---
title: 'Head of Engineering at Solcoa Industries'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-engineering-solcoa-industries-alameda-tbf82r3pf080'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-03'
---

# Head of Engineering at Solcoa Industries

- **Company:** Solcoa Industries
- **Location:** Alameda, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-03
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/solcoa/6bdbb599-0a33-48b7-ab1d-5347d55d913a

## Job description

Making the Metals Powering the World Solcoa is building the next generation of American metalmaking, starting with rare earths — the metals of power and motion. We've developed a new chemistry that converts rare earth oxides into high-purity metals — the materials inside every EV, fighter jet, wind turbine, and data center — cleaner, cheaper, and faster than any conventional process. Now we're scaling it to thousands of tonnes of annual production.

## The Role

Head of Engineering will lead Solcoa's Engineering team with the goal of developing and scaling up novel rare earth metal production processes. You will own a full metal production development program. This includes development starting from research, process development, and full scale reactor design. You will also own the engineering, construction, and commissioning of Solcoa’s first commercial facility.

## What You’ll Do

- Process Design. Own the design of the metal production process that will bring metal production to cost parity with China. In this capacity, you will identify bottlenecks and radically simplify Solcoa’s process.
- Reactor Design. You will lead the design and engineering of the modular high-temperature metallothermic reduction reactors capable of producing rare earths at high yield and high throughput. You will organize the research, simulations, and mechanical engineering teams for the engineering and fabrication of it.
- Solcoa One, Process Design. You will identify key requirements, milestones, and be responsible for the delivery of the operating process at Solcoa One, our first commercial metal production plant. Head of Engineering will lead the process engineering team, responsible for designing the process and balancing of the plant. You will work with the Head of Capital Projects to engineer, staff, commission, and ramp up the largest rare earth metal production plant in the United States.
- Organization. You will define weekly goals and long-term milestones for the individual contributors on the research team, process development team, and mechanical engineering team. You will identify hiring needs and capital budget needs for achieving the metal capacity goals set by Solcoa’s leadership. You participate in the major decisions that define the direction of Solcoa’s metal production business.

## Compensation & Benefits

- Competitive base salary.
- Generous stock options.
- Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance.
- Company-provided lunch daily.
- Visa sponsorship available if needed.

## About Solcoa Industries

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Solcoa Industries converts end-of-life magnets and magnet production waste from EVs, data centers, wind turbines, and defense directly into high-purity rare earth metals in America, bypassing the traditional Chinese supply chain.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Angel-backed startup)
- **Headquarters**: Alameda, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Hooman Reza Nezhad (Co-founder, CEO) and Artem Iurkovskyi (Co-founder, CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Rare earth metals recycling and manufacturing; critical minerals supply chain.
- **Target customers**: B2B – OEMs, magnet producers, defense contractors, and supply chain partners in EV, renewable energy, data center, and aerospace sectors.
- **Mission**: “Bring rare earths home” – establish a domestic, carbon-zero source of rare earth metals to reduce Western dependence on China.

## Products & Services
- **NdPr Metal Alloy (Sample E-44-3)**: High-purity neodymium-praseodymium metal derived directly from scrap magnets. Available now for testing and production trials.
- **Heavy Rare Earths**: Coming soon.
- **SWARF Processing**: Conversion of magnet cutting waste (swarf) directly into magnet-ready metal.
- **Primary Oxides Processing**: Metal production from refined oxides.
- **Scrap Magnet Procurement**: Solcoa sources end-of-life magnets as feedstock, offering a demagnetization line and on-site storage.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding undisclosed; backed by “Strategic Angels across defense, robotics, and…” (no named investors disclosed).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Strategic angel investors in defense and robotics; partnerships with OEMs and magnet producers (not named).
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Active 35,000 sqft production facility in Alameda
  - 10 tonnes-per-annum REE metal production line under construction (current line: 3 tpa)
  - 8 employees with 9 open positions – headcount growth expected
  - Stated goal: “scale to meet one-third of US demand”

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary process**: Solcoa is one of the only companies in the world that converts magnet waste directly into magnet-ready metal, bypassing the intermediate steps that typically require China.
- **Faster, cleaner, cheaper**: Claims to be faster, cleaner, and cheaper than conventional processes.
- **In-house capabilities**: Full metallurgical lab, analytical equipment (ICP-OES, SEM-EDS, LECO), high-temperature furnaces, and fabrication tools – all under one roof.
- **National security angle**: Reduces US reliance on Chinese rare earth supply, a critical geopolitical moat.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale production**: Ramping up to a 10-tpa line and expanding the Alameda facility.
- **New chemistries**: Developing entirely new processes for rare earth metal production in America.
- **Talent acquisition**: Hiring engineers, R&D technicians, plant operators, and procurement specialists to build a world-class team.
- **Customer engagement**: Offering metal samples and production trials to OEMs and magnet producers.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Small, obsessive team (8 people) solving a deeply technical and mission-critical problem. Described as “truly obsessive people working on what might be the most important industrial problem of our time.”
- **Work model**: On-site in SF Bay Area (Alameda) – all current roles require physical presence.
- **Compensation**: Highly competitive base salaries ($100K–$350K for engineering roles), stock options, and strong benefits.
- **Impact**: Direct contribution to Western industrial independence and climate goals (carbon-zero metals).
- **Engineering focus**: Heavy emphasis on metallurgy, process engineering, and high-temperature chemistry; chance to build from scratch.

## Sources
1. [solcoaindustries.com](https://solcoaindustries.com/)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/solcoa](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/solcoa)
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/solcoaindustries)
4. [solcoaindustries.com/team](https://www.solcoaindustries.com/team)
5. [solcoaindustries.com/capabilities](https://www.solcoaindustries.com/capabilities)

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