R&D Engineer — Desalination and New Technologies

ACCIONA is a global company, leading in the development of regenerative infrastructure that creates a positive impact on society. Our workforce consists of more than 65,000 professionals, present in more than 40 countries across the five continents, all contributing in our mission to design a better planet. Are you a passionate individual who wants to make a difference, promote sustainable development, and find solutions to the biggest global challenges including climate change, overpopulation, and water scarcity? Come and join us in building the infrastructure our planet needs to achieve a sustainable future.

ACCIONA, in its WATER business, needs to incorporate into its R&D&I Department, within the desalination area, a Chemical or Industrial Engineer for projects in the field of seawater desalination with Reverse Osmosis technologies.

Reporting to the head of the Desalination and New Technologies R&D&I area, you will be responsible for the design, coordination, execution, and monitoring of tasks associated with R&D&I projects in the field of desalination, with the aim of demonstrating the technical feasibility of new processes and configurations.

• Coordination of the project team to ensure the timely and proper execution of the R&D&I project under your responsibility, related to the development of new desalination and water treatment processes.
• Execution of the technical activities corresponding to the assigned R&D&I project: support for the design of the pilot plant(s), definition of the experimental and analytical plan, execution of experiments, supervision of the results of the pilot plant(s), advanced data analysis, drawing conclusions, preparation of reports and presentations, process simulations/projections with membrane manufacturer software, etc.
• Technical-economic management of the assigned project: mainly planning, monitoring, and reporting.
• Contribution to the business transfer of the results of the assigned R&D&I projects and protection of results.
• Conception of new configurations, processes, and systems, and preparation of the associated proposals for new projects.
• Conducting technology watch to identify new advances in the desalination area and new technologies, and critical analysis of them.
• Support to the business to optimize existing proprietary technologies or solve operational problems.
• Preparation of reports and/or presentations (in Spanish and/or English).

The desalination and new technologies R&D&I area currently focuses its activity on 4 pillars, so the assigned project will be on one of the following topics.

• Desalination through reverse osmosis, especially with the aim of reducing its energy consumption.
• Treatment and valorization of brines.
• Desalination pre-treatments.
• Desalination post-treatments.

• Previous experience in externally funded projects (national/European), especially in international and/or multidisciplinary consortia.
• Experience in seawater desalination using reverse osmosis.
• Experience in experimental design, advanced data analysis, and critical process evaluation.
• Experience in the use of design software for reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration from membrane manufacturers.
• Previous experience in the operation of pilot plants and evaluation of their performance.

• University degree, preferably a PhD, in a discipline related to the position: chemical or industrial engineering.
• At least 5 years of experience in a similar position (including PhD/Master's) in pre-treatment processes and seawater desalination using reverse osmosis. Design, operation, and supervision of processes at a demonstrative pilot level.
• Advanced level of English (C1) that allows both fluent writing and reading as well as comfortably maintaining a technical conversation.
• Availability for occasional national and international travel.
• Valid driver's license.
• Microsoft Office package and water treatment process design tools (reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, etc.).
• Knowledge of experimental design / data treatment tools (Statgraphics / Minitab) will be positively valued.