Product Development Engineer – Direct Air Capture

Job description

The role At Ore Energy, we are on a mission to fundamentally expand the amount of energy society can reliably harness and use, helping move civilization toward a more abundant energy future. We are doing this by developing long-duration, utility-scale iron-air batteries that provide safe, low-cost, multi-day energy storage for electricity grids and data centers. We are expanding our product development capabilities and are looking for a Product Development Engineer – Air Systems to join our team in Amsterdam. Our iron-air batteries "breathe" air, meaning that conditioning and purifying incoming air and managing gases internally is a critical subsystem of our product. In this role, you will lead the design, process calculation, prototyping, and validation of our air-processing and gas-management support systems. We are looking for a highly resourceful, hands-on Mechanical Engineer who has practical experience in Direct Air Capture (DAC) or advanced gas-adsorption technologies. You will bridge the gap between process concepts (mass balance, pressure drop, sorbents) and physical mechanical reality, building functional physical systems that protect and optimize our battery chemistry. This role reports directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO) . Key responsibilities System Design & Sizing: Design and develop active air-treatment, gas-separation, and humidity/temperature conditioning subsystems. Perform key process calculations, mass balances, flow dynamics, and system sizing. Component Selection: Evaluate, specify, and source active mechanical components, including sorbents, filters, gas membranes, reactors, valves, pumps, and blower systems. Hands-on Prototyping: Build, plumb, and wire laboratory-scale proof-of-concept units and pilot-scale air-handling rigs from scratch. Experimental Testing: Design and execute test campaigns to evaluate gas-adsorption capacity, pressure drop across beds, regeneration behavior, and thermal/energy efficiency. Root-Cause Analysis: Diagnose technical issues, trace failure modes in air/gas handling loops, and convert experimental data into clear mechanical design improvements. Subsystem Integration: Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrochemical, and controls teams to integrate air systems with cell modules, sensors, and structural housings. Technical Documentation: Document system architecture requirements, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), process concepts, and validation outcomes. Your profile Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (strongly preferred) or a highly related discipline (such as Process/Chemical Engineering with a heavy, proven focus on physical machine design and plumbing). Direct Air Capture (DAC) Background: Practical, hands-on experience in Direct Air Capture (DAC), gas-adsorption systems, or closely related gas-purification technologies. Prototyping & Plumbing Mastery: Strong physical troubleshooting and assembly skills. You must be completely comfortable working with pumps, pneumatic valves, compression fittings, tubing, vessels, and gas sensors in a workshop or laboratory environment. Analytical Skills: Strong ability to interpret process data, model flow behaviors, and perform thermodynamic or mass-transfer calculations. Experience with MATLAB, Python, or automated control systems is an advantage. Pragmatic and Autonomous: Highly self-directed, resourceful, and excited to build experimental setups from scratch in a fast-paced hardware scale-up environment. Communication: Flawless professional English. Able to explain complex air-processing dynamics clearly to cross-functional battery development teams.