Senior R&D Scientist - Carbon Capture

$120,000 - $120,000/Yr

Ck Group - Irvine, CA

Full-time - Senior

Irvine, CA

Real Estate

About the position

CK Group is seeking a Senior R&D Scientist specializing in Carbon Capture to join a dynamic start-up team focused on enhancing the design and scalability of systems aimed at improving the performance of adsorbing and desorbing water vapor. This role is pivotal as the company is actively developing technologies in atmospheric water harvesting and CO2 capture, with the position based in Irvine, California. This is a full-time, permanent position with a competitive salary range of $120,000 to $140,000 per annum. In this role, you will work closely with the head of Product Engineering to meet departmental objectives related to the scaling up of commercial-grade Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) and Covalent Organic Framework (COF)-based CO2 capture systems. Your responsibilities will include modeling the kinetics, thermal transfer, and CO2 adsorption and desorption mechanisms of MOF/COF materials. You will be tasked with developing comprehensive models that encompass CO2 adsorption and desorption, energy efficiency, thermal transfer, airflow, and vacuum and pressure swing operations. Additionally, you will design and optimize individual components of carbon capture modules, plan and scale technologies from prototype to commercial stages, and identify critical parameters that enhance product performance in terms of production capacity, energy efficiency, reliability, yield, cost, safety, and operational efficiency. Collaboration with R&D scientists will be essential to process the technical specifications of MOF/COFs, and you will also evaluate and manage the sourcing of materials and components, ensuring a seamless transition from sourcing to final assembly and packaging. You will play a key role in establishing quality control and quality assurance processes for production, maintain detailed electronic notebooks of observations and measurements, and contribute to the company’s intellectual property through invention disclosures. Regular reporting to management and participation in technical meetings will also be part of your responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Work with and report to the head of Product Engineering to achieve departmental goals of scaling up commercial-grade MOF/COF-based CO2 capture systems.
• Model the kinetics, thermal transfer, and CO2 adsorption and desorption mechanisms of MOF/COF material.
• Develop models that include CO2 adsorption and desorption, energy efficiency, thermal transfer, air flow, and vacuum and pressure swing operation.
• Design and optimize the individual carbon capture module components.
• Design, plan and scale up the technologies from prototype stage to commercial stage.
• Identify and optimize critical component and system-level parameters to improve overall product performance in terms of production capacity, energy efficiency, lifetime (reliability/durability), yield, cost, safety, and operation.
• Collaborate closely with R&D scientists to process the technical and functional specifications of MOF/COFs coming out of the R&D.
• Evaluate and manage sourcing of materials and components, considering the whole process from sourcing to final assembly and packaging.
• Help set up the QC/QA processes and procedures for production.
• Maintain an electronic notebook detailing all observations and measurements.
• Contribute to the intellectual property of the company by writing and participating in invention disclosures.
• Perform periodic reporting to management and participate in technical meetings.

Requirements

• PhD in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or similar field from an accredited institution, along with a demonstrated record of achievement in research.
• Experience in the CO2 capture industry and pressure swing adsorption systems.
• Strong understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer.
• More than 5 years of industrial R&D experience.
• At least 3-5 years of experience in the CO2 field.
• Industry experience in designing system-level prototypes.
• Experience in simulation tools for thermal design, thermal analysis, and energy performance.
• Familiar with health and safety procedures in production.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• A track record of successful scale-up prototypes or experimentation.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.