Process Engineering / Chemical Engineering Engineer

Organisation/Company BRGM Research Field Engineering » Process engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 4 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Context and contributions of the position

Joining the French Geological Survey (BRGM) means becoming part of France's leading public institution for Earth Science applications bringing together 1,000 wholeheartedly committed experts across 25 bases in Mainland and Overseas France. BRGM focuses on enhancing geological knowledge and understanding of surface and sub-surface-related phenomena, with a view to: meeting the challenges of environmental changes through innovative projects with societal implications.

The Mineral Resources Department of BRGM aims to study in a comprehensive and multidisciplinary way the various aspects of the life cycle of ores, geomaterials, and primary mineral resources extracted from the subsurface, as well as secondary resources produced through recycling. It focuses on the various stages of the value chains, from the mechanisms of deposit formation, exploration, and characterization of rocks and minerals, to the processing of ores and waste, including the geopolitical, economic, environmental, and societal assessment of upstream and downstream sectors. You will join the Innovative Processes for Mineral Materials unit team and contribute to scientific and technical output.

Within the team and in accordance with its roadmap, you will be responsible for developing and optimizing methods for processing and recovering mineral resources, both primary and secondary (industrial waste, resources from urban mining - WEEE), by integrating a multidisciplinary approach combining physical, chemical, biological, and environmental aspects.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Experimentation : Design and implement experimental setups to develop material recovery processes in collaboration with technicians and under the supervision of Project Managers ;
• Optimization : Conduct studies for the development and optimization of mineral processing methods ;
• Modeling : Model unit treatment operations to help understand the phenomena involved ;
• Simulation : Simulate processes in order to scale up equipment and installations to the level of industrial pilots ;
• Communication : Format and present the results in writing (reports, publications) and orally (work meeting, conference) ;
• QSE Compliance : Compliance with Quality, Safety, and Environmental procedures.

Profile

Contract type : Permanent

Education : PhD

Experience : 1-5 years

Technical skills

• Design and sizing of equipment/experiments from laboratory scale to pilot scale,
• Material and energy balances,
• Sampling
• Optimization of existing processes,
• Knowledge of unit operations in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy.
• Project management,
• Risk analysis,
• Interest in LCA, circular economy, renewable energies

Soft skills

• Rigor & Precision: ability to work accurately, especially in the laboratory and in the BRGM pilot hall.
• Autonomy & Collaboration: personal organization of daily work while effectively integrating into a multidisciplinary team.
• Communication: excellent interpersonal skills, ease in speaking and writing to convey scientific results (technical documents, publications, presentations).
• Proficiency in English (reading, writing, speaking) and French (writing and speaking).

Additional assets welcome

• Modeling and simulation: Proficiency in process simulation software such as Fluent, Comsol, Prosim, Aspen, or Syscad.
• Artificial intelligence: Integration of AI into the scientific and technical approach as well as data analysis.
• Industrialization: Design and sizing of equipment at an industrial scale, automation, continuous control.

Working conditions

Within an environment that promotes a healthy work/life balance, particularly thanks to remote working, BRGM prides itself on providing a friendly and caring place to work.

Awarded HRS4R certification in 2021, we are committed to supporting you throughout your career at BRGM. We provide you with a range of tools for developing your skills and expertise, with scope for career progression and geographic mobility.

At BRGM, you are guaranteed a transparent recruitment process.

• At BRGM, you will gain from such benefits as a 13th month salary, days off compensating for unpaid overtime, a company canteen, sports facilities as well as holiday and leisure options.

Because diversity matters to us at BRGM, all of our job vacancies are open to everyone!

We will examine your application as soon as the closing date has passed. If your application is short-listed, we will contact you for recruitment interviews during which you will have the opportunity to talk with the recruitment and HR departments as well as a cross-functional department.