Research Officer, 3D Printing Materials Chemistry

at  National Research Council Canada

Priority may be given to the following designated employment equity groups: women, Indigenous peoples* (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities and racialized persons*.

• The Employment Equity Act, which is under review, uses the terminology Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

Candidates are asked to self-declare when applying to this hiring process.
City: Mississauga
Organizational Unit: Clean Energy Innovation
Classification: RO
Tenure: Term
Duration: Until 31 March 2027
Language Requirements: English

EDUCATION

PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or similar domain.
An equivalent combination of experience and a Master’s level engineering degree may be considered.
For information on certificates and diplomas issued abroad, please see Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE

• Recent experience working in multi-disciplinary teams and overseeing the activities of other researchers, students, technicians and/or vendors;
• Significant experience working in a chemistry laboratory research environment, including implementation of safety guidelines, waste disposal, equipment usage, and the safe handling and processing of chemicals;
• Significant and recent experience in developing, formulating, and characterizing advanced materials for, and after 3D printing;
• Practical experience with 3D printing technologies and equipment;
• Experience in advanced materials characterization techniques, such as rheology, thermal analyses (e.g. TGA, DSC), optical and scanning electron microscopy;
• Ability to use scientific object-oriented computer programming, e.g. in Python, to catalog, synthesize and visualize scientific data;
• Experience with managerial research activities including project management, data production and analysis, and reporting through written documentation, presentations and publications

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

English
Information on language requirements and self-assessment tests

THE ROLE

We are looking for a dynamic Research Officer specialized in functional materials chemistry to support the Clean Energy Innovation (CEI) Research Centre’s additive manufacturing laboratories. The position is based at CEI’s new Advanced Materials Research Facility (AMRF) in Mississauga, ON. The incumbent will contribute to 3D printing and other digital fabrication activities involved in the accelerated discovery and design of new energy storage materials. They would also be someone who shares our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.
You will be working in a team environment with multidisciplinary researchers and technical experts in world-class facilities.
Working as part of a specialized team, you will develop functional energy storage materials created via 3D printing. You will lead projects and coordinate the team’s efforts in this domain, leading to publications in internationally recognized scientific journals and to supporting technology translation and commercialization.
Your will conceptualize and formulate novel feedstock materials for advanced 3D printing methods. These formulations will contain active chemical species tailored toward energy storage applications and carbon management, creating architected materials for e.g. Li-ion battery electrodes and solid electrolytes.
You will be responsible for identifying ground-breaking applications for your functional materials that fully exploit a combination of active chemistry together with three-dimensional structuring achieved via 3D printing. In other words, you will identify and foster opportunities to develop next-generation energy storage materials with properties that are exclusively possible when made via advanced digital manufacturing methods. In this role you will be conceiving research proposals, designing experimental plans, and executing them in a team setting in a research laboratory environment.

THE ROLE (CONTINUE)

The successful candidate will hold the following roles and responsibilities

• Independently leading research on functional material feedstock development for both direct-ink-writing (DIW) and vat photopolymerization (VPP) 3D printing;
• Designing material characterization campaigns and operating material characterization instrumentation;
• Performing complex data analysis, managing large datasets and reporting on results;
• Preparation of digital designs for 3D printing
• Fostering new collaborations with multidisciplinary teams to advance the state of knowledge in materials chemistry and 3D printing technologies.
• Developing new research proposals, managing research projects, and maintaining research partnerships with external academic, industrial and government collaborators
• Supervising junior staff, and student internships

Being in a dynamic position means that the workdays are always evolving, challenging and motivating. You are a self-starter who can excel in an evolving and exciting R&D environment and provide input into the direction and priorities of R&D activities that will be set forth by this new initiative in Mississauga. If you are that person, this may be the perfect role for you!

You will need to attach the required documents as per the list below when submitting your application. Some items may be assessed at a later time in the process.

• Cover letter including a research statement.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A list of publications
• Names and contact information for three people who have agreed to provide a reference on your behalf. Reference letters need not be submitted with the application, but may be requested during the review process