Senior Scientist

Via Separations is a Boston-area startup dedicated to eliminating CO2 emissions from industrial manufacturing processes. In H1 2024, Via delivered its first commercial facility and changed the narrative around market-driven climate technologies that drive value for industrial customers. 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, 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 conceiving and developing tailored membrane active materials for Via’s product and new application development, and delivering innovation in the areas of colloid science, chemical modification, 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:

• Develop application-specific membrane active materials using knowledge of chemistry, physics, materials science, colloid science, and formulation science.
• Cultivate an understanding of the physical and chemical aspects that control membrane performance and stability.
• Devise chemical modification strategies to control properties of formulations and membranes, optimizing them for production and operation.
• Qualify membrane materials and production methods at lab scale using pilot coating tools and chemical/materials characterization techniques.
• Collaborate across the organization to translate lab-scale improvement in membrane design and performance through manufacturing and integration into new applications
• Communicate technical results and challenges across the organization to advance application and product development.
• 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
• After first year, some travel (up to 5%) may be required
• U.S. Work authorization is required for this role.

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.