Andean Inc. Lab Technician Fremont, CA · Full time Company website

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Andean Systems is rethinking how humanity extracts and uses resources. We believe that scaling to meet an abundant future shouldn't require destroying the land, communities, and life we care about. So we're building software-native, autonomous factories that extract critical metals at industrial scale — modular plants deployed close to where the material already is, anywhere, anytime. Novel robotics, electro-extraction, and AI let us reach cost and sustainability numbers this industry hasn't seen. We start with urban mining: recovering copper, gold, silver, and other critical metals from the electronics and industrial scrap America already throws away. The US consumes roughly 2.2 million metric tons of copper a year and imports more than half of it, while recovering only a small fraction from post-consumer scrap. That gap is the opportunity. Every factory we build is a step toward the next era of American industrialization — and toward the infrastructure that will one day supply humanity beyond Earth.

The Role

We're hiring a Lab Technician to be the hands and the eyes of our process development work.

You will own the daily operation of our leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments: running them, instrumenting them, and producing data our engineering and ML teams can actually trust. When a cell underperforms, you'll be the first person to know why.

This is a hands-on role on a small team. You'll have real influence over how our process is built, and the scope will grow as fast as you do — from bench experiments today toward pilot-scale operation.

What You'll Work On

• Execute hydrometallurgical leaching and electrochemical recovery experiments end to end
• Build, commission, maintain, and troubleshoot bench- to pilot-scale electrochemical cells
• Prepare and characterize variable secondary feedstocks
• Run and maintain analytical instrumentation; own sample prep and chain of custody
• Characterize performance using yield, current efficiency, and selectivity metrics
• Test electrode materials, membranes, and cell configurations
• Collect, clean, and maintain the integrity of our experimental dataset
• Partner with the ML and controls team to instrument experiments for real-time optimization
• Own lab safety practice: chemical handling, waste streams, SDS, PPE, and housekeeping

What We're Looking For

• Associate's or Bachelor's in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or a related field — or equivalent hands-on experience
• 1+ year in a wet lab, pilot plant, or process environment
• Strong wet chemistry fundamentals: acid/base handling, filtration, precipitation, solid–liquid separation
• Rigorous documentation habits — your notebook is a deliverable
• Comfort working with acids, corrosives, and high-current electrical equipment, safely and routinely
• Mechanical aptitude: you can assemble a rig, chase a leak, and fix a pump

Bonus (not required):

• Electrochemistry, hydrometallurgy, or separations experience
• ICP-OES/MS, XRF, AA, or similar analytical instrumentation
• Potentiostat / galvanostat experience
• Python, or comfort with data analysis beyond a spreadsheet
• DOE, statistical process control, or scale-up experience
• Hazardous waste handling or industrial safety certification

Logistics

• Location: On-site at our warehouse facility in Fremont, CA. This role cannot be done remotely.
• Schedule: 9:00 AM–7:00 PM, Monday through Friday, at minimum. Experimental campaigns sometimes run longer.

We want to be direct about this: these are long days, and we expect them. Runs don't stop because it's 5 PM, and the person doing the work is the person who sees what happened. If a 9-to-5 is what you're looking for, this isn't the right role — and we'd rather you know that now than three months in. All hours past eight in a day are paid as overtime, which means a typical week here pays meaningfully above the base range below.

• Physical: Routinely lift up to 40 lbs, stand for extended periods, and work in PPE around chemical and electrical hazards.

Compensation & Benefits

• $30–$40/hr base, non-exempt — overtime paid at the California rate
• At our expected schedule, that works out to roughly $80,000–$110,000 per year including overtime
• Meaningful early-stage equity
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Overtime meals provided