Senior Systems Engineer

📍     Location:           Ottawa, ON, Canada

📆     Employment:   Full-time, 12-month Contract

👤     Report To:         Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

ABOUT GAIA REFINERY

At Gaia Refinery, our primary objective is to invent a more efficient and affordable Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technology to reduce overall CO2 levels in our atmosphere.

Every day we are inventing, building, testing, and improving upon our low energy, sustainable Direct Air Capture process that draws down high purity, high quantity atmospheric CO2.

By commercializing our effective and efficient technological process, we aim to hold a permanent place in the new carbon economy. Our entire process, from start to finish, is intended to fully utilize resources and help current bio-industrial companies deploy carbon removal technologies – both for new revenue streams and environmental net zero goals.

Gaia Refinery exists to provide the world with a technological pathway that uses biomass waste streams to remove gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere**.**

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Senior Systems Engineer who thrives at the intersection of engineering design and real-world hardware. Someone excited to take complex climate technology from prototype to deployed industrial systems.

As a CDR technology development company, we are transitioning from validated process architecture to commercial-scale physical deployment. Our core technology is rooted in complex environmental and process engineering. Our systems combine gas-liquid mass transfer, electrochemical reactors, fluid handling, thermal management, and industrial automation to produce modular carbon removal units.

Working directly under the supervision of our CTO, the Senior Systems Engineer will serve as the lead executor for our physical hardware pipeline. While our technical leadership currently oversees both the theoretical design and physical prototyping end-to-end, scaling our operations requires a dedicated, highly versatile Senior Systems Engineer to take ownership of this modular skid deployment, from first pilot to commercial realization.

The Senior Systems Engineer will take our complex process architectures and independently drive the physical build, ensuring systems are cost-efficient, rapidly validated, and engineered to meet the stringent diligence standards of major multinational operators.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

 Execution Ownership:

• Take high-level environmental and process engineering models designed by the CTO and independently drive the physical, manufacturable, and cost-optimized mechanical execution.

 Prototyping & Supply Chain:

• Manage the complete hardware lifecycle under the CTO's guidance. This includes component sourcing, vendor management, physical assembly, and empirical testing.

 Cost & Manufacturability:

• Continuously drive down the Bill of Materials (BOM) through smart component selection and the rigorous application of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/DFA) principles.

 Testing & Validation:

• Execute physical testing protocols to validate systems against strict performance and cost KPIs, prioritizing real-world data and rapid iteration over pure simulation.

• Assist in the communication of test results and validation of metrics to investors, partners, and future customers.

 Team Leadership:

The acting operational right-hand to the CTO.

• Provide technical guidance to engineering technicians and fabrication staff.

• Coordinate external vendors, fabrication shops, and equipment suppliers.

• As the company scales, help build and mentor the internal engineering team.

• As our commercial footprint and operational scale expand, this position is structured to naturally evolve into a broader technical leadership capacity, eventually taking ownership of day-to-day engineering operations.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechatronics, or a closely related field.

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in physical hardware development, systems integration, and rapid prototyping.

• Demonstrated experience managing vendors, machine shops, and supply chains for custom and off-the-shelf components.

• A proven track record of taking systems from concept through to physical buildout, testing, and cost-optimization.

• High proficiency in modern CAD and other simulation tools

• An ability to build, test, and iterate in the physical world, with past history of similar projects

• Able to balance the need for speed with the requirement for reliability.

• Comfortable making smart, cost-effective engineering trade-offs.

• Strong technical depth and professional maturity to communicate complex engineering realities clearly, whether on the shop floor or externally facing (i.e. with stakeholders)

• Familiarity with industrial safety standards, lockout/tagout procedures, and controls-related risk mitigation.

• A builder’s mindset and a proactive systems thinker who considers integration, future service, and efficiency during assembly.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for collaboration and documentation.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A front-row seat to invention. You won’t just execute tasks, you’ll shape prototypes, influence design decisions, and see your ideas tested in the lab and field.

• Work that matters. Not in theory, but in steel, pumps, data, and deployed systems. You’ll help build and operate real carbon removal hardware at industrial scale.

• A culture of high trust and high standards. We value clarity, direct communication, ownership, and the courage to challenge assumptions. We move fast, learn quickly, and improve continuously.

• Competitive compensation includes salary, potential equity participation, and performance-based growth opportunities.

• We provide meaningful time off. We know that building hard things requires energy, focus, and balance.

• A chance to build infrastructure for the emerging carbon economy, and to leave behind systems that remove CO₂ for generations to come.

READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT?

If you’re passionate about carbon removal, mechanical engineering, and sustainable innovation, we’d love to hear from you!