---
title: 'Electrical & Instrumentation Engineer at Kunin Technologies'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-instrumentation-engineer-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-xdqz3ckn71td'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Electrical & Instrumentation Engineer at Kunin Technologies

- **Company:** Kunin Technologies
- **Location:** Chattanooga, TN
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kunin/bbb3f568-3fa6-4d8a-8aa2-0e148df4aab5

## Job description

## WHO WE ARE

Kunin Technologies is revolutionizing the critical mineral supply chain by implementing advanced separation technologies to capture value from overlooked resources. Metals are everywhere, in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles, but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste. Utilizing Kunin Technologies' breakthrough performance, ion-exchange media significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking metal abundance. To achieve metal abundance, humanity must bring separation science down its own Moore’s Law: fix the idiot cost index for micro and nano scale separation materials. This requires mass manufacturing novel ion-exchange media form factors which previously struggled from high costs.

## THE ROLE

Group 14 metals (germanium, tin, silicon) are critical materials of the data center build-out, and Kunin is designing, guaranteeing and commissioning a group 14 metal chlorination plant overseas for an industrial partner: metal-bearing feeds from the partner's own process are converted by chlorination, purification and hydrolysis to an electronic-grade metal product, with Kunin's proprietary ion-exchange media recovering the metal from the dilute process liquors. Bench and mini-pilot process development runs in Chattanooga from December 2026 to May 2027, basic engineering issues in May 2027, the plant is built from modular skids in parallel with civil works, and commercial operation is targeted for the first quarter of 2028. The plant is built and operated by our partner; Kunin owns the process, the design package, the performance guarantee and the training of the operating team. You own the electrical and instrumentation scope of the plant. From the control philosophy and equipment list in the basic engineering package you produce the electrical and instrumentation basis of design: load list, single-line diagrams, hazardous-area classification for chlorine and hydrogen chloride service, earthing and power quality, the instrument index and I/O list, and the safety instrumented system requirements. You specify the skid-mounted motor control centers, drives, panels and instruments, review the contractor's detailed electrical and instrumentation design against the process intent, and take the plant from energization through loop checks and interlock testing to commissioning. You work with the Mechanical Process Engineer on the skids, the Senior Process Engineer on control philosophy and HAZOP actions, the VP of Capital Projects on schedule and cost, and the partner-country contractor on cabling, installation and local code compliance. You are a founding member of Kunin's Capital Projects team, whose goal is 100 critical metal projects in 10 years. Once this plant is through its gates you are expected to be executing design and delivery work on two to three projects in parallel, and as the team grows you are expected to lead the electrical and instrumentation engineering team across those projects. By 21 May 2027 we expect the electrical and instrumentation basis of design and load list issued in the basic engineering package. By 3 December 2027, all skid electrical and instrumentation through factory acceptance and on site. By 31 December 2027, energization and loop checks complete at mechanical completion.

## RESPONSIBILITIES

- Electrical basis of design: load list, single-line diagrams, hazardous-area classification, earthing, power quality and the electrical scope of the Class 3 estimate
- Instrument index, I/O list, control philosophy and safety instrumented system requirements with the process engineers, through HAZOP and SIL review
- Specification, bid evaluation and factory acceptance of skid-mounted motor control centers, variable frequency drives, control panels and field instruments
- Review of the contractor's detailed electrical and instrumentation drawings, cable schedules and installation against process intent and IEC and local codes
- Energization, loop checks, interlock and safety-system testing and commissioning support at the partner's site
- Electrical and instrumentation scope of the front-end studies for the next plants, run in parallel with delivery of the first

## QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED SKILLS

- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering required.
- 5+ years of electrical and instrumentation engineering on chemical, hydrometallurgical or specialty-gas capital projects, including at least one basic engineering (FEED) package delivered to an EPC contractor.
- Has designed power distribution and motor control for an operating plant and specified instruments and control systems that were installed and commissioned.
- Working knowledge of hazardous-area design and functional safety (IEC 60079, IEC 61511) and of corrosive-service instrument selection.
- Proficient in AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN or equivalent, and comfortable reviewing 3D plant models for cable routing and instrument access.
- Ability to work in fast paced and demanding atmosphere
- Creative problem solving that brings together power, controls, safety systems and field execution to energize a first-of-a-kind plant on a fixed date.

## COMPENSATION

This role will pay $110,000 - $210,000, benefits, and equity.

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

- Position located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Travel to fabricator shops and to the partner's site for factory acceptance tests, energization and commissioning; extended stays on site in the fourth quarter of 2027.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Extended hours and weekends frequently required to support critical project milestones.

Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax. "The Whole World Is Ion-Exchange And The Rest Are Merely Details!" Dr. Robert Kunin of Rohm and Haas, The Pioneer of the Ion-Exchange Industry, 1951

## About Kunin Technologies

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kunin Technologies develops modular ion-exchange equipment to recover critical minerals from U.S. mining waste streams, helping mines unlock byproduct metals.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Early-stage, pre-revenue)
- **Headquarters**: Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Daniel Rau (CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Critical mineral extraction, mining technology, industrial process engineering
- Target customers: U.S. mining operations (B2B, Industrial/Enterprise), particularly mines that produce copper, lithium, or other primary metals and want to recover secondary byproducts like gallium, germanium, scandium, rhenium, and vanadium
- Mission or purpose statement: “Bringing mining back to America” by recovering trillions of dollars in stranded critical minerals from existing mining waste

## Products & Services
- **Modular Ion-Exchange Skids**: Pre-assembled, prefabricated treatment trains that use proven ion-exchange resin technology (invented by the company’s namesake, Robert Kunin, during the Manhattan Project) to separate target metals from mining wastewater and tailings streams.
- **Byproduct Financing & Asset Ownership Model**: Kunin helps mine owners finance critical mineral byproduct assets, sharing upside from recovered metals that would otherwise be lost.
- **Multiphysics Digital Twins & Process Controls**: Automated optimization systems that maximize metal capture rates and speed of recovery for each specific mining operation.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (early-stage startup)
- **Key Metric**: Small team of ~2-6 employees (as of mid-2026); active hiring spree with 4 open positions
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Tied into Department of Energy projects; selected by the DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation to restart domestic primary gallium recovery; based at Brickyard in Chattanooga
- **Growth Signals**: Selected for DOE critical minerals program; reports its technology can uplift mine revenue by 10–30% over 10 years; U.S. mining industry facing critical supply shortages due to Chinese export restrictions on gallium, germanium, and other metals — creating massive tailwind for its market

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proven Chemistry, Novel Form Factor**: Uses ion-exchange resin chemistry with decades of in-field operating experience — no new material science required. The innovation is in the modular form factor and automated process controls, which dramatically reduce cost.
- **Vertically Integrated**: Kunin is America’s only vertically integrated ion-exchange technology developer, covering design, manufacturing, deployment, and financing.
- **Strategic Positioning**: Headquarters in Chattanooga strategically near Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory — all hubs for engineering talent.
- **Massive Addressable Market**: Estimates over $3 trillion in stranded critical minerals across U.S. mining waste that are currently not recovered.

## Strategic Focus
- Moving from pilot-scale demonstration to full production and deployment across the United States
- Scaling manufacturing to apply a lithium-ion battery-style learning curve to skidded system costs
- Building automated process controls for optimized metal recovery at existing mine sites
- Helping restore U.S. competitiveness in critical mineral production amid geopolitical supply chain disruptions

## Why Work Here
- **High-Impact Mission**: Directly contribute to U.S. critical mineral independence, domestic manufacturing, and national security — with measurable environmental benefit by recovering metals from existing waste rather than new mining
- **Tiny Team, Huge Ownership**: Currently 2-6 people; new hires (titles include “Damn Good Engineer,” Senior Scientist, Hydrometallurgist, Mechanical Lead) will have outsized influence on technology and company trajectory
- **Engineering-First Culture**: Emphasis on chemical process engineering, mechanical design, and multiphysics simulation — building real hardware that goes into the ground
- **Location**: Chattanooga, Tennessee — lower cost of living with proximity to top engineering universities and DOE national labs
- **EY: Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Likely onsite/hybrid given the hardware and lab focus; careers page does not specify remote options
- **Backed by DOE**: Credibility from federal selection for critical mineral recovery projects
- **Growth Trajectory**: Active hiring spree signals company is scaling from R&D toward deployment — early-stage equity opportunity

## Sources
1. [kunin.tech](https://www.kunin.tech/)
2. [Jobs.ashbyhq.com/kunin](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kunin)
3. [Hypepotamus](https://hypepotamus.com/startup-news/kunin-technologies-critical-minerals-mining-waste/)
4. [LinkedIn - Kunin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kunin)

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- [Mechanical Engineer - Facilities](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-facilities-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-4311d8fth3vk) — Chattanooga, TN
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- [Head of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-finance-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-xf4jt96dx6w7) — Chattanooga, TN
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