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Recycling Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Mechanical Design Engineer - Fuel Recycling

Santa Clara, CA ยท On-site +1

$89K - $121K/yr

We are searching for a Mechanical Design Engineer to join our fuel recycling engineering team. Position Description: The person in this role is responsible for the design, prototyping, and iterative ...

Process Engineer - Fuel Recycling

Santa Clara, CA ยท On-site +1

$100K - $160K/yr

We are searching for a Process Engineer to join our Fuel Recycling engineering team. Position Description The person in this role is responsible for conducting design, development, prototyping, and ...

Process Engineer - Fuel Recycling

Santa Clara, CA ยท On-site +1

$100K - $160K/yr

We are searching for a Process Engineer to join our Fuel Recycling engineering team. Position Description The person in this role is responsible for conducting design, development, prototyping, and ...

Solid Waste & Recycling Opening Date: 07/27/2026 Closing Date: 8/17/2026 12:00 AM Eastern FLSA: Non ... Education - public awareness, civic programming, childhood education opportunities, newspaper ...

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Recycling Engineer information

What does a recycling engineer do?

A Recycling Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, and improving processes that turn waste materials into reusable resources. They work on developing efficient recycling systems, optimizing equipment, and ensuring that recycling operations comply with environmental regulations. Their role often involves researching new technologies, analyzing waste streams, and collaborating with manufacturers to create more sustainable products. Recycling Engineers play a crucial role in reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability within industries and communities.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a recycling engineer?

To thrive as a Recycling Engineer, you need a background in environmental or chemical engineering, a solid understanding of waste management processes, and often a relevant engineering degree. Familiarity with recycling technologies, material recovery systems, and environmental compliance software is typically required. Strong problem-solving, project management, and communication skills help drive innovation and effective collaboration across teams. These abilities are crucial for designing efficient recycling solutions, ensuring regulatory compliance, and advancing sustainability goals.

How do recycling engineers typically collaborate with other departments to improve recycling processes?

Recycling Engineers often work closely with environmental scientists, operations teams, and quality control specialists to optimize recycling workflows and implement new technologies. Collaboration is key, as engineers rely on feedback from plant operators to identify inefficiencies and partner with management to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. Regular cross-functional meetings and site visits are common, fostering an environment where innovative solutions are developed and shared across teams for continuous improvement.

What is the difference between Recycling Engineer vs Waste Management Specialist?

AspectRecycling EngineerWaste Management Specialist
CredentialsBachelor's in Environmental Engineering or related field; certifications like PE or LEED often preferredBachelor's in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, or related; certifications may include waste management or environmental health
Work EnvironmentDesigning recycling processes, developing new recycling technologies, working in labs or officesManaging waste collection, disposal operations, field inspections, and community outreach
Industry UsageUsed by recycling facilities, environmental consultancies, manufacturing companiesEmployed by waste management companies, municipal agencies, environmental organizations

Recycling Engineers focus on designing and improving recycling systems and technologies, often working in labs or offices. Waste Management Specialists handle waste collection, disposal, and community programs. Both roles require environmental knowledge but differ in daily tasks and work settings.

How to become a recycling engineer?

To become a recycling engineer, typically a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering, chemical engineering, or a related field is required. Gaining experience through internships and developing skills in waste management, environmental regulations, and engineering software can enhance job prospects; professional licensure or certifications may also be beneficial.

Is recycling a good career path?

Recycling engineering is a viable career that focuses on developing sustainable waste management solutions, improving recycling processes, and reducing environmental impact. It often requires knowledge of environmental science, engineering principles, and familiarity with recycling technologies and regulations. The field offers opportunities in environmental consulting, waste management companies, and government agencies.
More about Recycling Engineer jobs

What cities are hiring for Recycling Engineer jobs?

Cities with the most Recycling Engineer job openings:

What states have the most Recycling Engineer jobs?

States with the most job openings for Recycling Engineer jobs include:

Infographic showing various Recycling Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, and 13% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution.

Director of Engineering & Chief Engineer - Recycling

SHINE Technologies LLC

Janesville, WI โ€ข On-site

$175K - $225K/yr

Full-time

Posted 20 days ago


Job description

Description

SHINE is seeking the engineering leader for our used nuclear fuel (UNF) Recycling product line. The US has more than 95,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel and nowhere to put it. The Director of Engineering & Chief Engineer - Recycling leads the engineering necessary to turn it back into energy: both building the team and carrying a nuclear process design from preliminary stage through detailed design, NRC licensing, procurement, and construction. The process, liquid-liquid separation, has been commercialized before, but we are integrating new technologies to improve proliferation resistance and maximize recovery.ย 


The person in this role is responsible for building and leading the core Recycling engineering team. They will own hiring, development and performance for the engineers and discipline leads who design the facility, and set the technical standard to which it works. This leader attracts senior engineers who have other options, develops them, and grows the next level of technical leadership beneath them.


The Director of Engineering & Chief Engineer - Recycling owns the requirements set for the Recycling facility: applying a graded approach, removing what cannot be justified, and defending the result while meeting our safety goals. They weigh risk against benefit and defend the reasoning.


The base salary range for this position is $175,000 - $225,000 per year plus a comprehensive compensation package. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location.


Duties and Responsibilities of the Director of Engineering & Chief Engineer - Recycling:

Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Build and Lead the Team

Build and lead the core Recycling engineering team and set the technical standard to which it works.

Own engineering scope, schedule and budget for the Pilot facility.

Set the tone for a challenging program. Bring resilience and levity, and judgment about which fights are worth winning.

Own the integrity of the baseline design and hold the team to it.

Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team to progress design and licensing of the Recycling Pilot facility.

Own the Engineering and Design

Serve as Chief Engineer for the Pilot facility.ย 

Make the final call on cross-discipline technical trade-offs.

Own the requirements strategy. Set and defend the approach to codes and standards, seismic design, and application of nuclear quality requirements, applying a first-principles, graded approach, and removing any requirements that cannot be justified.

Explicitly weigh risk against benefit on engineering decisions.

Understand regulatory margin.

Hold technical positions under pressure when the evidence supports it.

Partner with licensing to develop defensible regulatory positions, propose creative alternatives, and carry them to the NRC.

Set the technical standard for equipment specification and vendor requirements. Hold the team and design partners to it.

Set direction, review and when necessary perform nuclear analyses in areas such as radionuclide inventories, dose rates, biological shielding and waste classification.

Lead hazard and operability studies (HAZOPs) and design reviews.

Own equipment layout decisions that maximize process efficiency, factoring in operation, maintenance, and safety considerations.

Identify and evaluate key technical project risks, develop solutions, and communicate to senior management.

Ensure the appropriate level of documentation is maintained.

Success in the First Eighteen Months:

A core engineering team is hired, retained, and operating to a defined technical standard.

The baseline design has reached an agreed maturity and is under configuration control.

The requirements set has been reduced to a defensible minimum, with the reasoning documented.

Requirements

Evidence of building a technical team from a small core: senior engineers this person recruited personally, who had other options, and who stayed.

Evidence of holding a hiring bar under pressure-a seat left open rather than filled with the wrong person.ย 

Demonstrated judgment on regulatory conservatism: has challenged a default requirement and found a path that was as safe or safer, and materially faster or less expensive.

Ability to critically evaluate information, and the confidence to ask questions when things do not make sense.

Ability to think strategically and take decisive action once the necessary information has been gathered.

Energized by solving interesting design engineering challenges.

Willingness to learn and understand new technology and technical processes.

Experience designing or selecting equipment for operation in harsh environments.

Ability to navigate a large, interconnected set of design and regulatory requirements and identify which of them can be removed.

Ability to manage multiple activities, prioritizing them in a way that contributes most to Company success.

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.

Ten years or more of relevant engineering experience, including experience leading engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

Knowledge of nuclear fuel cycle processes.

Nuclear safety analysis experience.

Experience with chemical process technology transfer.

Experience scaling from Pilot to Commercial facilities.

Familiarity with facility design, licensing, and construction under any part of 10 CFR, 10 CFR Part 50 or equivalent DOE regulations.

Experience interacting directly with a regulatory body, such as NRC.


Eligibility for employment is conditioned on the applicant's ability to qualify for access to information subject to U.S. Export Controls. Additionally, applicant's eligibility may be conditioned based upon meeting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for access to Safeguards Information, which typically requires a pre-employment drug screen, fingerprinting and criminal background check.

SHINE values diversity in all its forms as a critical component of innovation, which is fundamental to our success. Every member of the SHINE community benefits from the talents and experiences of our peers, from the mutual respect we exercise, and from the responsibility we take for our actions.

SHINE Technologies, LLC maintains affirmative action plans for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.


Pay Transparency Policy

Employee Rights Under the NLRAย 

Equal Opportunity Employment

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