Head of Engineering – Deep Tech Climate Startup
This isn’t a management job from a distance.
It’s a once-in-a-generation chance to help build one of the most ambitious climate systems ever designed — with your own hands.
We need a Head of Engineering who is ready to lead from the front and move quickly.
Universal Atmosphere Processing (UAP) is a NW UK-based deep-tech startup that is creating an entirely new industrial category: atmospheric resource extraction.
Our patented Electromagnetic Plasma Separator (EMPS) extracts valuable trace gases from the air. We’re currently building our prototype (Mk1). Commercial units will process 2.This is serious industrial infrastructure, and we’re seeking a skilled builder to help shape it from the ground up.
You’ll help architect, design, and build our systems across multiple TRLs, with direct access to the CEO (who invented the EMPS) and visibility into all aspects of the business.
Lead engineering execution for the EMPS and AP system — gas separation, heat recovery, and flow control
Build from drawings, specs, and breadboards to full-scale, field-ready systems.
Directly manage key contractors and hires as we scale the team.
Lay the technical foundation for a product that could redefine how we capture and use air.
This is more “Chief Engineer” than “CTO.” Chambers, separation units, heat exchangers, collection plates, and exhaust cones.
Help lead sourcing and integration of sensors, power supplies, actuators, and control logic.Own engineering management: internal talent, contractors, test sites, and design iterations
Shape engineering culture with a bias toward practical problem solving, rigour, and ambition
8+ years building complex hardware systems (fusion, aerospace, industrial, scientific instruments, etc.)
~ Strong technical range — mechanical, thermal, electrical, and systems integration
~ Ability to turn early concepts into functioning machines — rapidly, and with limited resources
~ Experience solving real-world engineering problems — under pressure, and with real constraints
~ Leadership from the front: sleeves-up, boots-on, CAD-open
Exposure to plasma systems, magnetic field generation, or atmospheric gas separation
Familiarity with high-voltage design, thermal recovery systems, or modular industrial architecture
Personal mission to help solve climate change at the infrastructure level
Competitive salary (£60-£80k/yr DOE) + negotiable performance bonus
~ A high-impact role in one of the most exciting deep tech climate companies in Europe
~Work on a system that integrates plasma, magnetics, gas handling, thermal integration, and large-scale industrial design.
~ Hybrid working
~ A chance to say: “I helped build that”