Senior Materials Scientist, R&D

Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American manufacturing and energy technology company. We’re revolutionizing energy storage with cost-effective, multi-day technology designed to keep the electric grid secure and reliable, even during extended periods of stress. By strengthening the electric system and reimagining what’s possible, we’re giving clean energy a whole new form! 

In recent years, Form Energy has earned a number of accolades, including being named by TIME as a “Best Invention”, MIT Technology Review as a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch”, and Fast Company as “One of the Next Big Things In Tech”. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and our team is growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States and production of our iron-air batteries is underway at our first high-volume manufacturing facility in West Virginia.

Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And now - right as we significantly scale up battery manufacturing -  might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of highly talented and driven individuals across the country. Driven by our core values of humanity, excellence, and creativity, our team is determined to deliver on our mission and transform the energy landscape for the better.

Feeling energized to make a meaningful impact on the world? Then keep reading - you’ve come to the right place.

Role Description

Form Energy is hiring a scientist to develop our next-generation gas diffusion electrodes for our iron-air technology. This role reports into the manager of Discharge Cell R&D. As part of our Advanced Technology team, you will work on fabricating and characterizing gas diffusion electrodes, translating materials insight into cell-level electrochemical performance in partnership with chemists, materials scientists, and battery engineers. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and be part of the growth of a fast-moving company with breakthrough technology and an incredible mission!

Relocation assistance is available.

What you'll do:

• Develop and iterate new gas diffusion electrode formulations, applying process expertise to translate target properties into manufacturable electrodes

• Apply and interpret physical and electrochemical characterization of existing and novel gas diffusion electrodes, selecting the methods and techniques best suited to identify failure modes and the properties that define a high-performing electrode

• Identify improvement opportunities and propose and implement the design iterations to achieve them

• Coordinate gas diffusion electrode build-and-test campaigns across scientists and technicians, and share daily electrochemical infrastructure maintenance to sustain test throughput across the team

• Collaborate with electrochemical design and product architecture partners, and engage internal and external experts to align GDE development with next-generation cell requirements

What you'll bring:

• Bachelor's + 4-7 years work experience; Master's degree + 2 years work experience; PhD with degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related fields

• Demonstrated experience developing and characterizing porous, coated, or multiphase materials, such as gas diffusion electrodes, fuel cell GDLs or catalyst layers, battery electrodes, membranes, filtration media, or comparable systems

• Working knowledge of characterization techniques, such as SEM, mercury or nitrogen porosimetry, helium pycnometry, and contact angle, and the ability to connect them to electrode performance

• Hands-on proficiency with electrode or coating fabrication processes (e.g. extrusion, spray coating, wet coating)

• Experience collecting and interpreting electrochemical data (e.g. EIS, polarization) and connecting results to physical mechanisms

• Excellent communication, organizational, and collaboration skills
  

#LI-Onsite

Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here. 

When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed. 

To build America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.

If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact accommodations@formenergy.com. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.

Form Energy is committed to maintaining the privacy of our applicants. Please be aware that we will never solicit sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details during the recruiting or hiring process.