---
title: 'Sr. Combustion Engineer at Arbor Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-combustion-engineer-arbor-energy-el-segundo-147g6d6r1sbd'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Sr. Combustion Engineer at Arbor Energy

- **Company:** Arbor Energy
- **Location:** El Segundo, CA
- **Posted:** 2025-12-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/arborenergy/jobs/4088808009

## Job description

## About Us

At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them.  Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale.

Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we’re applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.

If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we’d love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.

Steward our planet: We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.

Lead with Love: We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.

Explore the Uncharted: We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.

## Role Overview

The Sr. Combustion Engineer helps pioneer our rocket-inspired, high-pressure combustion systems for carbon-neutral and carbon-negative power cycles.  In this role, you’ll lead end-to-end development of cutting-edge, high-efficiency combustion devices in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.  You will partner closely with test engineers, analysts, and designers to push boundaries—delivering breakthrough performance that powers a sustainable future.

From conceptual design and modeling to hands-on testing and rapid iteration, you'll own the full hardware lifecycle.

This is an onsite opportunity in our El Segundo, CA office.

## Responsibilities

- Lead the clean-sheet design and analysis of advanced oxy-fuel combustion systems, delivering breakthrough performance from concept to reality
- Plan, execute, and analyze high-pressure and temperature test campaigns, delivering actionable insights to accelerate progress
- Guide system configuration and drive performance optimization for maximum efficiency and reliability
- Own rapid hardware development cycles—from manufacturing and assembly through testing and iterative improvements
- Leverage additive manufacturing and state-of-the-art simulation tools to accelerate innovation and reduce development timelines
- Champion continuous improvement by proposing and implementing design upgrades

## Requirements

- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical engineering, or related field
- 7+ years of experience in combustion system design, analysis, and testing
- Comprehensive understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer
- Hands-on experience with high-temperature and pressure equipment
- Demonstrated ability to own the product lifecycle from conceptual design to validation
- Curious, inventive, and entrepreneurial mindset comfortable driving progress

## Preferred Qualifications

- Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Mechanical, Aerospace, or Chemical engineering
- Hands-on experience with hot-fire testing and high-pressure systems in rocket or gas turbine environments
- Programming or scripting skills for data reduction and automation (Python, MATLAB, etc.)
- Background in startup environments or agile hardware development cycles

## Benefits & Compensation

- Pre-IPO stock options
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
- Basic life insurance fully covered
- Health savings account (HSA) with matching
- Flexible savings account (FSA)
- Unlimited PTO
- 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
- 401(k)
- Commuter benefits
- Annual learning and development stipend
- And more!

Base Pay: $150,000 - $175,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

Our Commitment

Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.

Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment—please let us know if you need one.

## About Arbor Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Arbor Energy builds advanced, zero-emission baseload power systems using aerospace-derived oxy-combustion and supercritical CO₂ technology.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A, 2025)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Brad Hartwig (CEO/Co-Founder), Alicia Harmon O’Meara (COO), Andres Garcia-Clark (CTO/Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Clean baseload power generation / Renewable energy
- **Target customers**: Utilities, industrial facilities, and large-scale energy buyers (B2B / Enterprise)
- **Mission statement**: “Human ambition in harmony with the planet” – delivering dependable, emissions-free baseload power at the scale the world requires.

## Products & Services
- **HALCYON (Product)**: Compact 25 MW turbine system combining oxy-combustion with a supercritical CO₂ power cycle. It provides firm, always-on baseload electricity with zero operating emissions. Fuel‑flexible (natural gas today; carbon‑negative fuels in the future) and designed for rapid deployment (under two years from contract to grid power). Systems can be linked into 100 MW+ plants. *(SaaS/Software? No – it’s a physical power system)*
- **ATLAS (Pilot)**: 1 MW test facility (built 2025) used to validate turbomachinery and system integration.
- **Carbon removal**: The process inherently captures and stores CO₂, enabling permanent carbon removal credits (e.g., agreements with Microsoft and Frontier).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – **$109.5 million** (as of 2025)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Gigascale Capital, Voyager Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Cantos Ventures, U.S. Department of Energy, Microsoft, Frontier
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Named to *Fast Company*’s “Most Innovative Companies” (2026, sustainability category) and “Next Big Things in Tech” (2024)
  - *TIME*’s “Best Inventions of 2024”
  - Won the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Carbon Negative Shot” award (2024)
  - Signed a multi‑year carbon removal agreement with Microsoft and a $41 million offtake agreement with Frontier (2025)
  - Headcount grew 37.5% year‑over‑year to 52 employees; 9,118 LinkedIn followers (+56.8% YoY)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Aerospace DNA**: Founded by engineers from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other rocket‑building teams – bringing high‑performance turbomachinery and systems engineering to clean energy.
- **Proprietary technology**: Oxy‑combustion + supercritical CO₂ cycle achieves high thermal efficiency in a small footprint, with zero emissions and low water use.
- **Speed & modularity**: Can go from contract to grid power in under two years; 25 MW modules scale to 100 MW+ plants quickly.
- **Integrated carbon removal**: Inherent CO₂ capture gives the company a dual revenue stream (power + carbon credits).

## Strategic Focus
- Accelerate pilot testing and development of HALCYON toward first commercial power in 2028.
- Scale manufacturing and secure additional offtake agreements.
- Expand fuel flexibility to run on carbon‑negative feedstocks (e.g., organic waste).
- Continue hiring across engineering, supply chain, and operations to support rapid growth.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Serious engineering, real responsibility, and problems worth solving.” Values include “Explore the uncharted,” “Lead with love,” and “Steward our planet.”
- **Work environment**: On‑site roles in El Segundo, CA (HQ) and San Bernardino, CA (test site). Not remote/hybrid based on current job listings.
- **Benefits**:
  - Equity grants and refreshes tied to impact
  - Medical, dental, vision (majority of costs covered for employee and family)
  - Unlimited PTO plus company holidays and year‑end winter break
  - Annual learning stipend ($?)
  - 401(k) and legal assistance
- **Team**: 52 employees (2025); strong technical team with 41% in engineering. Many hires from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rivian, and other advanced hardware companies.

## Sources
1. [arbor.co – Company page](https://arbor.co/company/)
2. [arbor.co – Main site](https://arbor.co/)
3. [arbor.co – Careers page](https://arbor.co/careers/)
4. [Greenhouse – Arbor Energy jobs](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/arborenergy/jobs/4236174009)
5. [LinkedIn – Arbor Energy](https://www.linkedin.com/company/arborenergy)

## Other roles at Arbor Energy

- [Head of Legal](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-legal-arbor-energy-el-segundo-vcc7t7ts7n90) — El Segundo, CA
- [R&D Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-technician-arbor-energy-el-segundo-fvxxed8sf58r) — El Segundo, CA
- [Sr. Combustion Engineer (Syngas Oxyfuel)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-combustion-engineer-syngas-oxyfuel-arbor-energy-el-segundo-8qcc5k728e2a) — El Segundo, CA
- [Sr. Test Engineer (Gasification R&D)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-test-engineer-gasification-r-d-arbor-energy-san-bernardino-2c90a34d814n) — San Bernardino, CA
- [Sr. Heat Transfer Engineer - Turbomachinery](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-heat-transfer-engineer-turbomachinery-arbor-energy-el-segundo-77axn2w2e2j8) — El Segundo, CA
- [Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Turbomachinery](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-mechanical-engineer-turbomachinery-arbor-energy-el-segundo-6zezn9cm63p2) — El Segundo, CA
- [Sr. Thermodynamics Performance Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-thermodynamics-performance-engineer-arbor-energy-el-segundo-sah3pjbfqdf7) — El Segundo, CA
- [Sr. Heat Exchanger Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-heat-exchanger-engineer-arbor-energy-el-segundo-0ek79zk9aqpc) — El Segundo, CA
- [Thermodynamics Performance Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/thermodynamics-performance-engineer-arbor-energy-el-segundo-4r11ne7qbea4) — El Segundo, CA
- [Lead Combustion Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-combustion-engineer-arbor-energy-el-segundo-f30qxpp6grnc) — El Segundo, CA