Lead Mechanical Engineer

Lead Mechanical Engineer

Climeworks

Zürich, Switzerland

Your mission

Job description

• Specifications and design: You lead the development of fit-for-purpose mechanical specifications, design philosophies, and basis of design for execution Globally. You ensure owner requirements are clearly defined, documented, and communicated to contractors, and validate design assumptions against operability, safety, and applicable regulatory expectations. This includes defining a pressure equipment compliance pathway (e.g., registration and lifecycle documentation expectations) suitable for local and regional execution;
• Cold-weather and constructability: As our next DAC plant is planned for Alberta, Canada, you incorporate Alberta (or similar) climate conditions into mechanical design and execution planning (freeze protection, winterization, insulation/heat tracing philosophy, drainage/low-point management, cold start/commissioning constraints). You ensure the design is constructable and able to operate and be maintained through winter conditions, including consideration of temporary works, winter work sequencing, and interface constraints with cold-weather civil activities;
• Contractor management: You review and approve contractor submissions, enforce owner requirements, provide technical clarifications, and ensure adherence to schedule, quality, safety, and operability. You set clear expectations for execution methods, field quality controls, and turnover documentation needed for safe operation and maintenance;
• Innovation and cost optimization: You develop innovative engineering solutions to identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality or safety. You focus on design-to-construct decisions appropriate for local boundary conditions (e.g., modularization readiness, reduced field welds, optimized layout, local climactic conditions, access and maintenance);
• Interface management: You assure strong integration with process, civil, electrical, and O&M disciplines to achieve seamless and optimized designs. You proactively manage cross-discipline interfaces;
• Regulatory and stakeholder awareness: Where relevant, you support alignment of mechanical scope assumptions with local permitting and application needs for energy/industrial facilities and infrastructure interfaces;
• Documentation and knowledge management: You maintain thorough records of technical decisions, design bases, vendor information, and lessons learned for future operational use, including pressure equipment records and lifecycle documentation expectations.

Your story

Requirements

• Educational background: You hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering;
• Professional experience: You bring at least 10 years of experience in process plants, preferably in cold weather climates, as a mechanical static equipment engineer, with proven expertise in API and ASME equipment such as heat exchangers, columns, pressure vessels, storage tanks, and packaged auxiliary equipment;
• Mandatory requirement: Demonstrated, hands‑on experience with cold‑weather industrial plant design and execution, including winterization, freeze protection, and constructability planning for winter conditions (e.g., Canada, Nordics, Northern US);
• Project experience: You have hands-on involvement in at least one full-cycle project in the chemical, petrochemical, or renewables industry, covering all phases from FEED and detailed design to construction, commissioning and start-up-preferably in cold-weather or remote/seasonally constrained execution environments;
• Work style: You are precise, adaptable, and reliable, with a proactive and solution-oriented approach. You are comfortable driving decisions and owning them in the office and under field constraints, including winter productivity and schedule risk;
• Communication: You are confident in presenting to executive audiences and EPC contractors, translating technical content into clear, actionable information;
• Languages & travel: You are fluent in English and ready to travel up to 60% of your time depending on which phase the project is (including extended site presence in Alberta, Canada).