---
title: 'Laboratory Technician - Process Development at Kunin Technologies'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/laboratory-technician-process-development-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-w3j86e2sj2pz'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Laboratory Technician - Process Development 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/6d6c5df3-8947-4c07-bebf-6d3c2e7f61a7

## 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 keep the bench and the mini-pilots running. You set up and operate the chlorination reactors, distillation columns, hydrolysis vessels, filters, dryers and calciners, and the ion-exchange modules; you prepare reagents, handle chlorine and concentrated hydrochloric acid safely, take and log samples on schedule, run the day-to-day ICP-OES and wet-chemistry measurements, and keep the equipment, the inventory and the records in order. From March to May 2027 you work shifts on the continuous mini-pilot campaigns that generate the data the plant is designed from. You are part of the research team in Chattanooga and work with the process chemists, the distillation process engineer and the analytical chemist. Team player who takes ownership of the equipment and the record and raises problems early. By 7 May 2027 we expect both mini-pilot campaigns completed safely with complete sample and operating records.

## RESPONSIBILITIES

- Set-up, operation and turnaround of bench reactors, laboratory distillation columns, hydrolysis and filtration equipment, dryers, calciners and ion-exchange modules
- Safe preparation and handling of chlorine, concentrated HCl, moisture-sensitive chlorides and nitrogen-blanketed systems; scrubber and PPE checks
- Sampling on schedule, sample preparation, ICP-OES and wet-chemistry measurements, and sample logging
- Shift operation of the continuous mini-pilot during campaigns, including start-up, steady-state logs and shutdown
- Equipment maintenance, reagent and consumable inventory, waste handling and laboratory records

## QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED SKILLS

- Associate's or Bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical technology or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 1+ years in a chemical, metallurgical or pilot-plant laboratory; experience with corrosive or hazardous gases preferred.
- Mechanically capable: comfortable assembling glass and PFA systems, pumps, heaters and instrumentation.
- Careful record keeper; comfortable with spreadsheets and laboratory data systems.
- Ability to work in fast paced and demanding atmosphere
- Team player who takes ownership of shared equipment and keeps the laboratory safe and organized.

## COMPENSATION

This role will pay $75,000 - $135,000, benefits, and equity.

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

- Position located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Shift work during mini-pilot campaigns, including nights and weekends, is required.
- Extended hours and weekends frequently required to support critical project milestones.
- Kunin will do whatever it can to secure work authorization for the right candidate.

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)

## Other roles at Kunin Technologies

- [VP of Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-of-manufacturing-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-krky86pgqk1e) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Controls Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/controls-engineer-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-gtcd05qbsryh) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Mechanical Engineer - Facilities](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-facilities-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-4311d8fth3vk) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Facilities Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/facilities-engineer-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-kngfhyk8e3nb) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Chemical Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/chemical-process-engineer-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-hfzfqwf7fcbv) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Summer Intern - Metallurgy and Chemistry](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-intern-metallurgy-and-chemistry-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-hp54hxchvhgf) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Summer Intern - Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-intern-engineering-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-9ph7kzpmmwez) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Summer Intern - Commercial](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-intern-commercial-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-z3qtgkr9cvfw) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Head of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-finance-kunin-technologies-chattanooga-xf4jt96dx6w7) — Chattanooga, TN
- [Director of Government Relations](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-government-relations-kunin-technologies-washington-39361rcv1yfm) — Washington, DC