Process Safety Engineer

Department: Plant Operations

Location: Houston, TX

Employment Type: FullTime

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

The Role

Mariana Minerals is seeking a Process Safety Management (PSM) Engineer to help build, administer, and continuously improve the company's process safety and major hazard risk management program. This role will support labs, pilot operations, process development, scale-up projects, and future operating facilities by leading structured risk assessments and translating findings into practical engineering, operational, and safety controls.

The PSM Engineer will plan, facilitate, and document PHAs, HAZOPs, HAZIDs, LOPAs, what-if/checklist reviews, bowties, formal risk assessments, MOC reviews, and PSSRs. The role also requires an engineering background capable of informing facility design questions, including hazardous material storage and use, equipment layout, safeguards, process controls, relief/venting concepts, ventilation, detection/alarming, emergency shutdown, life safety, and fire protection design interfaces. You will work closely with Health & Safety, process engineering, pilot operations, facilities, maintenance, consultants, and project teams to ensure hazards are identified early, controls are practical, and risk reduction actions are executed.

While the role is centered on PSM and engineering risk, it will also support broader safety and health initiatives as needed, including incident learning, contractor/project safety, emergency preparedness, field verification, procedure development, training, and continuous improvement of company safety systems.

What You'll Do

• Administer PSM and major hazard risk management workflows, including risk study planning, pre-work, facilitation, documentation, action tracking, and closeout verification and assist in development or improvement of processes.

• Lead or support PHAs, HAZOPs, HAZIDs, LOPAs, what-if/checklist studies, bowties, formal risk assessments, and other structured reviews for lab, pilot, project, and operating systems and assist in the development of these tools where needed.

• Support Management of Change and Pre-Startup Safety Review processes by reviewing technical changes, startup readiness, critical safeguards, training needs, procedures, and open action status.

• Review PFDs, P&IDs, equipment specifications, operating envelopes, control narratives, layouts, chemical inventories, and utility interfaces to identify process safety and facility design implications.

• Provide practical engineering input on life safety, fire protection, hazardous materials, ventilation, detection/alarming, emergency shutdown, pressure relief, containment, and occupancy or hazard classification questions.

• Partner with internal SMEs, external engineers, insurers, and AHJs to clarify applicable code requirements and translate them into actionable design or operational requirements.

• Develop and maintain process safety information, hazard registers, safeguard/IPL libraries, action trackers, PSM procedures, risk assessment templates, decision logs, and program metrics.

• Evaluate safeguards and risk reduction actions using hierarchy of controls, independent protection layer concepts, reliability assumptions, field verification, and practical implementation constraints.

• Support incident investigations, root cause analysis, corrective action development, lessons learned, and verification that systemic risk controls are implemented.

• Help embed process safety expectations into project planning, commissioning, operating procedures, training, contractor scopes, field execution, and routine operations.

• Support broader Health & Safety initiatives as needed, including HazCom, contractor safety, emergency response planning, field audits, safety observations, training, and procedure development.

Desired Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Metallurgy, Fire Protection Engineering, Safety Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• 5+ years of relevant experience in process safety, process engineering, plant design, operations, commissioning, EHS, or risk management in minerals, mining/metallurgy, chemicals, specialty materials, oil & gas, manufacturing, pilot plants, or lab-to-commercial scale-up environments.

• Hands-on experience supporting or facilitating PHAs, HAZOPs, HAZIDs, LOPAs, MOC, PSSR, incident investigations, formal risk assessments, or similar structured risk management processes.

• Ability to read and interpret PFDs, P&IDs, layouts, equipment data sheets, operating procedures, control narratives, chemical inventories, and safety-critical design information.

• Working knowledge of process safety and facility safety requirements such as OSHA PSM, EPA RMP, IFC/IBC concepts, NFPA standards, pressure systems, hazardous materials, electrical safety, fire protection, ventilation, and emergency planning. Deep expertise in every code area is not required, but the candidate must know how to frame questions and work with qualified SMEs.

• Strong technical writing, meeting facilitation, action tracking, data organization, and communication skills.

• Ability to challenge assumptions constructively, document decisions clearly, and translate risk assessment outputs into practical controls, design inputs, procedures, and field actions.

• Comfortable working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, wearing multiple hats, and balancing program administration with field-facing technical support.

• Professional certifications or specialized training such as PE, CSP, CCPSC, CFPS, HAZOP/LOPA facilitation training, or equivalent process safety credentials are a plus.

• Experience with pilot plants, lab-scale hazards, scale-up projects, hazardous materials permitting, fire/life safety coordination, commissioning, or operational readiness is a plus.

Our culture is built on three principles:

Extreme Ownership – We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate – We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos – We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.