Senior Molten Salt Engineer

Remote (Proximity to Schenectady, NY or Cambridge, MA a plus)

Company Overview

Malta Inc. is a young and dynamic company involved in the development of a novel and advanced energy storage technology. Malta's technology was developed by Google and leading international researchers, including a Nobel Laureate, and represents the state-of-the-art in utility-scale renewable energy storage. The company has completed multiple fundraising rounds and is growing rapidly. Malta's investors/partners are some of the largest and best-known tech and industrial companies in the world.

Malta's technology is a critical steppingstone for the transition from fossil power to green renewable energy resources.  Malta is located in Cambridge, MA but operates globally with a range of international project partners, investors, and clients. For more information, please see www.maltainc.com.

Responsibilities

We are looking for a Senior Molten Salt Engineer who will be responsible for leading the molten salt system design with engineering partners and the internal team for application in Malta’s grid-scale Pumped Heat Energy Storage plant solution. In this role, you will act as a subject matter expert (SME) for the molten salt system within the Malta team and provide technical guidance to the internal stakeholders (TLs) and external partners (OEM and EPC). You will work closely with the Plant system integration lead to drive the molten salt system design specification keeping a clear line of sight to mitigate all the risks (design to construction through operations) and ensuring that the design aligns with the system requirements, cost, and schedule. The Senior Molten Salt Engineer will report to the Director of Product and Design Development. Responsibilities may include: 

  • Lead the molten salt system design from conceptual design through field validation 
  • Own the molten salt system requirements including performance, cost, schedule, availability, and reliability, and drive system design to optimize requirements on a plant lifecycle basis 
  • Support ongoing and new testing programs related to various the molten salt technologies 
  • Work closely with the strategic initiatives team to develop detailed R&D roadmaps as well as planning and executing early experiments and test programs and bring improvements in the plant design 
  • Interface with OEMs and EPC and Malta’s engineering team to assure the complete and efficient integration of the salt system in the plant design, including operability, mechanical, electrical, and civil/structural aspects of the design 
  • Provide hardware/system level input and support molten salt system operability definition and analysis 
  • Identify and collaborate with external partners (industry, government, and/or academia) to support and accelerate molten salt system design development and improvements (e.g., materials, new salt chemistry, etc.) 
  • Support developing the salt system commissioning and testing plan and support site commissioning activities 
  • Apply creative and innovative solutions to reduce total installed cost and cycle time  
  • Support commercial and business development teams for discussions with potential customers 
  • Mentor and lead junior-level engineers on molten salt system design and operations 

Qualifications

Required attributes: 

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited College or University 
  • Minimum of 8 years experience in designing plants (e.g., CSP, SMRs, etc.) using molten salt as the energy storage medium 
  • Experience with hot molten salt tank (565°C) and foundation design 
  • Experience with molten salt system integration, commissioning, performance testing, and operation 
  • Deep understanding of past failures and issues related to the molten salt system design and execution 
  • Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-tech, high-profile start-up where decisions and progress must be made with imperfect information 
  • Ability to interface effectively with OEMs, vendors, EPC, and external customers 
  • Availability to travel domestically and internationally for partner meeting, site visits, conferences, etc. 

Preferred skills and background: 

  • At least 5 years of designing and/overseeing molten salt system (specifically hot salt tank and foundation) execution from design to construction  
  • Hands-on experience in commissioning, operations, and maintenance of the tower design CSP plants 
  • Experience with steady-state modeling tools like Ebsilon, Thermoflex 
  • Understanding of system dynamics and transients and their effects on component sizing and performance 
  • Previous cost-out experience with plant systems and sub-systems 
  • Experience with molten salt system HAZOP, and reliability/availability modeling 
  • Strong oral and written communication skills (can synthesize complex, multi-dimensional information in compelling collateral for executive and technical teams) 
  • Strong interpersonal and leadership skills 
  • Very organized and detail-oriented  
  • Deep passion for decarbonization of the global electricity grid 

Location/Travel:

  • Expected to be remote - Proximity to Schenectady, NY or Cambridge, MA a plus 
  • Travel: up to 25% at times 

Additional

Malta is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an inclusive work environment for all employees.

To apply please send your resume to Jobs@maltainc.com. Please include the job title in the email subject line.