Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Location: Remote / US-Based (with travel to operations in Albania and conferences
Reports To: Founders (CEO/COO)
Direct Reports/Oversight: External Director of Ecology (Fractional), Project Managers, R&D Partners
The Role
We are seeking a Chief of Science to serve as the technical architect of our "farm-to-battery" value chain. You will be the strategic scientific leader overseeing four distinct technical pillars: Geochemistry (ERW), Plant Science (Agronomy/Genetics), Metallurgy, and Ecological Restoration.
You will act as the primary bridge between our external partners (labs, universities, fractional directors) and the executive team, ensuring our science yields valid carbon credits, battery-grade nickel, and ecological co-benefits.
Key Areas of Oversight & Responsibility
1. Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) & Carbon Science
Scientific Strategy: maximize weathering rates in coordination with Metalplant's ERW partner who will be conducting MRV
Methodology Compliance: Manage the implementation of Metalplant's CDR methodologies to ensure data from field trials meets buyers' standards and verification requirements
2. Plant Genetics & Agronomy
Genetics Program (ARPA-E): Oversee our ARPA-E (DOE) grant project and manage the partnership
Agronomic Optimization: Supervise field trials in Albania to optimize planting density and soil amendments. Ensure the balance between hyperaccumulator uptake, weathering and soil health is maintained
3. Process Metallurgy & Hydrometallurgy
Flow Sheet Development: Oversee the R&D partnership with US-based metallurgical labs
Commercial Scaling: Manage the technical transition from lab-scale extraction to a "Mini-Pilot" and eventual commercial processing, ensuring the final product meets the purity specifications of EV cathode manufacturers
Supply Chain Integration: Advise on the logistics of transporting reduced biomass ash from Albania to US processing facilities to ensure IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) compliance,.
4. Ecological Oversight (Managing the Fractional Director)
Direct Supervision: You will manage the Fractional Director of Ecology and Restoration, ensuring their work on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and,
Environmental Safety: Accountability for the high-level interpretation of ecotoxicology data (Ni/Cr mobility) provided by the ecology team, monitoring of local watersheds
Restorative Strategy: Ensure the "End-of-Life" plans developed by the Ecology Director are scientifically sound, verifying that soil remediation targets permit the eventual return of land to food-crop agriculture
Qualifications
Education: PhD in Geochemistry, Metallurgy, Plant Science, or a related interdisciplinary field.
Technical Breadth: The ability to "speak the language" of three distinct sciences:
Geochemistry: Understanding silicate weathering and enhanced rock weathering.
Agronomy/Plant Genetics: Understanding agronomy and breeding programs.
Metallurgy: Understanding hydrometallurgical acid leaching and precipitation.
Ecology: Understanding environmental systems, risk analysis, and restoration.
Leadership: Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects (e.g., government grants, cross-border research partnerships)
Strategic Vision: Ability to translate complex technical data (XRDF, ICP-MS, RTM models) into strategic roadmaps for investors and commercial partners
Why This Role?
Impact: You will lead the science behind the only technology capable of producing nickel that removes ~100 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of metal.
Resources: Work with secured non-dilutive funding (ARPA-E) and exclusive access to a billion-tonne+ olivine deposit.
Innovation: Manage cutting-edge initiatives to on-shore critical mineral production to the United States.
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