---
title: 'Senior Reactor Modeling Engineer at Lydian'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-reactor-modeling-engineer-lydian-boston-kkmga92r5s6j'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Senior Reactor Modeling Engineer at Lydian

- **Company:** Lydian
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lydian/bccb9562-f2f0-4a97-b3e6-dcc31069545d

## Job description

## 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. Lydian is backed by top climate investors including Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Grok Ventures, and Overture. 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 Senior Reactor Modeling Engineer to conduct multi-physics modeling/simulation and data analysis. You will develop thermofluid models of Lydian’s reactors and apply to them to various design, optimization, and experimental troubleshooting challenges. You will collaborate with experimentalists to gather data to validate your models, and will work with teams across the company as a lead for data handling and advanced data analysis.

We are looking for someone with strong fundamentals in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and chemical reaction kinetics who can confidently synthesize multi-physics models. Our ideal candidate can reliably assess a physical system and then craft CFD and/or analytical models that accurately capture its behavior. You need to have a strong background in data analysis and experience providing data and model-driven insights to designers and experimentalists.

## RESPONSIBILITIES

- Develop thermofluid/reaction models of Lydian’s custom-designed reactors
- Perform detailed analyses (hand calculations, FEA, CFD, etc.) to support design and optimization of critical reactor components
- Leverage models to sharpen our understanding of experimental systems, aiding with troubleshooting, design of experiments, and selection of process parameters
- Collaborate with teammates to design, build, and execute tests to obtain experimental data for model validation and parameter extraction
- Develop data analysis methods to support teams across Lydian
- Collaborate with process engineers to implement parametrized reactor models in plant-level simulations

## QUALIFICATIONS

- BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or similar. MS or Ph.D. are preferred
- 5+ years of experience in analysis of thermal fluid, reactor, or catalytic systems
- Experience using CFD software (Ansys, COMSOL, OpenFOAM, STAR-CCM+, etc.) to analyze physical systems and guide product design
- Skilled at analyzing experimental data, drawing meaningful conclusions, and presenting findings to a broader team
- Strong ability to apply engineering principles—including thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat and mass transport—to systematically approach complex design problems
- Experience modeling reactors and chemical kinetics
- Comfortable working independently to define and execute projects

## COMPANY CULTURE AND BENEFITS

- Challenging, collaborative, and meaningful work and an important voice in company development
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience
- Meaningful equity compensation
- Unlimited PTO and expectation that all employees take significant time off to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside work
- Excellent insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental premiums covered for the employee, and 80% coverage for dependents
- 401(k) with company match

## About Lydian

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lydian produces drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from CO₂, water, and renewable electricity using a radically simpler, fully-electrified plant design.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – last raised $43.7M in 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Joe Rodden (CEO) and Branko Zugic (Co-founder & CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Renewable Energy Equipment Manufacturing / Sustainable Aviation Fuel (e-SAF)
- **Target customers**: Airlines, fuel buyers, corporate offtakers, and owners/operators of synthetic fuel production facilities (B2B)
- **Mission/purpose**: Decarbonize the aviation industry by replacing oil and gas refining with electrified, modular, highly-efficient reactor systems.

## Products & Services
- **Turnkey e-SAF Production Plants**: Standardized plant design (≤24-month deployment) that converts CO₂ and H₂ into ASTM-approved FT-SPK jet fuel. Designed to ramp up/down with intermittent renewable power, drastically reducing storage needs and renewable oversizing.
- **Direct SAF Supply**: For airlines, fuel buyers, and corporate offtakers seeking RFNBO-compliant sustainable aviation fuel.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metrics**:
  - Total Funding: ~$55.8M – $58.25M (latest round: Series A, $43.7M in early 2026)
  - Annual Revenue: ~$1.0M (estimated; early-stage pre-commercial)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Overlap Holdings, IAGi (International Airlines Group accelerator), and 10+ other investors.
- **Growth Signals**: Selected for IAGi Accelerator 2025; patented 9+ patents in chemical processes and catalysis; growing job postings (+200% YoY); expanding presence in Belgium and Argentina.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Radically simpler plant design**: All subsystems developed in-house – single integrated technology vs. multiple licenses.
- **Fast deployment**: Target ≤24 months construction, compared to 4+ years for conventional SAF plants.
- **Lower capital intensity**: “At least 50% lower” capital cost vs. conventional jet fuel plants.
- **Dynamic operating range**: 10–100% turndown, responding in minutes to intermittent renewable power – minimizing storage and enabling RFNBO compliance.
- **Drop-in compatibility**: ASTM-approved FT-SPK fuel meets commercial and defense specifications.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale production**: Move from pilot/demo to commercial volumes by 2028.
- **Expand project pipeline**: Partner with airlines, fuel buyers, and corporate offtakers for direct SAF supply.
- **Continuous R&D**: Optimize reactor systems and syngas production to further reduce cost and energy consumption.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Early-stage climate tech startup backed by top-tier investors; mission-driven team of engineers, scientists, and operators.
- **Work Policy**: In-office (Cambridge, MA) – employees work from the Charlestown office.
- **Open Roles** (as of mid-2026): Director of Capital Projects, VP Engineering, Staff Controls & Automation Engineer – signals scaling phase.
- **Team**: ~31 employees with strong technical focus (47% technical staff); alumni from MIT, Form Energy, Boom Supersonic, etc.

## Sources
1. [lydianlabs.com](https://www.lydianlabs.com/)
2. [linkedin.com/company/lydianlabs](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lydianlabs)
3. [cbinsights.com/company/lydian-labs](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/lydian-labs)
4. [builtin.com/company/lydian](https://builtin.com/company/lydian)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/lydian](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lydian)

## Other roles at Lydian

- [Senior Materials Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-materials-engineer-lydian-boston-mktmv1a9cg6z) — Boston, MA
- [Staff R&D Data Engineer, Hardware Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-r-d-data-engineer-hardware-systems-lydian-boston-3720t3cd6yc4) — Boston, MA
- [Senior Lab Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-lab-technician-lydian-boston-eff7k22vxyd0) — Boston, MA
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- [Staff Controls & Automation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-controls-automation-engineer-lydian-boston-rvqhj7wekhpd) — Boston, MA