Reactor Modeling & Simulation Engineer Co-op/Intern

Company overview

Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel.

Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system, capable of producing 10,000 gallons of fuel per year for a fraction of the capital and time of alternative approaches. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way.

Position overview

Lydian is looking for a Reactor Modeling & Simulation Engineer Co-op/Intern who is excited about modeling/simulating reactors and components to support the design of our sustainable fuel reactor systems. You will interface with engineers and scientists across various domains in order to inform your modeling approach and design priorities.

The ideal candidate is excited to apply multi-physics modeling to challenging reactor and thermal systems design problems and does not shy away from learning about new technical concepts. You have prior experience with chemical/thermal modeling and CFD software and can own projects from start to finish.

This position is based in Boston, MA and has a minimum commitment of 3-months.

Responsibilities

• Build multi-physics models (including CFD) that accurately capture the chemical kinetics and heat/mass transfer at the heart of Lydian’s custom electrified reactors

• Apply learnings from multi-physics models to design/optimization of our next generation reactors and critical components

• Collaborate with R&D engineers to obtain and analyze experimental data for development of kinetic models that describe our proprietary catalysts

• Help us to produce our first barrels of sustainable jet fuel from CO2 by providing model-based insights to our pilot testing campaign

Qualifications

Even if you do not fit all of the following, we encourage you to apply so we can learn more about you and explore potential fit with Lydian’s work/projects.

• Working towards an M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or similar

• Solid fundamentals in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and numerical methods

• Experience with CFD software (Ansys, COMSOL, OpenFOAM, STAR-CCM+, etc.)

• Experience analyzing experimental data

• Chemical reactor or chemical kinetics modeling experience is a plus

• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment and solve interesting technical problems

• Alignment with our mission, vision, and virtues

Company culture and benefits

• Paid lab/engineering-focused internship with a collaborative in-person technical team

• Challenging, meaningful work that can directly impact company success

• Opportunities for networking/exposure within the climate tech community at The Engine, Greentown Labs, and Hood Park

• Mentorship from a great team of engineers and scientists