Pilot Plant Manager

About Anodyne

Almost every product in modern life relies on chemicals and fuels made from fossil resources. Anodyne Chemistries exists to change that. From our base in Vancouver, we combine electrochemistry and synthetic biology to make essential chemicals with green electricity, tackling one of the hardest industries to decarbonize. Our pilot plant is where that vision meets the real world, and the person who runs it will help prove that sustainable chemistry can work at scale.

The role

As the Pilot Plant Manager, you will own the day-to-day running of Anodyne's newly commissioned pilot plant. Your role is to balance research, development, and production priorities, keep the plant safe, and turn every run into reliable data.

This is primarily a leadership role, with a strong hands-on technical side. A start-up pilot plant changes constantly: equipment gets modified, procedures get written for the first time, and plans shift with new results. You are someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, bringing structure where it helps and judgement where no procedure exists yet.

What you'll do

• Coordinate plant time. Manage planning across R&D, engineering and production. Build and own a transparent schedule, resolve competing priorities, and escalate trade-offs with clear options.

• Lead safe operations. Own the plant's safety culture and systems, including hazard reviews (e.g., HAZOP, management of change), lock-out/tag-out, incident reporting and procedure training. Co-operate closely with company safety personnel. 

• Run day-to-day operations. Oversee start-ups, shutdowns,test campaigns and production runs, making sure each run meets its goals.

• Build and lead the plant team. Hire, and train operators and technicians, plan shift coverage, and promote skill training as the plant grows.

• Plan maintenance and upgrades. Set up preventive maintenance plans, spares plans, coordinate repairs, and workwith both engineering and procurement teams to install, commission and de-bug equipment.

• Assist technical work. Be willing to roll your sleeves up and troubleshoot equipment, process and control issues when required. Experience with root-cause investigations is an asset.

• Create and maintain documentation. Create and modify operating procedures, P&IDs, run logs, change records and data-handling practices.. 

• Manage inventory and suppliers. Ensure minimal plant downtime by managing chemical inventory and consumables. Collaborate with finance and procurement for feedstocks, consumables and external contractors including budgeting and purchasing.

• Handle plant communications. Act as the main point of contact for technical, engineering and leadership teams, reporting on uptime, safety, capacity and lessons learned.

• Ensure BC code compliance. Implement procedures and practices that promote safe and efficient work environments(e.g., WorkSafeBC, WHMIS, CSA, ASME etc).

What you bring

Core requirements

• A degree in chemical, mechanical or process engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a pilot or commercial scale industrial plant

• A track record of managing people and day-to-day operations in a pilot plant, scale-up facility, process plant or similar technical setting.

• Experience operating novel or first-of-a-kind equipment, where procedures are still being written and change is constant.

• Technical aptitude: have a working knowledge of standard documents such as P&IDs, PFDs, Cause and Effect Matrixes 

• Hands-on mechanical aptitude: you're comfortable working on pumps, valves, piping and instruments, and getting into the equipment to solve a problem.

• A strong safety mindset and working knowledge of industry standard safety practices.

• Skill at balancing competing demands: you can plan, prioritise, and communicate clearly to different stakeholders.

• Clear written and spoken communication with multi-disciplinary teams including engineers, scientists, operators, and leadership.

• Ability to effectively utilize Microsoft Office and Google suite software

• Experience drafting and reviewing SOPs, risk assessments and other standard documentation 

Bonus points

• Experience with electrochemical systems (electrolysers, fuel cells, batteries)

• Familiarity with control systems (both PLCs and HMIs)

• Data analysis through any industry standard software such as Python, Excel or MATLAB

• Registered or eligible to register with EGBC as a P.Eng

• Experience in pilot plant start-ups or helping commission a new facility.

• Proven record leading or participating in standard safety procedures such as risk assessments or HAZOPs

Compensation, benefits and working style

• Salary: $90,000 - $110,000 per year, plus equity, based on experience.

• Benefits: medical, dental and vision coverage; paid vacation and sick days.

• Working style: on-site at our Delta pilot plant, typically Monday to Friday, with occasional off-hours or on-call support during campaigns.

• Growth: you'll shape the plant's team and processes from the start, and grow with them as we scale toward commercial operation.

We welcome applicants of all backgrounds. If you're excited by this role but don't meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply.