Cofounder + CTO, Sovereign Materials

Location: Central Texas
Company: Sovereign Materials — Recycled American Rare Earths

The Opportunity

We are launching a venture to commercialize clean, short-loop hydrometallurgical technology to establish a fully circular, non-foreign source of high-purity separated Rare Earth Oxides (REOs). We aim to secure rights to a process for recovering strategic REOs directly from industrial swarf and end-of-life magnets.

Sovereign Materials is a new force in the critical minerals industry, dedicated to ending U.S. dependence on hostile foreign powers for strategic materials while achieving high returns on equity.

As the Technical Co-founder and CTO, you will be the absolute technical authority for the company. Your mission is to rapidly ID and transition a proven US-developed process into a secure, modular, and highly profitable industrial platform (through licensing IP). You will manage the entire technical roadmap from Modular MVP commissioning to full commercial rollout, targeting 1,000 TPA capacity.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical due diligence, assessment, and commercial negotiation for licensing core rare-earth separation technologies (e.g., CMI’s Electrochemically Driven Dissolution, ReElement’s process, Geomega’s ISR).

• Translate licensed protocols into a robust, industrial-scale, continuous process-flow design with detailed mass and energy balances, focused on REE separation.

• Serve as the internal expert on electrochemical process optimization, hydrometallurgy (wet chemistry), and REE separation (e.g., solvent extraction or ion exchange).

• Lead EPC management for the initial Modular Commercial Plant (Phase I MVP), ensuring the 50–100 TPA facility is delivered on time and within budget.

• Define technical requirements and the CAPEX strategy for the subsequent 1,000+ TPA commercial facility (Phase II), optimizing for cost efficiency and modularity.

• Drive continuous improvement to maximize REE yield, minimize liquid/chemical waste, and reduce energy consumption.

• Select and manage key equipment suppliers (e.g., electrochemical cell manufacturers, solvent-extraction mixer-settlers, high-purity processing systems).

• Establish rigorous QA/QC protocols and in-house lab capabilities (e.g., ICP-MS or XRF) to verify the purity of incoming feedstock (swarf/e-waste) and the ultra-high purity (99.99%) of the final separated rare-earth oxides (REOs) against defense and industry requirements.

• Develop and enforce strict safety standards for industrial electrochemical cells, concentrated electrolytes, and chemical processing; ensure compliance with all applicable codes.

• Ensure all processing and waste streams comply with stringent environmental regulations (e.g., RCRA in the U.S.), leveraging the “green premium” of the licensed technology.

• Present technical progress, risks, and milestones clearly to the board, investors, and strategic partners (DoD, DOE grant programs).

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (preferred) or Extractive Metallurgy with a focus on advanced separation techniques. Requires 7+ years in industrial electrochemical scale-up.

• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience, including at least 3 years in a senior leadership role (VP or Director) within high-value industrial chemical processing, rare-earth, or specialty-chemicals environments.

• Expert-level, verifiable experience designing and scaling industrial electrochemical and/or hydrometallurgical processes (e.g., solvent extraction or ion exchange).

• Proven experience managing and successfully commissioning at least one multi-million-dollar CAPEX project (e.g., new production line, facility expansion, major process upgrade).

• Expert knowledge of industrial safety protocols related to concentrated chemical processing and high-purity chemical handling.

• Bias to action—you’re more of a doer than a researcher and not beholden to perfection.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with rare-earth elements or the high-purity chemical segment of the magnet value chain.

• Familiarity with government funding applications (e.g., DOE grants, DPA Title III).

• Experience in a venture-backed startup or small, highly dynamic team.