Director of Equipment Innovation

Director of Equipment Innovation

Climeworks

Opfikon, Zurich, Switzerland

We are seeking a Design Director who is equal parts visionary engineer, tinkerer, and inspiring leader. You’ll own the design lifecycle of our collector systems (the equipment where our sorbent and process magic happens) — from initial concept through to field-acceptance, proven to be fit for commercial deployment. You will lead and grow a development team, but you’ll also be in the trenches: prototyping, testing, iterating, and pushing the limits of what’s possible.

If you’d rather be discussing how to turn a design idea into a working product than sitting in a corporate steering committee, this is your place. You’ll be given the freedom, resources, and responsibility to deliver extraordinary designs that will set the standard for the industry.

Your mission

• System Design & Optimization: Lead the end-to-end design of new collector systems, ensuring maximum performance of the sorbent–process combination.
• Innovation & Validation: Drive innovation from ideation through field acceptance, including testing to prove commercial readiness.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Manage and mentor a multidisciplinary development team, fostering creativity, rigor, and practical problem-solving.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with sorbent and process development teams to invent new collectors that maximize efficiency and integrate seamlessly into the overall DAC plant.
• Hands-On Prototyping: Actively build, test, and refine prototypes in the workshop.
• Technical Ownership: Own technical decision-making on collector architecture, materials, and performance optimization, in close collaboration with the industrialisation team responsible for detail engineering, manufacturing, and compliance.

Your story

Requirements

• Technical Expertise & Experience: Proven track record (10+ years) in developing innovative systems, products, or equipment, preferably in high-performance or industrial thermal/flow systems.
• Product Development Lifecycle: Experience taking complex electro-mechanical products from concept (TRL0) to functional and performance demonstration (TRL7).
• System Design Mastery: Expert in designing systems involving air flow, vacuum systems, and steam or thermal management.
• Hands-On Execution: Pragmatic, curious, and action-oriented — able to quickly build, test, and improve prototypes.
• Leadership & Team Building: Strong, inspiring leader with a history of building and guiding high-impact teams to success.
• Documentation & Communication: Skilled at creating simple but effective documentation to keep teams aligned and informed.
• Innovation & Delivery Mindset: Unafraid of bold ideas, yet disciplined in delivering designs that perform in real-world conditions.