Company Overview

Found Industries is a Cambridge, MA-based industrial technology company building new critical supply chains from resources and infrastructure hiding in plain sight. Launched out of MIT, Found develops and deploys technologies that unlock critical materials and dispatchable clean energy from overlooked industrial feedstocks.

The company operates through two complementary business units: Found Metals and Found Energy. Found Metals recovers strategic materials, including gallium, from existing industrial processing streams. Found Energy converts aluminum, including low-grade and scrap material, into a fuel for behind-the-meter industrial heat and power. The two businesses reinforce one another: Found Metals expands domestic supplies of critical materials used in advanced energy technologies, while Found Energy creates new applications and demand for those materials. Together, they form the foundation of a broader industrial platform focused on strengthening U.S. energy and materials security.

At Found Industries, we are building the industrial capabilities needed for a more resilient and self-reliant future. We believe secure access to critical materials and energy is foundational to economic strength, national security, and long-term prosperity, and we are looking for talented people motivated by that mission to join us. For more, visit https://found-industries.com/.

The Vice President of Engineering will lead Found’s engineering organization and own the scale-up of Found’s technologies from laboratory and sub-scale systems through pilot, demonstration, and commercial deployment. This role is accountable for engineering across the full project lifecycle, including translating R&D into system requirements, developing integrated process and equipment designs, coordinating with EPC and other engineering partners, supporting fabrication and construction, and carrying systems through commissioning, startup, and operation.

A central responsibility will be building the bridge between Found’s scientific and R&D capabilities and the robust industrial systems required for commercial deployment. The ideal candidate has firsthand experience scaling first-of-a-kind industrial technology and understands that successful engineering extends well beyond issuing drawings. They bring strong technical judgment, disciplined engineering practices, effective leadership, and a willingness to stay close to the hardware, the team, and project execution.

Position Summary

Employment Type: Full-time
Location: Cambridge, MA – On-site
Reports To: Vice President of Operations
Salary range: $220k -$250k with early-stage equity
Comprehensive health, dental, vision, matching 401K benefits and paid life insurance
20 days PTO, 11 holidays, 5 sick days, 12 weeks parental leave

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Lead Found Industries’ engineering organization and cross-functional technical teams to scale technologies from R&D through pilot and commercial deployment.
Partner with R&D to translate experimental results into system requirements, process designs, equipment specifications, and integrated engineered systems.
Lead development and integration of complex industrial systems spanning process equipment, electrochemical systems, controls, utilities, and balance of plant.
Own engineering execution across the full project lifecycle, including design, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, startup, and performance validation.
Manage relationships with EPC firms, engineering contractors, equipment suppliers, and fabricators while maintaining strong internal technical ownership.
Establish fit-for-purpose engineering processes, including design reviews, document and change control, technical risk management, and design verification.
Ensure designs appropriately balance safety, performance, reliability, operability, cost, schedule, constructability, and maintainability.
Build and lead a high-performing multidisciplinary engineering team and develop a culture of technical rigor, accountability, and continuous improvement.