Injection Engineering Manager

Job Description

Our mission is to return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO???. We convert excess inedible biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into underground storage for permanent carbon removal. At scale, we can use bio-oil to make fossil-free iron.

Our carbon removal efforts began in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify, and Microsoft. Since then, we've scaled to thousands of tons of carbon removal, grown to over a hundred employees, and established three locations in San Francisco, Colorado, and Louisiana.

We're expanding our team of ambitious, creative, and hands-on problem solvers. We value psychological safety, collaboration, and continuous learning. We take calculated risks and treat mistakes as opportunities to improve. If you're excited about tackling big challenges, we encourage you to explore our company values.

Come help us reverse climate change. Gigatons or bust!

About the Role

Charm's Basco, Louisiana site is the world's first operational bio-oil injection well - and the platform from which we will scale carbon removal to future sites. The facility has evolved into a technically sophisticated operation involving multi-feed bio-oil blending, active filtration development, automated PLC state-machine logic, real-time process monitoring, and a growing sample and lab program.

As we scale toward continuous 24/7 operations, we are hiring an Injections Engineering Manager to serve as the senior on-site engineering leader responsible for technical decision-making, operational reliability, and crew leadership. This role is designed for an engineering-background operations-minded leader who thrives in complex fluid systems, can lead structured troubleshooting under uncertainty, and wants deep ownership of a first-of-its-kind industrial process.

The Injections Engineering Manager is the senior technical and administrative owner of the Basco facility. This person leads day-of-shift engineering decisions around production, balancing filtration strategy, viscosity and heating management, recirculation vs. injection, process escalation, and stop-work authority. They own the abnormal-situation response playbook (hypothesize, test, decide, document) and serve as the on-site counterpart to Charm's Colorado-based controls, automation, and process engineering teams.

In parallel, the role partners strategically with the site's Operations Supervisor & Process Specialist to drive the site's operational cadence, scheduling, timecard and payroll oversight, training systems, SOP management, hiring, and workforce development. The Injection Engineering Manager sets the strategy, while the Operations Supervisor leads tactical day-to-day field execution across shifts.

This role reports to the Chief Operations Officer and is ideal for someone who wants to deeply own one site for 1-2 years before transitioning into broader leadership at Charm HQ in Colorado or help launch future injection sites.

Your Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Engineering Ownership

• Lead structured troubleshooting during abnormal operating conditions - including pump, filtration, viscosity, pressure, flow, and injection issues - by forming hypotheses, designing tests, analyzing results, and documenting root-cause findings.
• Make real-time operational decisions regarding filtration strategy, viscosity/heating management, recirculation vs. injection, escalation pathways, and stop-work authority, while balancing risk, cost, and value.
• Own the on-site interface for PLC, HMI, automation, and downhole-sensor modifications; receive, validate, execute, and troubleshoot changes from the controls and automation engineering teams.
• Drive operational reliability and process optimization through disciplined data collection, monitoring, and engineering analysis.
• Lead development of the sample, lab, and data-quality program to ensure engineering, regulatory, and operational teams receive high-quality data on the first request.
• Maintain rigorous shift-handover and engineering communication standards so off-shift engineers can accurately reconstruct plant conditions from documentation alone.
• Capture abnormal-event investigations, lessons learned, and process improvements in transferable documentation that supports future site deployment.

Operations & Site Leadership

• Partner closely with the on-site Operations Supervisor to maintain shared ownership of safety, operational discipline, and crew effectiveness, assisting with the following:
  • Publish and maintain the weekly operator schedule on a consistent cadence while proactively managing PTO coverage and staffing continuity.
  • Own site administrative systems including ADP/payroll coordination, timecard accuracy, PTO/overtime approvals, training matrices, and SOP redlines.
  • Ensure operational readiness for continuous 24/7 facility execution without chronic overtime dependency.
• Coach operators in diagnostic and systems thinking; not just what actions to take, but why systems behave the way they do and what indicators matter.
• Build and maintain site operating rhythms that support high accountability, technical rigor, and strong communication across shifts.

Hiring & Team Development

• Serve as the on-site hiring manager for operator-level roles, including sourcing, interviewing, and providing structured, EEO-compliant written feedback for all candidates.
• Assist the Process Specialist with onboarding and operator development through structured training and qualification checkpoints and performance coaching.
• Build a strong operational bench capable of supporting continuous operations and future site expansion.
• Contribute to development of the long-term "next-site" operating playbook, including SOPs, training systems, troubleshooting frameworks, and operational standards.

You Bring

• BS in Chemical, Mechanical, Petroleum, or related engineering discipline - or equivalent demonstrated technical depth through field operations experience.
• 7+ years of operating experience in produced-water injection, SWD, EOR, chemical process plants, midstream liquids handling, refining, or comparable fluid-systems operations.
• Demonstrated experience leading structured troubleshooting for abnormal operating conditions involving pumps, filters, viscosity, pressure, flow, or injection systems.
• Experience working with complex industrial fluid systems where operational decisions directly impact reliability, throughput, and safety.
• Ability to communicate technical findings clearly in writing, especially during uncertain or rapidly evolving operating conditions.
• Direct supervisory experience leading crews of 20-40 operators across shifts in an industrial environment.
• Experience owning operational systems such as scheduling, payroll/timecards, training programs, SOP management, and workforce planning.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills in fast-paced, ambiguous, and novel-process environments.
• Ability to relocate or commit to a long-stay rotation in rural Louisiana for the full 1-2 year assignment.
• Valid driver's license.
• Ability to pass pre-employment background, drug, and physical screening.

Bonus if You Bring

• Hands-on experience with Class I, II, V, or VI injection wells, including downhole pressure and temperature interpretation.
• Experience in refinery, terminal, or downstream oil operations involving tanks, pumps, compressors, filtration systems, and associated process equipment.
• Experience working with PLC/HMI-controlled facilities and collaborating directly with controls engineers on change management.
• Direct hiring-manager experience in a payroll-regulated environment using ADP, Kronos, UKG, or similar systems.
• Experience writing and improving SOPs, MOCs, incident investigations, and abnormal-event reports.
• Track record of scaling operations teams from small startup crews into fully staffed 24/7 organizations.
• Leadership at multiple locations across multiple states
• Comfort working with novel processes and unconventional feedstocks - including bio-oil and biogenic materials that do not behave like traditional hydrocarbon streams.

$160,000 - $195,000 a year

This role will be considered Full Time On-site in LA with Relocation Provided

OR

The role can be considered Full Time Hybrid/Remote - No relocation needed, but 50-75% travel required

What We Offer

• Equity ownership through stock options
• 100% employee healthcare premiums covered
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options
• Employer-funded HSA contributions for eligible HDHP plans
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 50% match on contributions up to 6%
• Paid leave, including parental and medical leave
• PPE and workwear allowances
• Annual professional development stipend
• Employee recognition programs that celebrate impactful work and team contributions
• Opportunities for internal growth, career development, and transition into climate from a range of industries and backgrounds

Visa Sponsorship Policy

Since we are a small startup, certain accommodations for visa sponsorship may not be within our capability. At this time, Charm Industrial is only sponsoring E3 and TN visas.

Our Commitment

Charm Industrial is an equal opportunity employer. We hire based on skills, experience, and passion for our mission. Climate challenges require a wide range of perspectives and expertise, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We're excited to grow our team with people who bring unique strengths and help us improve as a company.

At Charm, we may use AI-enabled tools to support certain aspects of the hiring process, including organizing candidate information and highlighting experience that may be relevant to a particular role. In a world where AI-assisted resumes, synthetic content, and deepfakes are increasingly common, these tools help our team navigate the process thoughtfully and efficiently. Every application and resume is reviewed by a member of our hiring team, and hiring decisions are made by people, not algorithms. Our recruiting process is designed to ensure candidates are evaluated fairly, consistently, and in alignment with our equal employment opportunity commitments. AI tools support our team's work, but they do not replace human judgment or determine hiring outcomes.