Geo-Chemical Scientist

Charm Industrial•Fort Lupton, CO

29d

About The Position

We are seeking a Chemist, Geochemist, or Petroleum Chemist to support permanent carbon sequestration via subsurface injection as a member of our Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) team at Charm. This role focuses on understanding how chemically complex, evolving bio-oils and other injectates behave under subsurface conditions and how their interactions with reservoir rocks, brines, and gases affect material injectivity and stability over time. Bio-oils are distinct from conventional petroleum fluids: they contain oxygenated organics, reactive functional groups, water, etc. and undergo aging, polymerization, and phase evolution over time. This role is central to characterizing and managing those processes in the context of geologic storage. Your ability to leverage chemistry and analytical understanding of fluid behaviors across Charmâs portfolio of injectates will directly solve for key business outcomes around injectivity improvements and subsurface uncertainty as we expand our carbon removal impact. Over the long term, these fluid interaction findings and analytical conclusions will serve as a foundation for Charm to employ more advanced subsurface strategies to improve injectivity, such as leveraging first principles from enhanced oil recovery (EOR), fracking fluid development, or related methods. Your technical recommendations come to life through collaboration with fellow Charmers within Engineering, Operations, Measurement/Reporting/Verification (MRV), and Development organizations. This role will report to the Head of Engineering and Materials Science in Colorado.

Requirements

A safety first approach
A commitment to rigorous science
Minimum 5+ years of professional experience + MS in Chemistry, Geochemistry, Petroleum Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field
Strong foundation in organic chemistry and/or geochemistry, including thermodynamics and reaction kinetics
Experience working with complex organic fluids such as bio-oils, petroleum fractions, heavy oils, or reactive mixtures
Hands-on laboratory experience and strong analytical skills
Ability to design & interpret research studies that link theory, experiments, and field data
Comfort using digital communication and database tools to keep your team, internal Charm partners, and external partners up to date.

Nice To Haves

PhD or advanced research/field experience in EOR, subsurface flow, or related disciplines
Familiarity with or exposure to EOR concepts, reservoir engineering, or subsurface-focused research (ex. in-house or 3rd party coreflood or injectivity testing)
Experience with chemicals, surfactants, and non-traditional injected fluids (e.g. polymers, emulsions, or complex fluids)
Experience with oil & gas topside infrastructure (oil-water separation, blending tanks, filtration, process piping, pumps, etc.)
Experience with biomass pyrolysis, bio-oil characterization, or upgrading processes
Familiarity with subsurface or reservoir chemistry (e.g., brines, mineral reactions, high pressure/high temperature systems)
Experience with geochemical modeling tools Field or pilot-scale experience supporting injection or subsurface projects
Track record of technical publications, patents, or conference presentations
Experience collaborating with universities, national labs, or research groups Familiarity with carbon removal practices, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), or carbon removal verification concepts

Responsibilities

Design and conduct laboratory experiments to study behaviors of pyrolysis-derived bio-oils under reservoir pressures and temperatures
Deeply understand bio-oil aging mechanisms, including polymerization, condensation, phase separation, viscosity evolution, and solids formation; work with peers or 3rd parties to help characterize and study these mechanisms as needed
Investigate chemical interactions between bio-oil, formation brines, reservoir minerals, and gases
Analyze the role of oxygenated compounds, acids, phenolics, and other chemical species on reactivity, corrosion, and mineral interactions
Evaluate risks to injectivity and operational performance such as plugging, precipitation, emulsions, scale formation, microbial interactions, and material compatibility issues
Develop and apply geochemical and reactive transport models to predict long-term chemical evolution and storage permanence
Support field operations by translating lab and modeling insights into fluid specifications, handling guidelines, and injection strategies
Collaborate with pyrolysis engineers, geologists, and injection engineers to close the loop between biomass conversion and subsurface storage