Senior Process Engineer at Adiabatic Materials – Somerville, Massachusetts

Adiabatic Materials | Somerville, MA

Decarbonize chemicals. Invent new chemistry. Build the future.
The chemicals industry is one of the largest and most important industries on our planet. It helps produce over 95% of all physical products we use. Yet today, most chemicals—from very complex pharmaceuticals to basic commodities—are still made with heat by burning fossil fuels in energy-intensive, wasteful, and polluting processes.

Adiabatic has invented a fundamentally new approach: an electrochemical platform that uses clean electricity instead of heat. This platform grew out of 15 years of Harvard research and has already been successfully demonstrated for a broad range of chemicals. Adiabatic recently spun out of Harvard and is now scaling its lab and commercial operations in the Boston area.

Our goal is to create the chemicals industry of the future—one that is clean, automated, and close to customers—and help usher in breakthroughs ranging from human health to space travel.

We’re looking for a Senior Process Engineer to help us on this amazing journey.

Your Role

As a Senior Process Engineer, you will be one of Adiabatic’s first employees and play a critical role in developing the company’s core electrochemical synthesis platform. You will own the design, build, scale-up, and optimization of Adiabatic’s novel process. You’ll work at the intersection of chemistry, electrochemistry, and chemical engineering to deliver robust, cost-competitive production platforms in collaboration with our product and operations teams.

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and optimize biphasic reaction systems, flow loops, and continuous processes.
• Develop reactor configurations (mixers, settlers, droplet dispersion systems) to maximize reliability and throughput.
• Scale laboratory processes to pilot and demo-scale operations.
• Select and specify equipment, materials, pumps, sensors, and control systems.
• Perform mass/energy balances, reaction engineering analyses, and process simulations.
• Work closely with chemists and electrochemists to integrate electrochemical modules with reactor systems.
• Own safety, operability, and risk assessments (PHA, HAZOP, etc.).
• Support techno-economic analysis (TEA) and cost reduction opportunities.
• Document designs, operating procedures, and scale-up learnings.

What We’re Looking For

• BS/MS/PhD in chemical engineering or related field.
• Experience scoping, designing, and operating liquid–liquid reactors, hydrogenation systems, flow reactors, or electrochemical processes.
• Strong grounding in mass transfer, multiphase mixing, and reaction engineering.
• Comfortable with Aspen, COMSOL, or similar modeling tools.
• Experience with mixer-settlers, biphasic reaction systems, and flow batteries.
• Thrives in cross-disciplinary teams and fast-moving environments.
• Hands-on, practical experimental mindset suited to an early-stage startup.
• Excellent communication, organization, and documentation skills.

Why Join Us

• Real ownership – As a very early team member, you’ll own meaningful responsibilities and help define both the role and the company as we grow.
• Broad impact – Your work will influence our technology, products, scale-up, team, and long-term strategy.
• Dynamic environment – This is a place to be creative, wear multiple hats, and grow quickly alongside the company.
• Equity and upside – You’ll be given meaningful equity and share in the value you help create.
• Work with fun, passionate, and mission-driven people who care about science and sustainability, and building something cool together.

Logistics & Compensation

• Location: In-person (our offices/labs are situated at Greentown Labs in Somerville. MA).
• Work style: Flexible, family-friendly schedule with occasional travel.
• Compensation: ~$110,000-150,000/year, plus meaningful equity and benefits (negotiable).