Work In Tech

Description

A New Era for the Aluminum Industry – ELYSIS

Carbon Free Aluminum

The ELYSIS™ technology is the greatest breakthrough in the aluminum industry since its beginnings in 1886. Work is underway now to further develop this revolutionary new way to produce aluminum, eliminating carbon dioxide and all other greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional smelting process.

The ELYSIS process eliminates the use of carbon anodes, replacing those with proprietary materials. It is the first industrial process that emits oxygen as its by-product and has the potential to transform an entire industry.

In 2018, two international aluminum producers, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, came together to form the ELYSIS joint venture with the provincial government of Quebec. With support from the Canadian Government and Apple, the technology is progressing and is currently being designed to support the construction of new smelters or retrofits.

ELYSIS is headquartered in Montreal, with Technology Research & Development locations in Alma, Quebec, (Canada), in Jonquiere, Quebec, (Canada), in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, (United States), and in France.

Commercial quality metal produced by ELYSIS during the ongoing R&D process is already being used by Apple in a variety of products (The 16-inch MacBook Pro and the iPhone SE); Ab InBEV (cans); Audi (e-tron GT wheels produced by the RONAL Group), and Corona (cans).

Join the ELYSIS team in this exciting work!

About the location

The ELYSIS US Research & Development facility is located in the Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Located near Pittsburgh, the carbon-free smelting process was first developed at ATC, where a dedicated team is working to reinvent the aluminum industry for a sustainable future.

About the job

Under the direction of Engineering Manager and R&D Program Director, the applicant will provide Mechanical Engineering support for new technology development in the Breakthrough Technology Division of Alcoa located at the Alcoa Technical Center in New Kensington, PA.

This position involves industrial equipment design and complex problem solving in a fast-paced R&D environment supporting breakthrough technology aimed at revolutionizing the aluminum smelting industry to eliminate CO2 production from the aluminum smelting process. The candidate will lead and perform design and engineering work, propose, lead, analyze, and report on research experiments, work with the operations team to plan and implement tests on operating process equipment to evaluate design performance.

To excel in this role the candidate will need a passion for engineering, research, and problem solving with a desire to work on the cutting edge of science and technology. The ideal candidate will be excited to solve problems they have never encountered before, in high temperature chemically reactive environments where few materials will survive on a team capable of designing and manufacturing new materials. In this role the engineer will have the opportunity to work with PHD materials scientists, chemists, electro-chemists, analytical chemists with a full suite of analytical lab equipment, as well as teams of engineers and scientists in France and Canada all dedicated to the same goal of commercializing a revolutionary breakthrough smelting technology.

The Breakthrough Technologies Team is involved in the production and treatment of molten metal producing systems inclusive of bench scale to full commercial size production units. The applicant will be encouraged to participate from concepts through design, construction and operation of systems at the various scales to optimize the final design of equipment and support systems for commercial scale operation.

Major Responsibilities

• Providing day-to-day technical advice, develop designs with designers and technicians and interact with other specialists and scientists in a collaborative environment to reach program goals.
• Lead research projects involving operational testing, autopsy, root cause analysis, risk analysis, and solutions development relating to equipment and process design.
• Create and present detailed PowerPoint presentations summarizing design and research activities in a clear and concise manner, able to answer tough questions posed by a team of passionate engineers, scientists, and operators on mission critical topics with confidence, an open mind, and zero arrogance.
• Initiating and/or implementing improvement projects including engineering solutions to improve designs, improve operability and safety and reduce cost of components and complexity.
• Managing capital and expense project requests, schedules, costs, etc.
• Able to interact with fabricators and suppliers to ensure products delivered are what is expected for the application.
• Ensuring compliance of project work with appropriate engineering and industry standards.
• Identifying and implementing new insights while gaining team consensus.
• Able to shift focus and problem solve under pressure.
• Create, maintain, and update drawings using SolidWorks, SolidWorks PDM Professional and AutoCAD.

About you

Our values – act with integrity, operate with excellence, care for people, and lead with courage – are at the foundation of everything we do. To be successful in this role and to play a part in our ongoing success we desire the following background:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited college or university
• 8+ years' experience working as an engineer in a R&D, design and/or manufacturing environment
• Experience with FEA, risk & root cause analysis, troubleshooting, test proposals
• Proficiency with SolidWorks, AutoCAD or equivalent software package.
• Attention to detail, outstanding communication, and social skills
• Excellent digital literacy with the ability to learn new software and programs
• Experience with Microsoft Office applications
• Demonstrates ability to adapt and be resourceful in the face of challenges; results oriented.

To support our teams and their families beyond the workplace, Alcoa provides an outstanding benefits package effective day one of employment! In addition to medical benefits, we offer structured work-from-home programs, employee resource group opportunities, 401K options and a first-rate vacation plan for valuable work-life balance.

Be Part of an Unprecedented Partnership

At ELYSIS we are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to success of the unprecedented partnership that ELYSIS is. We treat each other respectfully, fairly, compassionately and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

At ELYSIS, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from women, the LGBTQIA2 community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

ELYSIS is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.