Senior Scientist
Via Separations
Watertown, MA, USA
Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Via Separations is a rapidly growing Boston-area startup dedicated to eliminating CO2 emissions from industrial manufacturing processes. At the intersection of engineering, society, and impact, our team is passionate about making a difference and building the technology and organization to do it. We are a fast-paced, interdisciplinary team backed by leading venture capital firms. Our team has tripled in size in the last year, and we are looking to add talented, mission-driven people to our cohort.
We are passionate about global climate impact, optimistic about scientific progress, and unafraid of hard problems. We believe that our people are our unfair advantage, and drive our mission forward. We embrace the diversity of our team for creative solutions and believe the best ideas come from the intersection of disciplines and perspectives. We want you to join us!
Role Description:
The Senior Scientist will work alongside a multidisciplinary team of scientists to help build and deliver solutions to technical challenges in difficult to decarbonize industries. You will be responsible for developing creative approaches for Via’s product and new application development, and delivering innovation in the areas of chemical design, synthesis, membrane fabrication and materials characterization. You will also develop testing methodologies to validate new formulations, analyze test data and translate learnings into designs at scale. In this role, you will be involved in end-to-end research projects from fundamental principles to product-ready materials and systems that deliver business value. You are energized by hard problems, and excited by the enormous growth potential of this role as Via continues to grow rapidly, scale systems, and develop further applications.
Responsibilities Include:
- Design and execute synthetic approaches to yield materials with target properties.
- Develop test methodologies to evaluate materials performance.
- Collaborate across the organization to translate lab-scale improvement in membrane design and performance through manufacturing and integration into new applications
- Qualify formulations and materials using pilot coating tools and advanced characterization techniques.
- Communicate technical results and challenges across the organization to advance application and product development.
- Demonstrated ability to leverage scientific literature to support progress, generating new approaches and intellectual property
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these qualifications:
- PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, or related field.
- Minimum 3 years of work experience; experience with synthetics (organic chemistry or polymers) and/or nanomaterials, 2D materials
- Characterization experience with some, if not all, of the following: SEM/TEM, XPS, DSC, TGA, FTIR, UV/Vis, XRD, porosimetry/BET
- Film coating experience and characterization
- Champions a culture of safety in both lab and non-lab environments
- Demonstrated ability to document and communicate plans, results, critiques and conclusions in written and verbal form with a variety of stakeholders
- Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively with others
- Some local travel (to Boston-based universities to use their characterization equipment, for example) may be required
- U.S. Work authorization is required for this role.
We Offer:
- Competitive compensation package, including equity options
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
- Disability & Life Insurance
- 401(k)
- 12 weeks paid Maternity & Paternity Leave
- 15 days of annual PTO
- 15 days paid company holidays
At Via, we value and prioritize diversity of thought, access, and experiences, and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.