Role Title
:
Project Manager
Department: Scale-Up Operations
Reporting To
: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Note : Candidates with Short Notice are Highly Preferred :
Role Summary
The Project Manager for Scale-Up Operations plays a critical role in transforming NoPo’s lab-scale innovations into world-class, commercial-scale processes for HiPCO® SWCNTs and their applications. Operating at the strategic intersection of R&D (TRL 4–7), Scale-Up (TRL 6–9), and Manufacturing, this role requires translating scientific breakthroughs into scalable, safe, cost-effective, and repeatable industrial processes.This role is about
building systems, leading people
, and ensuring
technology readiness for the world
. The ideal leader will apply strong chemical engineering fundamentals to optimize scale-up, develop SOPs, guide pilots, and lead tech transfer into operations—all while building and mentoring a high-performance team that can drive NoPo’s mission forward.
Role :
- Bridge the Chasm: Own the transition from lab validation (TRL 4–6) to commercial production (TRL 9), enabling technology maturity and readiness.
- Lead by Process & Purpose: Apply rigorous engineering, safety, and economic evaluation to all scale-up decisions.
- Build Capability: Lead a core team of scale-up engineers, process scientists, and pilot plant staff; set culture, pace, and expectations.
- Deliver to Operations: Own the end-to-end scale-up pipeline, culminating in complete documentation and hand off to manufacturing.
Key Responsibilities
:
- Strategic Technology Leadership
- Develop and maintain a multi-year scale-up roadmap that aligns with R&D progress, market timelines, and cost targets.
- Work closely with the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) to de-risk early-stage technologies, identify scale-up feasibility, and define transition criteria from TRL 4 to TRL 6+.
- Set performance, safety, cost, and yield goals for each scale-up phase, ensuring commercial-grade readiness.
- Process Development and Optimization
- Lead the design, engineering, and optimization of pilot-scale and pre-commercial processes for:
- HiPCO® reactors , SWCNT purification, Membrane modules, Chirality-based sorting systems
- CNT fibers and beyond
- Use chemical engineering principles (mass/heat transfer, fluid mechanics, reaction kinetics, etc.) to model, test, and validate scalable solutions.
- Approve all process parameters, quality metrics, and performance benchmarks.
- Pilot Trials and Validation
- Plan and lead pilot trials, ensuring technical goals, cost estimates, and performance benchmarks are met.
- Analyze trial outcomes using rigorous data methods to inform scale-up readiness or redesign needs.
- Ensure all trials generate full datasets required for tech transfer and compliance.
- Documentation, SOPs, and Tech Transfer
- Define and document Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), process control plans, safety protocols, and QC workflows.
- Manage smooth handover to Operations, including training, troubleshooting support, and early production monitoring.
- Maintain audit-ready documentation for internal quality systems and external regulatory needs.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Serve as the liaison between R&D and Manufacturing, ensuring open communication, feedback loops, and shared accountability.
- Integrate perspectives from engineering, purification, and reactor teams into a unified scale-up strategy.
- Present technical outcomes and scale-up forecasts to executive leadership and investors.
- Process Modelling and Digital Engineering
- Use process simulation tools (e.g., Aspen, CFD, thermodynamic models) to validate scale-up design.
- Lead development of digital twins of pilot and commercial systems to predict performance and optimize operations.
- Safety, Compliance, and Quality
- Lead all EHS activities related to scale-up systems, including high-pressure handling, toxic gas containment, and hazard mitigation.
- Approve EHS documentation and ensure all risk controls are implemented prior to scale-up trials or plant commissioning.
- Define Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs) in collaboration with the QA and R&D teams.
- Innovation, IP, and Collaboration
- Promote process innovations that reduce cost, improve yield, or enable new applications.
- Contribute to patent filings, technical whitepapers, and collaborative research programs.
- Partner with academic and national labs for joint development or testing support.
Performance Metrics
- Successful TRL transitions (e.g., TRL 6 → TRL 8) per roadmap
- Pilot success rate and time-to-scale
- Cost-per-gram reduction in scaled-up processes
- Number and quality of handovers to Ops
- Internal EHS compliance and zero-incident rate
- Team growth, retention, and performance metrics
Requirements
Requirements:
- Build and lead a multi-disciplinary scale-up team with clear roles and strong execution culture.
- Coach and mentor junior engineers to think rigorously, act decisively, and own outcomes.
- Foster a high-performance, data-driven, and mission-aligned team environment.
Qualification & Experience:
- B. Tech in Chemical Engineering / M. Tech in Chemical Engineering with 8 to 10 Years of Experience in Scale up Commercialization into Specialty Chemicals / EPC / Nanotechnologies / Semiconductor industries of Scaled – Startup.
Benefits
Best in the Industry
