Plant Manager — Electroplating Line Build & Operations

Job description

Our mission At Electrogenos, we're building technology to make green hydrogen competitive at scale. We focus on reducing the cost and complexity of hydrogen production so it can replace fossil-based alternatives across real-world applications. We're an early-stage team working at the intersection of electrochemistry, manufacturing, and deployment. About The Role We are building a first-of-a-kind plant for electrolyser stack manufacturing — the process of coating large metallic electrodes and stacking them into finished stacks — and we are looking for a hands-on Plant Manager to build it and then run it. This is a greenfield fit-out inside an existing warehouse in Abu Dhabi: the building is there, and it is on you to design, specify, install, and commission everything that goes inside it. You will supervise and manage the plant as a whole, and you will report directly to the CEO. The centre of gravity of this role is the electroplating line and its automation. In the first phase, you will lead the fit-out and commissioning of two core capabilities: an electrodeposition line for coating large metallic electrode surfaces, and the electrode stacking and assembly line that turns those electrodes and components into finished stacks. You will lay out the facility, specify and bring in the equipment, get the utilities, chemistry, control systems, and safety systems in place, and prove the process works. In the second phase, you will build the team and own day-to-day operations; i.e. production throughput, quality, cost, safety, and people; as we ramp toward volume. You will also own basic product characterization and quality control: the in-line and end-of-line checks that confirm every coated surface and every assembled stack meets our performance and quality requirements before it leaves the plant. You will work closely with our R&D and engineering teams in the UK and Spain to transfer processes from the lab into repeatable, scalable manufacturing. This is a senior, on-site leadership role for someone who is as comfortable on the shop floor solving a plating-bath or control-system problem as they are planning a capacity ramp with the CEO. Tasks Design the plant layout and lead the fit-out, installation, commissioning, and qualification of an industrial electrodeposition / electroplating line for large metallic electrode surfaces, specifying equipment, tanks, chemistry, rectifiers, rinsing, and effluent treatment. Lead the fit-out and commissioning of the electrode stacking and assembly facility, including tooling, fixtures, workstations, torque and sealing processes, and material flow. Set up basic product characterization and quality control; i.e. dimensional, coating, and electrochemical checks (e.g. cell voltage / polarization); and the pass/fail criteria for coated surfaces and finished stacks. Own the safe handling of plating and process chemistries: EHS systems, permits, chemical storage, ventilation, effluent treatment, and compliance with UAE regulations. Transfer processes from R&D into repeatable, documented, scalable production, working closely with the UK and Spain technical teams. Own day-to-day plant operations: production schedule, throughput, yield, cost, maintenance, and on-time delivery. Build and lead the plant team: hiring, training, shift structure, and performance. Manage suppliers and subcontractors for equipment, chemicals, components, and facility works. Establish and maintain a quality management system and the documentation, traceability, and records to support it. Report clearly to leadership on build progress, ramp status, quality, safety, cost, and risks. Essential Skills Hands-on experience with industrial electroplating / electrodeposition, ideally including the installation and commissioning of electroplating facilities from scratch. Proven experience managing a chemical or process plant end to end: you have been the person accountable for a working facility, not for one line or one department within it. 10+ years of professional experience in industrial manufacturing or process operations. Construction and fit-out experience: you have built or substantially rebuilt a facility, and you can run a build programme, a contractor package, and a commissioning schedule yourself. Technical depth and genuine appetite to learn: you understand the physics and chemistry of what you are building, and you are comfortable taking on a new electrochemistry and a new product where the answers do not exist yet. Strong practical command of process qualification, quality control, and basic characterization methods. EHS discipline, especially around chemical handling, hazardous processes, and effluent. You make safety non-negotiable. Team leadership: you have hired, trained, and run a production team, and can build one from the ground up. Comfortable moving fast in an early-stage, resource-constrained environment. Fluent English and willing to be based on-site in Abu Dhabi. Desirable Skills Experience in hydrogen, electrolyzer, fuel cell, or battery manufacturing. Familiarity with alkaline electrolysis electrodes, nickel-based coatings, or catalytic surfaces. Experience commissioning plating lines and their supporting utilities and wastewater treatment. Lean manufacturing and continuous-improvement experience. Knowledge of quality and management-system standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001). Experience working in the UAE or wider GCC industrial environment. Spanish language skills. Comfort coordinating with technical teams across countries and time zones. Your profile You're a builder. You've run an electroplating operation, and you've taken a line from an empty warehouse to working production before, contractors and commissioning schedule included. You take pride in a plant that runs safely, hits its numbers, and turns out quality product every time. You're technical enough to get into a plating chemistry, an automation, or an assembly-process problem yourself. You're organised enough to plan a ramp, manage contractors and suppliers, hire a team, and keep leadership honestly informed. You stay calm under pressure, you own outcomes, and you're drawn to hard, meaningful problems and to being part of something at the frontier of the energy transition. Why us? Own the build and operation of a first-of-a-kind plant that is central to our next few years, from an empty warehouse to volume production. Report directly to the CEO, with real decision-making scope from day one. Build your own plant team from the ground up. Work at the frontier of green hydrogen, on a technology with genuine potential to change the economics of the industry. A role that grows as the facility and the company scale. A mission-driven team building real technology for the energy transition. Competitive salary, discussed during the interview process. Visa sponsorship / relocation support available for the right candidate.