Spring Co-op - Pilot Process Engineer (6 months)

Company overview

Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.

Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system, capable of producing 10,000 gallons of fuel per year for a fraction of the capital and time of alternative approaches. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way.

Position overview

Lydian is looking for a 6-month Pilot Process Engineering Co-op for Spring 2026 to support Lydian’s pilot plant design, build, and operations. You will collaborate with Lydian’s reactor and process engineers to improve automation, controls, and operability of the syngas pilot. You will assist in the design, fabrication, and commissioning of Lydian’s Fischer-Tropsch pilot.

This is an hourly position based in Boston, MA and has a minimum commitment of 6-months.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain SOPs for syngas pilot reactor operations.

• Collaborate with process engineers to implement controls and automation sequences for the pilot plant operation.

• Use process engineering principles to troubleshoot and resolve test upsets.

• Analyze pilot data and prepare reports to document reactor operating performance and comparison against modeled expectations.

• Collaborate with pilot plant design engineers to develop detailed P&ID, controls narratives, and cause and effect diagrams for fuel synthesis pilot.

• Collaborate with other teams to integrate requirements, share insights, and solve technical challenges.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. candidate in Chemical Engineering or related field.

• Solid fundamentals in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and chemical process engineering principles.

• Familiarity with chemical process P&IDs and cause and effect diagrams.

• Experience with chemical plant PLC and HMI programming software and operation interfaces.

• Experience analyzing chemical process experimental data and performing heat and mass balance and reaction equilibrium calculations.

• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment and solve interesting technical problems

• Alignment with our mission, vision, and virtues

Company culture and benefits

• Paid lab/engineering-focused internship with a collaborative in-person technical team

• Challenging, meaningful work that can directly impact company success

• Opportunities for networking/exposure within the climate tech community

• Mentorship from a great team of engineers and scientists