As Senior Commissioning Engineer, you play a pivotal role in bringing our hydrometallurgical battery recycling plant to life – taking full ownership of commissioning end-to-end across all process units and utilities – from mechanical completion through pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, performance testing, and handover to Operations.
You own the commissioning strategy and execution plan, including systemization, commissioning sequencing, readiness criteria, and integration with the overall project schedule (engineering, procurement, construction, and operations readiness).
You act as the Owner’s commissioning lead towards the engineering contractor: you set expectations, define deliverables, and ensure commissioning requirements (including commissionability, operability, and maintainability) are designed in from the earliest project stages.
You drive safe commissioning by establishing and enforcing commissioning permits, energization procedures, SIMOPS planning, and LOTO philosophy – ensuring robust risk control during high-risk activities, with particular attention to the hazardous chemical environments inherent to hydrometallurgical operations (e.g., strong acids, organic solvents, toxic gases).
You coordinate start-up activities across all disciplines – Process, Mechanical, E&I, Automation, Vendors, and Contractors – to bring all process units into stable plant operation.
You lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis during start-up and ramp-up, turning issues into permanent fixes via disciplined change control (MOC) and close-out with the engineering contractor and suppliers.
You enable operational readiness by supporting SOP development, training operators, advising on spare parts criticality, and ensuring a smooth handover into routine operations.
Ideally, you contribute your commissioning perspective during the design phase, providing constructive feedback on plant layout, start-up readiness, and operability to the process and plant engineering teams.
Your profile
You hold a degree in chemical engineering, process engineering, or a related technical field – ideally combined with strong expertise in hydrometallurgical processes.
You bring 8+ years of relevant hands-on experience in commissioning and start-up of hydrometallurgical, chemical, or metallurgical processing plants, ideally covering both core process units and utilities.
You are familiar with a range of hydrometallurgical unit operations such as leaching, solid-liquid separation, solvent extraction (SX), ion exchange (IX), precipitation, and electrowinning or refining, and can apply this knowledge directly in a commissioning and troubleshooting context.
You demonstrate strong process safety and commissioning HSE competence, including HAZOP participation, LOTO procedures, and safe handling of hazardous chemicals (acids, organic solvents, metal compounds).
You bring strong interface management skills: translating commissioning needs into clear engineering actions, tracking open points, and ensuring timely resolution across multiple disciplines and parties.
You are structured, pragmatic, and execution-focused – able to make sound decisions on site under time pressure without compromising safety or quality.
You communicate fluently in English and German, both written and spoken.
Why us?
You take ownership from day one – after an intensive onboarding, you'll build something unique with us and shape outcomes with real impact on results.
You work on something that truly matters – with your contribution, you strengthen Europe's battery supply chains and make circular economy a reality on an industrial scale.
You're part of a mission-driven team – in a fast-paced scale-up environment, we live collaboration, because we can only move things forward together.
You work to the highest standards – we combine the professionalism of leading industry with the innovative power of a top-tier, research-driven technology team.
You grow with us – at cylib, you will do what is likely to be the most impactful work of your career and develop personally as we scale together.