Analytical Chemist - ICP-MS and Release Testing
About the role
Kunin Technologies is revolutionizing the critical mineral supply chain by implementing advanced separation technologies to capture value from overlooked resources. Metals are everywhere, in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles, but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste. Utilizing Kunin Technologies' breakthrough performance, ion-exchange media significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking metal abundance. To achieve metal abundance, humanity must bring separation science down its own Moore’s Law: fix the idiot cost index for micro and nano scale separation materials. This requires mass manufacturing novel ion-exchange media form factors which previously struggled from high costs.
The role involves designing, guaranteeing and commissioning a group 14 metal chlorination plant overseas for an industrial partner. Metal-bearing feeds from the partner's process are converted by chlorination, purification and hydrolysis to an electronic-grade metal product, with Kunin's proprietary ion-exchange media recovering the metal from dilute process liquors. Bench and mini-pilot process development runs in Chattanooga from December 2026 to May 2027, basic engineering issues in May 2027, the plant is built from modular skids in parallel with civil works, and commercial operation is targeted for the first quarter of 2028. The plant is built and operated by the partner; Kunin owns the process, the design package, the performance guarantee and the training of the operating team. You own the numbers the plant is guaranteed against. An electronic-grade metal chloride specification means every metal at or below 10 parts per billion and boron and phosphorus at or below 5; a 5N metal oxide specification means parts per million. You develop and validate the ICP-MS, ICP-OES, ion chromatography and GC methods for the chlorination product, oxide feeds and process liquors, including fusion digestion that does not lose the metal as volatile chloride, and you run release testing for the two process development programs and the mini-pilots. You then write the release-test methods the plant's laboratory will use, qualify the referee laboratory, and train the partner's laboratory staff in