About Us:
Byohm, the trading name for Wastewater Fuels Ltd, is a UK-based clean technology company pioneering next-generation wastewater treatment and renewable energy systems. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Coventry, West Midlands, we develop bio-electrochemical systems (BES) that convert wastewater into treated water and renewable fuels.
Driven by a mission to revolutionise wastewater treatment through low-energy, sustainable technologies, we aim to recover energy and protect natural resources. Our vision is to create a world where every drop of wastewater and organic waste contributes to a circular, decarbonised economy — transforming what was once waste into a valuable source of clean energy and environmental resilience.
Job Overview:
We are seeking a highly motivated Pilot Optimisation Lead – Wastewater & Bioelectrochemical Systems to support the commissioning, operation, optimisation, and scale-up of pilot wastewater treatment systems, including Microbial Electrochemical Cell – Anaerobic Digestion systems.
The successful candidate will take hands-on ownership of pilot assets in the field, ensuring systems are safely commissioned, operated, monitored, maintained, and improved. This role is suited to an engineer with practical wastewater treatment, biological process, pilot plant, or process engineering experience who is comfortable working across field operations, laboratory data, troubleshooting, reporting, and multidisciplinary technical delivery.
The Pilot Optimisation Lead – Wastewater & Bioelectrochemical Systems will coordinate field reactor operations, support data collection from pilot sites through to laboratory analysis, diagnose operational issues, and report findings to the technical leadership team. The role requires a proactive, practical engineer who is often the first to notice, assess, diagnose, and help resolve problems with pilot assets.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the commissioning, operation, monitoring, and optimisation of pilot-scale wastewater treatment systems, including bio-electrochemical and anaerobic digestion processes.
- Take practical ownership of pilot assets, acting as a first point of contact for operational issues and proactively identifying, diagnosing, and resolving problems.
- Coordinate field teams to ensure pilot reactors are operated safely, consistently, and in line with agreed operating procedures, risk assessments, and site requirements.
- Plan and oversee routine field activities, including system checks, sampling, maintenance, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring.
- Coordinate the collection, handling, transfer, and reporting of operational and laboratory data from pilot sites.
- Track and interpret key process performance indicators, including COD removal, pH, alkalinity, volatile fatty acids, nutrients, gas production, methane yield, flow rates, temperature, and electrochemical performance.
- Prepare clear technical summaries, reports, dashboards, and recommendations for the technical leadership team.
- Support engineering development and scale-up activities, including process design, reactor configuration, system integration, mass and energy balances, hydraulic design, and control requirements.
- Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams, including engineers, microbiologists, electrochemists, laboratory staff, operators, site partners, and suppliers.
- Contribute to operating procedures, commissioning documentation, maintenance routines, technical proposals, presentations, and project reporting.
Essential Requirements
Applicants should have:
- A degree or higher qualification in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
- Practical experience operating, commissioning, maintaining, or troubleshooting wastewater treatment assets, pilot plants, bioreactors, anaerobic digestion systems, or similar process equipment.
- Experience coordinating operational tasks in a field, pilot, industrial, laboratory, or process development environment.
- Strong understanding of biological wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, biogas production, or related environmental treatment processes.
- Experience collecting, managing, interpreting, and reporting operational or experimental data.
- Ability to diagnose process and equipment problems using field observations, operating data, and engineering judgement.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- A hands-on approach to engineering, fieldwork, commissioning, and process troubleshooting.
- Good communication skills, including the ability to report findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Experience preparing commissioning plans, operating procedures, maintenance schedules, risk assessments, technical reports, or performance summaries.
- Experience supervising, coordinating, or supporting field technicians, operators, interns, or junior engineers.
- Good awareness of health and safety, risk assessments, method statements, laboratory safety, and safe operating procedures.
- Willingness to travel to pilot sites and work in field environments as required.
Desirable Skills and Experience
The following would be advantageous:
- Experience with microbial electrochemical systems, including microbial electrolysis cells, microbial fuel cells, bioelectrochemical reactors, or related technologies.
- Experience with anaerobic digestion, bioreactors, biological wastewater treatment, sludge treatment, organic waste treatment, or circular economy technologies.
- Knowledge of electrochemistry, including electrode materials, cell design, voltage/current measurement, cyclic voltammetry, impedance analysis, or electrochemical reactor performance.
- Familiarity with instrumentation, sensors, pumps, flow meters, gas meters, data loggers, process controls, or remote monitoring systems.
- Experience with gas analysis, chromatography, spectrophotometry, electrochemical testing, biochemical methane potential testing, or wastewater characterisation.
- Experience with process simulation, modelling, CFD, or scale-up studies.
- Programming or data analysis skills, such as Python, MATLAB, R, Excel, Power BI, or similar.
- Experience working with external partners, utilities, contractors, suppliers, academic collaborators, or industrial demonstration sites.
- Full UK driving licence.
Personal Attributes
We are looking for someone who is:
- Practical, proactive, and comfortable taking ownership of real-world pilot assets.
- The first to notice when something is not right — and motivated to assess, diagnose, and fix problems.
- Organised and capable of managing field operations, sampling schedules, data, and documentation.
- Technically curious, rigorous, and data-driven.
- Comfortable working on emerging technologies with evolving design and operating requirements.
- Able to translate pilot observations and laboratory findings into practical engineering improvements.
- Collaborative and confident coordinating activity across field, lab, and technical teams.
- Clear and concise when reporting findings, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
- Motivated by sustainable technology, renewable energy, wastewater treatment, and environmental innovation.
Qualifications
Minimum qualification: Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
Preferred qualification: Master’s degree, PhD, or equivalent applied experience in wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, bioelectrochemical systems, environmental biotechnology, pilot plant operation, or process engineering.
Pay: £35,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Application question(s):
- Degree in Chemical, Enironmental, Biochemical, Process, Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
Education:
Experience:
- Design/operate/analyse laboratory or pilot-scale bioreactors: 1 year (required)
- Practical experience in relevent industry: 1 year (required)
- Coordinating operational tasks in relevant industry: 1 year (required)
- Hands on approach to engineering and process troubleshooting: 1 year (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
