R&D Lead Hydrometallurgy

About Circulogy

Circulogy CleanTech Pvt. Ltd. is a DPIIT-recognised DeepTech circular economy company headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Circulogy works on recovering value from waste streams, with a focus on critical minerals and rare earth elements that are vital to India's clean energy and electronics supply chains.

Circulogy is setting up a hydrometallurgy R&D laboratory in Meerut to develop and refine processes for recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and rare earth elements (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium) from Li-ion battery black mass and permanent magnets. The lab works alongside national research institutions and will feed into Circulogy's planned commercial-scale recycling and refining facility in Uttar Pradesh.

WHY JOIN US

● Build from day one: Be part of the founding team of a new hydromet lab, with real ownership of processes and outcomes.

● National priority: Work on critical minerals and rare earths, which are central to India's energy transition and supply chain security.

● Lab to plant: See your work move from the bench into a commercial-scale facility.

● Strong collaborations: Work alongside leading national research institutions.

ROLE SUMMARY

The R&D Lead will build and run Circulogy's hydrometallurgy laboratory in Meerut. The role owns process development for recovering critical minerals and rare earth elements from varied feedstocks, mainly Li-ion battery black mass and sintered NdFeB magnets. The Lead will lead a team of two chemists (Analytical and Process), turn lab results into robust process recipes, and support the separate pilot plant team with technical transfer and troubleshooting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

● Lab set-up & leadership: Set up the hydromet lab (equipment specification, layout, commissioning, SOPs) and lead, mentor and review the work of the Analytical and Process Chemists.

● R&D roadmap: Define and execute the lab's R&D plan, experiment priorities, timelines and recovery / purity targets in line with business goals.

● Process development: Design and optimise hydrometallurgical flowsheets – acid and reductive leaching, impurity removal, precipitation, solvent extraction, stripping and crystallisation – for Li, Co, Ni, Mn and REEs (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb).

● Feedstock characterisation: Lead testing of black mass and magnet feeds from different sources, and build feed-to-recipe protocols that handle variability in chemistry and impurities.

● Mass balance & data: Own mass and metal balances, recovery calculations, reagent consumption and cost-per-kg inputs for techno-economic analysis.

● Pilot plant support: Prepare process data packages, operating windows and technical transfer documents for the pilot plant team, and support them with troubleshooting. (The pilot plant is run by a separate team.)

● Partner interface: Act as the technical point of contact with research partners and academic institutions on joint work, validation and technology transfer.

● IP & documentation: Maintain lab notebooks and data integrity, and support patent filings, technical reports and grant / funding proposals.

● EHS & compliance: Ensure safe handling of acids, solvents and hazardous residues, effluent and waste management, and compliance with the norms for a red-category facility.

● Procurement: Plan and manage the lab budget, chemicals, consumables and instrument maintenance (AMC) with vendors.

QUALIFICATIONS

● M.Tech / M.E. in Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering or Materials Science, OR M.Sc in Chemistry (Inorganic / Analytical / Industrial).

● A PhD in a relevant field is an advantage but not mandatory.

EXPERIENCE

● 6–10 years of hands-on experience in hydrometallurgy, extractive metallurgy or metal recovery R&D.

● At least 2–3 years in a lead role, guiding chemists or technicians.

● Proven experience developing leaching and solvent extraction processes at lab / bench scale, with exposure to scale-up.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

● Strong command of leaching chemistry, solution chemistry, solvent extraction (e.g. D2EHPA, PC-88A, Cyanex-type extractants) and precipitation.

● Ability to interpret ICP-OES / AAS, XRD and wet chemistry data and draw process conclusions.

● Design of experiments (DoE), mass balance and basic process economics.

● Structured documentation, technical report writing and clear communication with management and partners.

● Hands-on, start-up mindset: comfortable building systems from scratch.

● Strong safety culture.

GOOD TO HAVE

● Direct experience with Li-ion battery black mass recycling or REE recovery from magnets / catalytic converters.

● Experience working with CSIR labs, IITs or industrial R&D centres.

● Patents or publications in hydrometallurgy / metal recovery.

● Exposure to process simulation tools (e.g. HSC Chemistry, METSIM, Aspen) and NABL-style lab practices.