About the Company

In a recent edition, Forbes Magazine reported, “While renewables are now the fastest growing energy industry, hydrogen is following closely behind in a massive gale. The 21st century will likely witness the rise of a mega-billion-dollar hydrogen fuel industry. Countries are taking steps – and it’s breathtaking”.

Canada is recognized internationally as a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell research, development and commercialization. The industry is broad and touches upon all elements across the supply chain. Canadian firms have developed a myriad of technologies to produce hydrogen cleanly and economically using fossil fuels, methanol, biomass, or from industrial by-product waste hydrogen capture.

Today, with carbon reduction by 2050 a global imperative, all attention has turned to ‘green’ hydrogen. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced via the electrolysis of water, with the electricity used in the process coming from renewable sources like wind and solar. Green hydrogen is now a priority low-emissions technology that could eventually help replace fossil fuels in transport, electricity and in industrial processes.

Our client produces innovative green hydrogen generation solutions that let clients generate more clean hydrogen, faster, and at a significantly reduced cost. The company’s patented technologies have vast application across industrial processes, transportation and energy systems.

As the recent Forbes Magazine article concluded, “One thing is certain – hydrogen is no longer a niche fringe fuel. The element will play a critical role in the decarbonization of sectors where electrification is not possible, with fortunes to be built along the way……The green hydrogen revolution has already begun.”

Scope of the Position

Our client is one of the only pure play and publicly listed green hydrogen generation companies in North America and among a handful globally. As they continue to grow, our client is seeking to hire a key executive team member, the Vice-President of Engineering.

Reporting to the company’s CEO, the VP Engineering will lead a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and technicians and work in collaboration with our Project and Product teams, creating confidence in outcomes, engaging with stakeholders and providing technical guidance and direction. You will oversee the development of engineering deliverables ensuring they meet the project scope, are delivered on schedule and budget and meet our client’s quality standards. The role requires the individual to develop a thorough understanding of our client’s electrolyzer technology and lead the development of solutions in all areas of the product across various systems and process equipment.

The VP Engineering will cultivate an environment that attracts, deploys and retains the human and other resources required to effectively develop, deliver and support world class technologies that will provide value to the company’s customers, while meeting the business strategy and goals for profitable growth.

In achieving this, the VP Engineering will establish design systems, processes and metrics with a view to minimizing costs and waste while maximizing scheduling, manufacturability and quality outputs.

This is an outstanding opportunity that features:

• Revolutionary technology design;
• Massive market opportunity;
• Well-funded organization;
• Highly entrepreneurial culture;
• An opportunity to make a real difference.

Functional Tasks

• Lead the multi-disciplinary engineering team, working closely with the project delivery team, customer engineering team and consultants.
• Hands-on organization leader supporting the transitioning of the company from world class R&D to Engineering organization.
• Drive a structured product development process to commercialize electrolyzer systems.
• Develop reliable systems/products on-time, within cost targets.
• Build and facilitate the development of strong relationships and synergies with all other areas of the company to ensure a one-team culture.
• Maintain keen awareness of the trends and conditions in electrolyzer/fuel cell technology, products, applications and development tools relative to the needs of the company’s customers and business.
• Establish key KPIs for competitive performance in completion of engineering projects and for rapid, realistic decisions on strategies, plans and projects.
• Align the engineering organization’s activities with the company goals and strategic direction, as well as with the company’s corporate values in areas such as people, integrity, passion and innovation.
• Develop hiring plans to build and retain world class capabilities and work with HR to execute.
• Oversees and guides the development of engineering deliverables and tasks including test work definition, design basis, design criteria, mass and energy balance, capacity studies, trade-off studies, engineering and equipment calculations, piping and instrumentations diagrams, process control logic, and operating and capital cost estimates.

Competency Profile

The following competencies listed below define the role of VP Engineering at our client:

Results Orientation
Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.

Planning & Objective Setting
Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.

Strategic Approach
Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.

Commercial Acumen
Applies appropriate commercial and financial principles. Understands situations in terms of costs, profits, added-value and return on investment. Appreciates the commercial impact of own work on the organization’s total expenses and revenues.

Industry & Market Awareness
Seeks to anticipate and respond to industry and market changes/challenges by understanding key characteristics, issues and the factors driving them. Aware of competitor’s products, services and position.

Information Seeking
Consults widely for business or technical advice, probes for facts and obtains information from a wide variety of sources. Differentiates the critical from the irrelevant or trivial. Curious and open-minded while focused on key goals and objectives.

Preferred Experience and Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.

• Proven experience from inception to completion of complex engineering projects, ideally in a process engineering environment (O&G, pharmaceuticals, wastewater, food).
• Strong and demonstrable leadership and management skills, including project management, procurement, change management, leading commissioning teams and a record of fostering a strong safety culture.
• Strong planning, governance and delivery skills with ability to set team goals, objectives and priorities, establishing clear roles and responsibilities for all reports.
• Proven ability to nurture relationships with customers with an ability to resolve problems.
• Tangible experience in commercializing new products and/or processes.
• Delivered products from prototype stage on schedule and on-budget in previous roles at a senior level.
• Experience with productivity and quality enhancing engineering methodologies such as ‘Six Sigma’, Concurrent Engineering and Integrated Product Development.
• Experience in having scaled engineering organizations through the judicious implementation of tighter process/methodology while preserving the positive elements of the core entrepreneurial and creative culture.
• In-depth understanding of the challenges and dynamics of working in early-stage, growth-oriented environments
• A track record of success distinguished by having cultivated positive working relationships with staff, peers and superiors.

Skills

• Sound engineering judgment and tactical execution
• Successfully lead and deliver on high risk and complex engineering projects
• Ability to mentor, motivate and inspire a multidisciplinary team
• Take charge orientation, ability to be a decision maker
• Excellent communication (both verbal and written), negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to create a collaborative culture across the engineering team
• Entrepreneurial with a technical soul.
• QualificationsBachelor’s Degree in Mechanical, Chemical or other relevant engineering degree.
• Professional membership to a relevant institution preferred

Remuneration & Benefits

• Highly competitive compensation package structured to the needs of the successful candidate.

If interested, please contact:

Robert Hebert – StoneWood Group
Bus: 416-365-9494 Ext. 777
[email protected]