Equipment Design Engineer
Limelight Steel
Limelight Steel is on a mission to eliminate emissions from iron and steelmaking and build a brighter future. 8% of global CO2 emissions come from current fossil-based steelmaking processes - the largest source of industrial emissions today. Limelight Steel's electrified ironmaking technology has the potential to eliminate those emissions, significantly reduce energy use, and produce iron for cheaper than fossil-based methods.
We are a startup in Oakland, CA, backed by industry-leading climate tech investors, looking to grow our team. We are committed to building a diverse and courageous team of people motivated to make a positive impact on the world. We want to hire kind and supportive teammates who have the perseverance to achieve our audacious goal of decarbonizing steel.
Position Summary
Limelight Steel is seeking an Equipment Design Engineer to own the design of critical hardware at the heart of our Laser Furnace. You’ll apply mechanical design, thermal modeling, and materials engineering to build safe and robust molten metal ladles and high temperature vacuum vessels - ensuring safe, scalable implementation of our technology.
Responsibilities
- Own the design of molten-metal ladles, ensuring mechanical integrity and safety at high temperatures.
- Lead the integration of optics, sensors, vacuum sealing surfaces, and high-temperature mechanical structures into the laser furnace.
- Design and develop a vacuum vessel, ensuring robustness under thermal and pressure gradients as well as mechanical loads.
- Collaborate with pyrometallurgical engineers and subject matter experts to incorporate metals industry best practices into equipment design and implement process improvements.
- Balance speed and rigor in designing, building, and testing new equipment for piloting and scale-up.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or related field
- 5+ years of industry experience
- Hands-on experience designing, building, and troubleshooting prototypes and industrial equipment
- Expertise with thermal modeling tools (e.g., COMSOL) and finite element analysis.
- Experience designing and working with vacuum sealing systems (O-rings, metal seals, feedthroughs).
- Experience designing high-temperature industrial processing equipment (e.g., furnaces, kilns, reactors, or vacuum systems), and knowledge of industrial safety standards.
- Strong fundamentals in heat transfer, stress analysis, and materials selection for high-temperature operation.
- Ability to work across disciplines in a fast-moving, startup environment.
Compensation: Salary range for this role is $160-220k, plus meaningful equity. Final comp will be based on experience and level.
Full Time Employee Benefits
- Competitive stock option package
- Comprehensive health benefits that include:
- Full premium coverage for PPO Gold for employees with 80% coverage for dependents
- Full premium coverage for Vision and Dental for employees
- Generous time-off schedule
- 20 days paid time off
- 10 holidays (personalized to the holidays you observe)
- Sustainable 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match
- 2x weekly catered team lunches
- A team of curious, passionate, kind, and courageous people committed to eliminating industrial emissions that contribute to climate change
- Unparalleled opportunities for growth, leadership, and project ownership in a dynamic and rapidly-growing startup company