Co-Op, Materials Science, Heterogeneous Catalysis

Lila Sciences • Cambridge, MA

9d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Co-Op in Materials Science, Heterogeneous Catalysis, you will join Lila's Materials Science team at its Alewife site to help build and run high-throughput workflows for catalyst synthesis, characterization, and performance testing. This is a practical, lab-based co-op involving hands-on preparation of catalyst samples, reactor testing, and analysis of data for trends in structure, composition, and catalytic performance. You will work alongside scientists, automation engineers, and data scientists and gain exposure to how experimental work connects to AI-guided materials discovery. The role is suited to a graduate student seeking ownership of experiments and experience with automated, data-rich science.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a Master's or PhD program in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
• Hands-on laboratory experience with materials synthesis or catalyst testing.
• Working knowledge of common characterization techniques, such as XRD, BET, TGA, FTIR, or similar.
• Ability to handle chemicals safely and follow lab safety protocols.
• Strong attention to detail in experimental execution and record keeping.
• Clear written and verbal communication of experimental results.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with batch or flow reactors, or gas sorption measurements.
• Exposure to high-throughput experimentation or lab automation platforms.
• Data analysis or scripting in Python, R, or MATLAB.
• Coursework or research involving zeolites, MOFs, or other porous materials.

Responsibilities

• Synthesize heterogeneous catalysts and prepare samples for performance testing.
• Run batch and flow reactor tests, measuring activity, selectivity, and stability.
• Characterize materials using techniques such as XRD, BET, TGA, or chemisorption.
• Analyze experimental data to identify structure and composition trends.
• Support automated and high-throughput synthesis workflows with the engineering team.
• Document protocols and results, and present findings to the team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern