Job Description

R&D Project Lead

Location: Bay Area, in-person preferred

About the Role

Thunderstone is looking for an R&D Project Lead to drive pioneering research in metal extraction and resource processing. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of our technology, which directly impacts the mining and critical metals industry. 

You'll be the crucial link between our high-level vision and our day-to-day work, translating big ideas for ore body transformation and in-situ metal recovery into actionable plans. This includes ensuring we hit our ambitious technical milestones in unlocking critical metals. 

This role has a direct leadership track, with the potential to grow into a senior leadership position as the company scales.

Responsibilities

• Translate high-level research goals related to ore processing, in-situ metal recovery, and critical materials extraction into detailed, actionable project plans, roadmaps, and timelines.
• Manage our technical, mechanical, and operations teams, ensuring everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction, especially when integrating geoscience and hardware development efforts.
• Actively track milestones and de-risk priorities, making real-time adjustments to roadmaps to keep us on schedule, focusing on technical challenges unique to high-voltage plasma interaction with rock mechanics.
• Lead the documentation and reporting process, keeping our investors and strategic partners (including those in the mining sector) informed of our progress.
• Work closely with our engineers and scientists to support experimental design and data analysis, helping us learn faster and optimize our metal-recovery efficiency.

Who We Are

Thunderstone is a deep-tech startup reinventing how the world accesses critical metals. Traditional mining is excavation-heavy, expensive, and environmentally destructive. We’re using underground lightning (high-voltage pulses) to open microscopic pathways in ore bodies, letting fluids flow and extract metals without digging.

Our work makes mining cleaner, cheaper, and scalable, unlocking the nickel, copper, and other metals the clean energy transition demands. We’re proud to be part of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, backed by world-class investors and strategic partners (including Rio Tinto).

If you want to be part of a company where your work doesn't just move experiments forward, but helps move the planet toward a sustainable future, Thunderstone is the place.

Requirements

• 5–10 years of experience in a technical project management, program management, or research leadership role.
• A strong technical foundation in engineering, applied physics, materials science, or geology/mining engineering.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex R&D projects within the mining, metals processing, or deep-tech hardware sectors.
• The ability to balance big-picture strategy with day-to-day operational details.
• An excellent communicator who can bridge the gap between highly technical concepts (like geophysical data, rock fracture mechanics, or hydrometallurgy) and non-technical audiences.
• Experience in a startup or a fast-paced lab environment is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive Bay Area salary ($120k–$200k, depending on experience).

• Generous equity package with meaningful upside; total compensation often close to double base salary.
• Milestone-based raise opportunities.
• Flexible time-off, we trust you to manage your schedule and take the time you need to recharge.
• Join a small, mission-driven team with direct input into shaping our technology and company culture.

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