Lithium Refining Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

About Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We're reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
The Role
We're hiring a Staff Product Manager to own a critical domain within MarianaOS. This is a single posting because we recruit for the strongest PMs first and then place them where the fit is best. Through the interview process, we'll figure out together which part of the system is the right match for your background and instincts.
The scope of what we can touch is enormous. Mining is the last major industrial sector that hasn't been rebuilt with modern software. The opportunity set isn't a feature gap on an existing product - it's entire workflows and systems that don't exist yet. The problem space spans micron-scale chemistry to kilometer-scale infrastructure.
Ship a feature and you can watch the needle move - recovery rates, reagent consumption, construction timelines, equipment uptime. These aren't proxy metrics. They're the actual physics of making metal. This role is On-site and will require significant travel.
The Platform: MarianaOS
MarianaOS is the digital nervous system for mineral projects. It spans the full lifecycle - from capital project execution through autonomous operations. The three domains make are staffing for right now are:

• MineOS

Integrates geologic block models, short and long-range mine plans, fleet management systems, and industrial control systems into a single optimization layer. We're accelerating autonomous fleet deployment and building an accurate digital twin of the site to maximize the lifetime value of the mine.

• PlantOS

Our autonomy platform for fixed-plant mineral processing - lithium refining, SX-EW, flotation, and beyond. It uses the same reinforcement learning toolkit powering self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots, except we're using it for autonomous control of minerals refining circuits.

• BizOS

The operating system for running the business - connecting fragmented tools, eliminating manual handoffs, and giving leadership real-time visibility into project economics and operational performance across the entire portfolio.
What You'll Do

• Own a product domain end-to-end - from uncovering the right problems through shipping software that runs in real operations where consequences are physical and feedback is immediate
• Define what to build by analyzing operational performance data and talking to domain experts - including figuring out what metrics and instrumentation need to exist in the first place
• Spend meaningful time at project sites, processing facilities, and mines to understand how work actually happens - prioritization comes from deep operational knowledge, not market research
• Work at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI - translating what models can do into what operators will trust, and what robotics can deliver into what sites need
• Drive clarity in ambiguous situations: break down complex problems, define scope, make tradeoffs explicit, and keep teams focused on what matters most
• Help build the PM function - this is a small, early PM team where you'll help establish how we work, how we prioritize, and how we develop PMs behind you

Who Thrives Here
We've seen two profiles excel in this kind of environment. You likely see yourself in one of these:

• The Autonomy-Forward PM

You've shipped products where hardware and software meet and where software failure has physical consequences. You think in fleet coordination, sensor fusion, and operational reliability. You may have started as an engineer and moved into product because you wanted to own the outcome, not just the component.

• The AI-Forward PM

You've worked with ML and AI in production - reinforcement learning, process control, optimization. You know how to bridge the gap between what a model can do and what an operator will actually trust. You've translated research into shipped products in high-stakes environments.

• Don't fit neatly into one of these?

We're also drawn to people with strong PM fundamentals who've operated in complex, high-ambiguity environments - or people from industrial backgrounds (manufacturing, energy, construction, logistics) who have genuine product instincts even if "PM" has never been in your title.
Desired Qualifications
Must Have

• 7+ years of experience in product management, with meaningful time in environments where software intersects with physical systems, industrial operations, or safety-critical applications
• Demonstrated ability to go deep on technical domains and build credibility with engineers - you've earned trust by understanding the work, not just managing it
• Experience leading cross-functional teams through ambiguous, complex projects with competing constraints
• Intellectual curiosity about physical systems - you want to understand how the domain works, not treat it as a black box
• Ability to communicate across a huge range of technical literacy - from PhD engineers and scientists to field operators with no software background
• Strong product judgment - you prioritize ruthlessly and focus the team on highest-leverage work

Nice to Have

• Experience with autonomous systems, robotics, or fleet-scale operations
• Hands-on work with ML-powered products - especially RL, process control, or optimization in production settings
• Background in industrial software, digital twin systems, or process automation
• Track record of digital transformation work in traditional industries
• An engineering or technical degree (not required, but the instincts it builds are valued)

Why This Role
Most senior PM roles are narrowly scoped - you own one product, one feature set, one customer segment. This role is different.
At Mariana, you don't need to validate product-market fit because we are the market. If you identify a real problem and build a real solution, adoption is a conversation, not a sales cycle. The constraint is building the right thing, not convincing someone to buy it.
The number and diversity of problems is unusual: you might work across agentic LLM systems for engineering workflows, RL-based process control, and autonomous fleet optimization in the same quarter.
This is not SaaS. This is software that runs mines and refineries. If you're a strong PM looking for something more substantive than another enterprise software product, we'd love to talk.
Our culture is built on three principles:
Extreme Ownership - We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.
Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate - We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.
Share Your Legos - We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.
Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.