Summer Intern - Engineering

WHO WE ARE

Kunin Technologies is revolutionizing the critical mineral supply chain by implementing advanced separation technologies to capture value from overlooked resources.

Metals are everywhere, in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles, but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste.

Utilizing Kunin Technologies' breakthrough mass manufacturable nano-separation systems, significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking metal abundance.

To achieve metal abundance, humanity must bring separation science down its own Moore’s Law: fix the idiot cost index for micro and nano scale separation materials. This requires mass manufacturing novel ion-exchange media form factors which previously struggled from high costs.

THE ROLE

Kunin designs, builds and commissions metal recovery plants around its proprietary ion-exchange media: bench rigs and mini-pilots in Chattanooga today, modular skid-built plants for industrial partners from 2027. The engineering team covers the full stack of a process plant: process design, mechanical design of skids and vessels, and the electrical, instrumentation and control systems that run them.

You join the engineering team for the summer on one of three tracks, matched to your background: electrical and instrumentation or controls (instrument selection, loop drawings, PLC and HMI configuration for the mini-pilots); mechanical (skid layout, vessel and piping design, equipment specification); or chemical process engineering (mass and energy balances, process flow diagrams, equipment sizing, pilot data analysis). By the end of the summer we expect a completed, documented design package or commissioned sub-system on your track that the team carries into the next plant build.

RESPONSIBILITIES

- Own a defined engineering deliverable on your track: a control loop set, a skid design package or a process design basis.
- Produce and maintain engineering documents: P&IDs, instrument lists, 3D models and drawings, equipment data sheets, calculations.
- Support commissioning and operation of bench rigs and mini-pilots, including instrument calibration and data acquisition.
- Analyze pilot data and feed results back into the design.
- Work with vendors on equipment and instrument quotes and specifications.

QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED SKILLS

- Undergraduate or graduate student in electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering (or a closely related field), graduating 2027 or 2028.
- Skilled in the tools of your track: PLC and HMI programming and electrical schematics; SolidWorks or similar CAD and FEA; or Aspen, process simulation and Excel-based balances.
- Hands-on: comfortable in a lab and pilot environment wiring instruments, assembling piping or running equipment.
- Exposure to hydrometallurgy, chemical plants or industrial automation preferred.
- Ability to work in fast paced and demanding atmosphere.
- Self-driven contributor who documents work carefully and asks for help early.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

- Position located in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the summer of 2027 (approximately 12 weeks, start date flexible).
- Extended hours during critical project phases.
- Strong performers will be considered for a full-time position at Kunin upon graduation.

Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax.

"The Whole World Is Ion-Exchange And The Rest Are Merely Details!"

Dr. Robert Kunin of Rohm and Haas, The Pioneer of the Ion-Exchange Industry, 1951