Senior Scientist, Synthetic Chemistry

About the role

Cambium is seeking a Synthetic Chemist to join our composite materials engineering team in El Segundo, CA. The successful candidate will be curious with a desire to turn concepts into products, have a strong desire to help grow a company, and will help us build a work culture of open-mindedness that embraces creativity and contrarian thinking. At Cambium we’re willing to do things differently.

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesize compounds that open new opportunities in the high-temperature materials, composites, and optics space, particularly for Department of Defense applications.
• Work with discovery teams to evaluate synthetic routes and test alternatives that facilitate scale up of both target compounds and building blocks while providing insights for selection of development candidates.
• Execute in-house process development and optimization studies to facilitate scale up and transfer to CMOs.
• Provide guidance based on your chemistry expertise to support the operation of larger chemical reactors.
• Perform characterization and quality analysis of synthetic targets and feedstock materials (HPLC, NMR, FTIR, IPC, etc).
• Work with colleagues to design monomers and formulations to meet specific property requirements.
• Understand feedback provided by thermal characterization (rheology, DSC, TGA, DMA) and composite fabrication and testing.
• Support the manufacturing of high-temperature composite aerospace flight vehicles. Provide input on chemical processes such as curing, cleaning, and adhesive bonding to help support manufacturing.
• Understand structure/process/property relationships of thermoset polymer resins. Use your expertise and experience to support the creation of processing specifications for hand layup, resin transfer molding, filament winding and automatic tape placement.
• Provide regular progress reports to senior engineers and leadership.
• Communicate clearly and concisely key concepts, development status, performance outcomes, and lessons learned to your coworkers, investors, and collaborators.
• Prioritize safety and OSHA, EPA, and local health and safety requirements.
• Collaborate across multiple teams including world-class experts in biomaterials, polymer physics, composites, advanced manufacturing methods, aerospace design, and defense products.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to improve proprietary tools and systems.
• Create and contribute to the product demonstration and engineering teams in a manner consistent with Cambium’s mission and values and the growth of Cambium’s business.

Requirements

• Master’s in Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field and a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience; or
• PhD in Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field with 4 or more years of relevant experience; or
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with and a deep understanding of thermoset polymer resins.
• You must have a strong desire to learn and be willing to work in a hands-on engineering role.
• Due to the nature of the work, you must have US citizenship.
• Some general experience with manufacturing processes for fiber-reinforced organic polymer composites is preferred, but not required.
• Ability to complete tasks on time with little supervision.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Benefits

• Highly competitive compensation and benefits plan.
• Excellent medical/dental/vision benefits.
• Matching 401(k) plan.

Pay

$125,000 – $150,000