Process Engineer - El Segundo, CA / US

About Roosevelt Talent

Roosevelt Talent is a recruitment agency specializing in helping ClimateTech and frontier technology startups hire.

We believe the right people are the foundation of every successful climate company. The teams solving the world's toughest energy challenges deserve a hiring partner that moves with the same urgency and ambition.

The challenge: Traditional recruiting is expensive, and often misses the best candidates. We change that. We proactively find exceptional talent, deliver a premium candidate experience, and help startups hire top performers at a transparent, affordable cost.

Reach out if you want a genuine hiring partner – not another mercenary.

About Our Client

Roosevelt Talent is working with Indigo Ethylene, an early-stage chemicals startup founded by UC Berkeley alumni that replaces traditional steam cracking with a proprietary catalytic reactor process to make ethylene, the building block of most plastics. 

Its working unit already produces ethylene at roughly half the usual cost, and the company's first commercial product will be high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pellets, aimed at a ~$600B plastics market at about 50% lower cost. 

The founders are Garrow Geer (CEO; Berkeley Physics, ex-SpaceX and xAI) and Gregory Tate (PhD, 13 years developing chemical catalysts). 

Indigo recently closed a venture round that gives it roughly 3-4 years of runway, and it is now moving from pilot to its first commercial plant.

The Role

Indigo Ethylene is hiring a senior Process Engineer to help take its catalytic ethylene-to-HDPE process from pilot to its first commercial plant (on the order of several hundred tons per day). 

Reporting to co-founder Gregory Tate, you will be one of the first in-house engineers, working alongside contract engineering firms. You will run commercial plant design in parallel with the pilot: building the design in the background, then filling in the placeholders as answers come back from the pilot, and helping design and build the HDPE plant itself. 

The search is US-wide, with relocation to the engineering office in El Segundo (Los Angeles area), and you will not need to live at the pilot or plant site beyond startup. Travel is limited.

Qualifications & Skills

Required

• Has designed a chemical plant (chemicals, not only petroleum refining)
• Real industry experience on plants or a factory floor (flexible but seeking around 8 years experience; seniority is otherwise flexible)
• Hands-on experience with Aspen or ChemCAD (either is fine)
• Motivated, high-energy, and up for a demanding startup schedule
• Motivated by the technology and mission
• Wants ownership and to build: a prime mover, not a cog in the machine
• Easy to work with; ignores workplace politics and stays focused on the work
• US work authorization

Nice to have:

• Has taken a product from R&D / pilot through commercial scale-up
• HDPE / polyethylene plant design experience
• EPC or contract engineering firm experience, or time at a third-party scale-up lab
• Experience with AutoCAD

Benefits

• Strong, above market comp offered at the base salary, along with equity in the company; Indigo aims to pay at or slightly above market for top talent
• Willing to consider relocation support 
• Be one of the first engineers at a well-funded startup (3-4 years of runway), helping build its first commercial plant
• A long-term path into catalyst research: Indigo's 10-year vision is a "Bell Labs" of catalysis funded by plastics revenue, with engineers able to rotate into research roles
• Health and other benefits

Approximate Process

• Expect a concise interview process (we're looking for people soon; target is to have this hire in seat before the end of 2026)
• Speak with us (Roosevelt) for a screening, then a ~45 minutes with CEO Garrow Geer, a 45-60 minute technical screen with scenario-based problem solving with Gregory Tate, then a final session talking through a hypothetical technical problem with both founders (no NDA or IP involved), then offer (approximately).

Note

This role requires US work authorization - Indigo Ethylene is unable to sponsor visas. The search is US-wide; candidates open to relocating to the engineering office in El Segundo, CA (Los Angeles area) are welcome. Indigo Ethylene is an equal opportunity employer.

Application

If you are interested in this role and believe you are a good fit (ie: have designed a chemical plant, have hands-on Aspen or ChemCAD experience, and have senior industry or plant experience) apply today.

If you have any problems applying, you can reach out to Silas@roosevelttalent.com with your updated resume and reason for interest.