JOBSEARCHER

Technical Project Manager

ElementUSA is seeking a hands-on Technical Project Manager to lead the development and execution of multiple industrial projects, including the BFA, Salt Dross, and Guyana upstream thermal projects. Each project represents approximately $120–150 million in capital investment and includes significant thermal processing, solids handling, and supporting plant infrastructure. This role will serve as the primary technical and project-management interface for these projects, working across ElementUSA's internal technical and operations teams, external engineering firms, equipment suppliers, contractors, and other project stakeholders. The successful candidate must be more than a traditional project manager. We are looking for someone who can operate comfortably at the intersection of process/technical engineering and project execution—someone capable of reviewing designs, challenging technical assumptions, driving engineering deliverables, resolving field and design issues, and maintaining accountability for cost, schedule, scope, risk, and overall facility integration.
Key Responsibilities: Lead project development and execution for the BFA, Salt Dross, and Guyana upstream thermal projects from current development/Basis of Design through engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and startup. Serve as the single point of contact and accountable project lead for external engineering and EPC/EPCM firms. Manage projects with individual capital values of approximately $120–150 million. Lead and coordinate development of the Basis of Design, preliminary/basic engineering, FEED, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning packages as applicable. Work hands-on with engineering teams to review and challenge technical designs, equipment selections, layouts, specifications, calculations, and engineering deliverables. Drive engineering and design associated with kilns and thermal-processing systems; calcining systems; crushing, screening, and sizing; conveying and bulk-material handling; feed preparation and storage; dust collection and emissions-control systems; product handling and packaging; utilities and balance-of-plant systems; and plant layout, equipment arrangement, and maintainability. Integrate process equipment and individual systems into a complete, operable industrial facility rather than managing equipment packages in isolation. Develop and maintain integrated project schedules, engineering deliverable schedules, procurement plans, equipment lead-time tracking, and construction milestones. Manage project scope, CAPEX estimates, budgets, forecasts, change management, risks, and project controls. Coordinate technical interfaces among process technology providers, OEMs, engineering firms, utilities, site-development organizations, contractors, and ElementUSA personnel. Support site-selection activities, including evaluation of electrical power, natural gas, water, logistics, infrastructure, permitting requirements, and site-development constraints. Support CAPEX development and continuously improve estimate quality as engineering maturity increases. Lead technical reviews, design reviews, constructability reviews, HAZOP/safety reviews, and project-risk reviews. Drive equipment specifications, RFQs, bid evaluations, vendor selection, and technical clarification with major equipment suppliers. Identify long-lead equipment and proactively develop procurement strategies that protect the overall project schedule. Provide hands-on problem solving during design, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and startup. Ensure facilities are designed with appropriate consideration for operability, maintainability, reliability, safety, and future expansion. Provide clear project reporting to the COO and executive leadership, including progress, schedule, cost, risks, decisions required, and recovery actions.
Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Metallurgical, Mining, or a related engineering discipline. Approximately 10–15+ years of experience delivering industrial capital projects, preferably including projects in the $50M–$200M+ range. Strong technical experience with kilns, calcining, furnaces/thermal processing, crushing, screening, conveying, and bulk-material handling systems. Experience in mining, minerals processing, metals, alumina, cement, lime, aggregates, chemicals, or similar heavy industrial environments strongly preferred. Demonstrated experience taking projects from early development/Basis of Design through engineering and ultimately construction and commissioning. Experience directly managing EPC/EPCM or engineering firms and holding external partners accountable for technical quality, schedule, cost, and deliverables. Ability to read and critically review PFDs, P&IDs, equipment specifications, layouts, general arrangements, utility requirements, vendor drawings, and engineering packages. Working knowledge of project estimating, scheduling, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and project controls. Strong understanding of how individual process systems integrate into a complete operating facility. Willingness to be hands-on technically while also owning broader project-management responsibilities. Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with technical teams, contractors, suppliers, executives, and external stakeholders. Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-moving, early-stage industrial environment. Willingness to travel regularly to project sites, engineering partners, vendors, and equipment suppliers, including international travel to Guyana as required.
Preferred Qualifications: P.E. license or PMP certification. Experience with greenfield industrial facilities. Experience with rotary kilns, calciners, refractory systems, high-temperature processing, and associated combustion systems. Experience with dry bulk solids and abrasive materials. Experience developing projects in locations where utility infrastructure, logistics, and site-development requirements must be established in parallel with process design. Experience supporting commissioning and startup of heavy industrial facilities. Owner-side project management experience combined with prior EPC/EPCM or engineering experience is particularly valuable.
What Success Looks Like: This person becomes the owner's technical execution leader for these projects. They should be able to sit across the table from an engineering firm and challenge the design technically, then walk into a project review and explain the schedule, CAPEX, risks, decisions, and next steps. As the projects move into execution, they should be equally comfortable in the field resolving installation and commissioning issues. The ultimate objective is to take the BFA, Salt Dross, and Guyana projects from their current development stage into disciplined engineering execution and ultimately safe, operable commercial facilities.