About NanosTech
NanosTech is a Calgary-based catalyst and process technology company built on more than two decades of research originating at the University of Calgary. We engineer nanocatalysts that deliver noble-metal performance at base-metal cost, scalable with standard manufacturing and stable in harsh, water-rich environments.
We operate three technology platforms, all powered by the same underlying catalyst design philosophy:
- AQP (Aquaprocessing) — a modular refining suite self-sufficient in hydrogen that processes fossil and renewable oils in water-rich environments, producing refinery-ready feedstock and fuels.
- ISUT® (In-Situ Upgrading Technology) — a reservoir-integrated process for heavy-oil operators that combines mobility improvement, in-reservoir catalytic upgrading, and thermal-efficiency gains.
- Carbon Management — built around our Olympia catalyst (published in Science) for CO₂-to-syngas conversion via the reverse water-gas shift reaction.
We work from a 10,000 sq. ft. facility in Calgary, with a team of 25+ scientists, engineers, and industry veterans, an in-house catalyst manufacturing capability, demonstration-scale systems, and a portfolio of 66+ patents.
The role
We are hiring a Technology Development Lead to drive the technical development of our AQP (Aquaprocessing) renewable-fuels platform, which converts pyrolysis oils, HTL bio-oils, and related water-rich feedstocks into refinery-ready, low-carbon fuels, with opportunities to support adjacent programs (e.g., Carbon Management / RWGS and related reforming chemistries) as the portfolio evolves.
This is a senior technical leadership role for a strong individual contributor with hands-on technology development experience who will serve as the technical owner of the AQP platform. The role is focused on advancing the technology itself: defining technical priorities, directing experimental programs, interpreting results, identifying technical risks and knowledge gaps, and determining the most effective path forward to reduce uncertainty and support scale-up.
You will work closely with company leadership and with scientists, engineers, technicians, catalyst specialists, process engineers, and characterization personnel to ensure development activities are technically rigorous, focused on the highest-value questions, and aligned with overall company priorities.
What you'll own
Technical leadership and technology development. Serve as the technical owner of the AQP technology platform. Define technical priorities and development plans required to advance the technology from current bench / pilot status toward demonstration readiness. Develop experimental programs, evaluate results, identify technical risks and knowledge gaps, and determine the most effective path forward to reduce uncertainty and support scale-up. Provide technical direction to scientists, engineers, and technicians executing the work, ensuring the program remains technically rigorous, focused, and aligned with company priorities. Be accountable for the technical basis of development decisions and clearly communicate technical rationale, risks, opportunities, and development priorities to company leadership.
Reaction Engineering and Kinetic Development. Lead the kinetic characterization of multi-phase, multi-reaction networks — bio-oil hydroconversion, residue cracking, hydrogenation, water-mediated upgrading, reforming chemistries, including:
- experimental design (isothermal and gradient operation, residence-time and partial-pressure scans, catalyst deactivation studies),
- discrimination between candidate mechanisms (mechanistic / microkinetic, lumped, structure–activity, or hybrid approaches),
- parameter estimation, identifiability, and uncertainty quantification,
- validation against bench, pilot, and (where available) commercial data,
- and translation of the resulting kinetic model into reactor design and scale-up.
Technical collaboration. Work directly with the people executing the development work across process engineering, catalyst development, characterization, operations, and related technical activities. Provide clear technical direction, challenge assumptions, interpret results, and help ensure the work being done answers the most important technical questions.
Process development and scale-up. Develop and evaluate preliminary process schemes, mass and energy balances, operating envelopes, reactor concepts, and scale-up approaches. Translate laboratory and pilot-scale data into practical engineering decisions and identify the additional work required to support demonstration and commercial deployment. Provide technical input to techno-economic evaluations when required.
Technical support to commercial activities. Support customer, partner, funding, licensing, and commercialization activities when technical expertise is required. Help explain technical results, assess feedstock or application fit, support technical due diligence, and contribute technical content to proposals or discussions as needed.
IP and knowledge capture. Identify patentable inventions inside the program, draft invention disclosures, work with patent counsel through filing, and make sure key know-how, development history, technical decisions, and lessons learned are documented and protected.
What we're looking for
We are looking for real depth, not a generalist project manager. The strongest candidates will have most of these following:
- PhD or MSc in chemical engineering, or a closely related discipline, with a research focus in heterogeneous catalysis, hydroprocessing, reforming, or related reacting systems.
- 10+ years of hands-on experience moving a technology from pilot through demonstration, with at least part of that time spent helping advance a technology from pilot scale toward demonstration or commercial deployment. Experience at an established technology developer, licensor, refinery, chemical producer, or industrial R&D organization is strongly preferred.- including operating or supervising bench and pilot units, planning campaigns, interpreting non-ideal experimental data, and converting that data into design decisions.
- Demonstrable expertise in the kinetic study of complex reacting systems — multi-reaction, multi-phase, often water- or steam-mediated, with deactivation, mass-transfer, and feedstock-variability effects. You should be able to point to specific reacting systems you have characterized: how you designed the campaign, how you discriminated between candidate mechanisms, how you handled parameter estimation and identifiability, how you validated the model, and how it held up, or failed, at larger scale.
- Strong reactor modeling skills and fluency with the coupling of kinetics with transport phenomena in fixed-bed, slurry, or related contexts. Working fluency with at least one of: gPROMS, Aspen/Aspen Custom Modeler, MATLAB, Python.
- Practical command of preliminary process design: PFDs, mass and energy balances, equipment sizing, operating envelopes, process integration, and the technical inputs required to support scale-up and techno-economic evaluation.
- Experience supporting customer, partner, or industrial stakeholder discussions, including explaining technical results, supporting technical due diligence, assessing application fit, and contributing technical content to proposals or evaluations when required.
- Comfort working in a small, hands-on technology company with scientists, engineers, technicians, catalyst specialists, process engineers, characterization personnel, and commercial leadership working closely together rather than through large-company silos.
- Sound judgment on lab and pilot safety, and the discipline to enforce it.
- Excellent written and spoken English
- Willingness to travel to customer sites, pilot campaigns, and partner facilities.
Domain experience in biocrude upgrading, residue conversion, hydroprocessing, desulfurization, or steam/dry reforming is a significant advantage.
Why NanosTech
Innovation is in our DNA. We move quickly, test ideas rigorously, and make decisions based on data. We believe in understanding risks early, developing mitigation strategies, and maintaining multiple pathways to success.
At NanosTech, you will work on novel catalyst systems and challenging real-world feedstocks alongside experienced scientists, engineers, customers, and industry partners. You will have the opportunity to shape technical programs, influence strategy, and see your ideas move from the laboratory to commercial application, see your work change the world.
Pay: $90,000.00-$130,415.94 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Extended health care
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Calgary, AB T2A 6J4: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Application question(s):
- Do you have hands-on experience moving a technology from pilot through demonstration?
Education:
- Master's Degree (preferred)
Experience:
- kinetic study of complex reacting systems : 3 years (required)
- Strong reactor modeling skills : 1 year (preferred)
- Chemical engineering: 10 years (required)
Work Location: In person
