Lead Engineer

About the role

CREW is looking for a Lead Engineer to be the technical authority for how our systems are designed, built, and delivered. You’ll own the process-mechanical and controls engineering behind our deployments: overseeing and iterating on designs, ensuring manufacturing and procurement are reliable, and making sure our installations at wastewater plants are safe and trusted by our utility partners.

You’ll lead the engineering function within Operations and work closely with our project managers and field staff, who take deployments from signed contracts to reliable long-term operation. The ideal candidate is a hands-on process or mechanical engineer who has taken hardware from design through fabrication to field operation, and who wants to build the engineering and delivery backbone of a fast-growing water technology company.

This position is a full-time role. Location is onsite at CREW’s Brooklyn, NY office.

Responsibilities

• Act as final technical authority on process, mechanical, and controls design, with sign-off on designs, submittals, and deployment readiness.
• Own design and troubleshooting of fluid handling, air, dust/powder handling, and pressure systems, including safety review of hazards and safeguards.
• Own the design of our control and instrumentation systems, working with data and software teams to drive dosing and operations from sensor data.
• Oversee supplier and manufacturer selection, qualification, and management so systems are robust, safe, and field-proven.
• Manage long-lead items, inspection and factory acceptance testing, and nonconformance resolution.
• Work hand in hand with project management to deliver deployments that are technically sound, on time, and on budget.
• Build repeatable pre-deployment processes covering site assessments, technical scoping, contractor SOWs, and readiness reviews.
• Provide technical direction through build, installation, commissioning, and handoff, and flag risks to leadership and clients early.
• Set engineering standards, documentation, commissioning and maintenance procedures, and change control across all sites, and lead technical escalations from the field.
• Use field performance and reliability data to feed lessons back into design.
• Serve as the technical lead with utility engineers and operators in design reviews, commissioning, and troubleshooting.
• Train utility clients to run CREW systems confidently, with standardized handoff materials.
• Over time, help shape the long-term strategy for our system designs, procurement, and fleet management, including how we standardize, scale, and potentially bring more manufacturing, inventory, and supply chain capability in-house as CREW grows.

Experience Requirements

• 6-10 years designing, building, and delivering process-mechanical hardware systems, ideally in the water/wastewater sector.
• 3+ years leading or technically directing engineers and technical staff, including mentoring and setting standards.
• BS in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering, or an equivalent hands-on background.
• Track record of delivering multiple concurrent deployments or capital projects on time and on budget.
• Experience with process controls and instrumentation (sensors, PLCs/SCADA, control logic), ideally for dosing or chemical feed systems, and comfort working with data and software teams to tie hardware to data-driven optimization.
• Strong vendor, contractor, and consultant management skills.
• Able to travel 20–40%.
• You practice extreme ownership, lead with empathy, and have a growth mindset.

Bonus Qualifications

• PE license.
• Experience at a utility, EPC, or water/wastewater equipment OEM.
• Product or strategic thinking.

Compensation

Compensation at the time of offer is unique to each candidate and based on a variety of factors such as skill set, experience, qualifications, and work location. Salary is one part of the total compensation and benefits package. Other benefits for eligible employees may include: equity through the form of option grants, flexible paid time off, 401(k) plan, well equipped office environment, and health benefits offerings.

The expected base salary range for this role is $120,000 - $180,000. This range represents the company’s estimate for this position at the time of posting however actual compensation may vary based on skills, experience, location, role scope, and business needs.

About the Company

CREW’s technology and services make wastewater treatment cheaper and more efficient, while permanently sequestering CO₂.

Leveraging advanced chemistry, natural minerals, and AI, we’ve developed and are deploying a category-defining process intensification technology, with decarbonization at its core. We are currently deploying this technology across the US and Europe. In addition, we’ve signed $40M+ in carbon removal offtake agreements with leading corporations looking to meet their climate goals, supercharging geographical CREW’s expansion.

CREW has offices and labs in New Haven, CT and offices in Brooklyn, NY.

CREW Insights

• CREW raises $25M of funding to scale wastewater treatment optimization technology as climate solution https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crew-raises-25m-of-funding-to-scale-wastewater-treatment-optimization-technology-as-climate-solution-302772585.html?tc=eml_cleartime
• A climate fix that could cut your water bill (The Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/a-climate-fix-that-could-cut-your-water-bill-37ba25e8?st=ZR2CD9&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
• Leading U.S. water utility HRSD partners with CREW to deploy process intensification technology (Wastewater Digest) https://www.wwdmag.com/utility-management/news/55364253/hrsd-partners-with-crew-to-deploy-process-intensification-technology-at-norfolk-treatment-plants
• The Colorado Energy Office awards $2.35M to CREW’s wastewater treatment CDR tech (Carbon Herald) https://carbonherald.com/the-colorado-energy-office-awards-2-35m-to-crew-carbon-and-its-wastewater-treatment-cdr-tech/
• CREW signed a carbon credit offtake agreement with the Frontier Climate Fund (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-tech-firms-get-80-million-pull-carbon-paper-mills-sewage-plant-2024-12-17/
• CREW delivers pioneering wastewater alkalinity enhancement credits (Carbon Herald) https://carbonherald.com/crew-carbon-delivers-pioneering-wastewater-alkalinity-enhancement-credits-verified-by-isometric/
• CREW recognized as one of the most promising climate tech startups (Business Insider) https://www.businessinsider.com/most-promising-climate-tech-startups-vcs-2023-10?op=1

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.