Senior Development Engineer (80-100%)

Overview

Get to know Climeworks
Climeworks is a leading high-quality carbon removal provider, combining decades of expertise in Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology with a holistic approach to carbon removal solutions. Climeworks advises companies on their carbon removal strategies and provides tailored portfolios of nature-based and engineered approaches, offering end-to-end services to help achieve net-zero goals. The company runs the world's first two DAC plants in Iceland, demonstrating its core commitment to high-quality carbon removal backed by over 15 years of research, development, and deployment. By advancing reliable solutions, Climeworks accelerates the global transition to net zero, unlocking economic value for businesses, governments, and society. We foster a dynamic environment and are building a global purpose-driven team. We are looking for disruptive thinkers, passionate achievers and inspiring leaders ready to take on the world’s greatest challenge.

Will you join us?

Job description

• Collector Concepts Development: As part of the Concepts & Innovation team, you invent, design, and develop new CO₂ collector system architectures that integrate sorbent and process requirements into practical, manufacturable equipment.
• Prototyping: You prototype and test concepts and sub-systems, taking a hands-on approach from early proof of concept to final acceptance testing. You design and execute experiments to validate concepts, troubleshoot issues, and optimize designs.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You work closely with in-house sorbent and process experts, as well as system engineers, to align material and process properties with mechanical implementation. You contribute to the scale-up from lab to pilot to industrial scale, balancing performance, reliability, and CAPEX. You also collaborate with the Industrialization team on detailed engineering, manufacturing, compliance, and scaling, ensuring concepts evolve into robust, market-ready equipment.
• Stakeholder & Project Management: You keep stakeholders aligned by documenting designs, insights, and lessons learned, ensuring transparency and continuity throughout the project lifecycle.
• Intellectual Property: You monitor industry developments and contribute to generating new intellectual property.

Your Story

Job requirements

• Education & Engineering Expertise: Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred. At least 5 years of experience in equipment development, ideally with systems involving steam, vacuum, and thermal management. Strong expertise in industrial equipment design, prototyping, and testing.
• Approach to Innovation: Hands-on experience in building and validating lab-scale or pilot-scale hardware. Proven track record of innovation and rapid prototyping, with the ability to creatively solve engineering challenges under uncertainty.
• Technical Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of detail design, design-for-manufacture, industrialization, and scaling hardware concepts from lab to industrial applications. Proficiency in CAD software (preferably SolidWorks) for designing parts and systems. Familiarity with process industry, sorbents, adsorption/desorption processes, or thermal separation technologies is a plus.
• Mindset & Working Style: Comfortable working in multidisciplinary teams bridging material science, process engineering, mechanical design, and industrialization. Strong communication skills with an entrepreneurial mindset and a fail-fast, learn-fast approach.
• Language: Proficient in English, both spoken and written.

Our promise

At Climeworks, you are accepted for who you are, and we are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply – regardless of background, identity, or experience. If this sounds like you, don’t hold back. If you think you’d make a great fit for this role, we’d love to hear from you, even if you don’t check every single box. Let’s tackle one of humankind’s greatest challenges together.

What We Offer

• Time Off: 25 paid vacation days every year, plus public holidays.
• Flexibility: Hybrid work setup with up to 4 weeks of remote work annually within any EU country.
• Ownership: Fair base pay with an equity package.
• Family Support: Inclusive parental leave.
• Continuous Learning: Dedicated budget for professional growth.
• Referral Rewards: Bonuses for successful referrals.

Salary

Salary ranges are assigned to a job based on seniority and location-specific market median of similar jobs according to external benchmark surveys. Individual compensation depends on your skills, experience, and the value you bring to the team.

Formalities

• This position is based in Opfikon, Zurich, and requires onsite work at least three days per week.
• The percentage in the job title indicates flexibility – full-time or part-time.
• We do not accept candidate profiles through recruitment agencies.