatory, procurement, and stakeholder engagement; leadership of multidisciplinary teams; excellent project controls and cost management.

<h1>Company Overview</h1>Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system, capable of producing ~10,000 gallons of fuel per year for a fraction of the capital and time of alternative approaches. Lydian is backed by top climate investors including Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Grok Ventures, and Overture. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way.<h1>Position Overview</h1>Lydian is hiring for a Staff Controls &amp; Automation Engineer that will will design, build, and own a state-of-the-art controls architecture for our novel chemical process. You will begin with designing and implementing a sophisticated, operator-friendly control system on our pilot plant, but your ultimate goal is to enable an automated, remote operation of our plants at every scale.You are intimately familiar with classical control and automation equipment but also possess the skills and experience to push beyond PLCs and integrate advanced control techniques into a robust and maintainable control system.<h1>Responsibilities</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Control Architecture &amp; System Design<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Architect the full control stack for pilot → demo → commercial plants, including PLCs, safety PLCs, SCADA/HMI, historian, networking, alarm philosophy, and mode/state logic</li><li>Define a clear hierarchy linking base control, supervisory control, and advanced control (state estimation, MPC)</li></ul></li><li>Pilot Plant Automation &amp; Implementation<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Develop structured, modular control logic in PLCs and safety PLCs, including reusable AOIs/function blocks for valves, heaters, compressors, and reactors</li><li>Own interlocks, permissives, fail-safe behavior, alarm logic, and safety instrumented functions</li><li>Implement robust state-based control, including state estimators to infer unmeasured internal process variables and stabilize noisy measurements</li><li>Build inferential “soft sensors” for reactor states, product composition, and equipment health. Implement diagnostics and anomaly/fault detection</li></ul></li><li>Advanced Controls<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Over time, validate and tune advanced controllers through simulation, staged deployment, and coordinated field commissioning</li><li>Identify multivariable, constraint-heavy loops suitable for MPC or other model-based controllers and implement MPC in a suitable environment</li></ul></li><li>Leadership &amp; Cross-Functional Collaboration<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Work with external software vendors and other team members to build analysis and tuning tools to support R&amp;D campaigns, long-term performance evaluation, and algorithm refinement</li><li>Develop simulation or digital-twin models to safely prototype new control strategies</li><li>Collaborate with process, mechanical, electrical, and operations teams to translate process requirements into robust, maintainable control logic</li><li>Support commissioning, plant bring-up, troubleshooting, and continuous optimization</li><li>Drive rigorous version control, documentation, and management-of-change practices</li></ul></li></ul><h1>Qualifications</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Bachelor's Degree with 10+ years of experience designing and owning automation systems for continuous chemical or energy processes</li><li>Strong foundation in control theory, process dynamics, multivariable interactions, and constraint management</li><li>Practical experience with state estimation and inferential sensing</li><li>Hands-on deployment of MPC or other model-based controllers on real industrial systems</li><li>Expertise with PLC platforms and SCADA/HMI systems </li><li>Deep experience with interlocks, permissives, safety logic, shutdowns, and high-temperature/high-pressure/flammable gas systems</li><li>Ability to make advanced control practical and easy to understand</li><li>Experience with thermochemical systems, especially catalytic systems</li><li>Experience integrating advanced control with DCS platforms (DeltaV, PCS7, Honeywell Experion, Yokogawa Centum)</li><li>Familiarity with Python or similar tools for prototyping estimation and control algorithms.</li><li>Experience in FOAK hardware or fast-moving industrial startup environments where flexibility and autonomy are required</li></ul><h1>Company culture and benefits</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Challenging, collaborative, and meaningful work and an important voice in company development</li><li>Competitive salary commensurate with experience</li><li>Meaningful equity compensation</li><li>Generous PTO and expectation that all employees take significant time off to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside work</li><li>Excellent health insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision and dental premiums covered</li><li>401(k) with company match</li></ul>

Staff Controls & Automation Engineer

10+ years designing/owning automation for continuous chemical/energy processes; strong control theory; MPC experience; PLC/SCADA; safety logic.

<h1>Company Overview</h1>Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system, capable of producing ~10,000 gallons of fuel per year for a fraction of the capital and time of alternative approaches. Lydian is backed by top climate investors including Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Grok Ventures, and Overture. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way.<h2>Position Overview</h2>We are hiring a highly organized and proactive Office Manager to serve as the operational backbone of our Boston headquarters. This role is central to keeping our team moving, ensuring our financial workflows are seamless, and maintaining a world-class physical workspace. You will own the "gears" of the office - from managing accounts payable and procurement to orchestrating team culture and facility logistics. We are looking for someone who takes pride in "setting the stage" so that the technical team can work without operational friction, and is as comfortable auditing a spreadsheet as they are assembling a whiteboard or moving packages.This role is fully onsite. Because you are the primary point of contact for physical operations, mail, and facility improvements, a consistent onsite presence is required.<h2>Responsibilities</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Financial Workflow: Own the end-to-end accounts payable process, including invoice vetting, expense approvals, and fund coordination within Ramp.</li><li>Procurement &amp; Onboarding: Manage vendor setup (NDAs, tax forms), collect competitive quotes, and maintain all digital records in Notion and SharePoint.</li><li>Logistics &amp; Shipping: Direct all incoming/outgoing mail and equipment returns, including weekly McMaster-Carr and FedEx/UPS drop-offs.</li><li>Supply Management: Audit and restock office, kitchen, and snack inventories bi-weekly to ensure the workspace is always "client-ready."</li><li>Facility Liaison: Serve as the primary POC for Hood Park management and operational vendors (cleaning, security, and utilities).</li><li>Workspace Evolution: Lead physical office improvements, including space measurements, furniture assembly, and layout optimizations.</li><li>Documentation &amp; Compliance: Facilitate executive signatures via DocuSign and manage Certificates of Insurance (COIs) for onsite contractors.</li><li>Employee Experience: Orchestrate internal company events and bi-weekly team-bonding activities/Happy Hours.</li><li>Onboarding Logistics: Execute the physical "Day 1" experience for new hires, including desk setups, hardware deployment, and building access.</li><li>Safety &amp; Comms: Act as the onsite safety lead (first aid/compliance) and maintain the internal office calendar and communications.</li></ul><h2>Qualifications</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>3+ years in office management or operations, ideally in a startup or industrial environment</li><li>Proficient in tools like Ramp, Notion, SharePoint, and DocuSign</li><li>Familiar with Boston-based vendors and shipping/courier logistics</li><li>Able to identify operational bottlenecks and solve them autonomously</li><li>Able to handle sensitive financial data and executive signatures with total discretion</li><li>Alignment with our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.notion.so/e012ec6f6c654b50961ed82ad9c9e122?pvs=21">mission, vision, and virtues</a></li></ul><h2>Company Culture and Benefits</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Challenging, collaborative, and meaningful work and an important voice in company development</li><li>Competitive salary commensurate with experience</li><li>Meaningful equity compensation</li><li>Flexible PTO and expectation that all employees take significant time off to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside work</li><li>Excellent health insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental premiums covered</li><li>401(k) with company match</li></ul>

Office Manager

3+ years in office management or operations; proficient with Ramp, Notion, SharePoint, and DocuSign; familiar with Boston vendors and shipping; able to identify bottlenecks and handle sensitive financial data with discretion.

<h1>Company overview</h1>Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO₂, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system. Lydian is backed by the world's top energy transition investors including Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Grok Ventures, and Overture. We have also earned support from the US Department of Energy, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and have been recognized by Forbes 30u30 and by Silicon Valley Bank's 50 by 2050 List which recognizes the top fifty energy transition companies based on potential impact and scale.<h1>Position Overview</h1>Lydian is seeking a Senior Manager, Materials Design &amp; Manufacturing to establish and scale the first production processes and supply chain for the critical materials and components that enable our reactor and module platforms. This role owns the translation of materials R&amp;D into repeatable, production-ready processes, the design of early production lines (internal and external), and the operational systems required to support near-term execution and long-term scale. You will work closely with manufacturing partners and internal engineering teams to ensure materials development remains aligned with core technical programs, mechanical designs, and operating modes.You will build and manage a multidisciplinary team across manufacturing engineering, quality, and materials science, while setting the operational rigor required for FOAK production and beyond.This role is based onsite in Charlestown, MA and requires in-person collaboration five days per week.<h1>Key Responsibilities</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Establish the first production processes and supply chain for critical materials and components, spanning internal production and external partners.</li><li>Design, refine, and scale early production lines and processes in collaboration with manufacturers, fabricators, and equipment vendors.</li><li>Lead the translation of materials R&amp;D into stable, manufacturable, scalable production processes.</li><li>Apply design-for-manufacturing principles to guide materials development and reduce downstream risk.</li><li>Ensure materials efforts remain aligned with core technical programs, mechanical designs, and operating modes.</li><li>Implement best practices for quality control, process monitoring, and acceptance criteria suitable for FOAK production.</li><li>Establish rigorous inventory management, traceability, and material flow systems.</li><li>Build, manage, and mentor a multidisciplinary team spanning manufacturing engineering, quality, and senior materials scientists.</li></ul><h1>Who You Are</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>You are an operationally focused technical leader who enjoys building production systems from early development through scale-up.</li><li>You are detail-oriented, rigorous, and comfortable making decisions with long-term consequences.</li><li>You think in multi-year horizons and avoid optimizing solely for short-term prototypes.</li><li>You are effective working with both internal teams and external manufacturing partners.</li><li>You can lead experienced technical contributors while staying close enough to the work to exercise strong judgment.</li></ul><h1>Qualifications</h1><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>MS or PhD in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical field preferred</li><li>12+ years of experience in materials science, chemical engineering, or advanced manufacturing</li><li>Experience standing up early production lines or supply chains for complex or novel materials</li><li>Proven ability to translate R&amp;D into repeatable manufacturing processes</li><li>Hands-on experience working with equipment vendors or contract manufacturers</li><li>Familiarity with quality systems, inventory management, and early-stage production operations</li><li>Experience managing multidisciplinary technical teams</li><li>Alignment with our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover" href="#">mission, vision, and virtues</a></li></ul><h2>Company culture and benefits</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Challenging, collaborative, and meaningful work and an important voice in company development</li><li>Competitive salary commensurate with experience</li><li>Meaningful equity compensation</li><li>Flexible PTO and expectation that all employees take significant time off to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside work</li><li>Excellent health insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental premiums covered</li><li>401(k) with company match</li></ul>

Sr. Manager, Materials Design & Manufacturing

Manager, Materials Design & Manufacturing

MS or PhD in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or related field; 12+ years in materials science or advanced manufacturing; experience standing up production lines; ability to translate R&D into manufacturing; experience with equipment vendors or contract manufacturers; alignment with mission and values.