Research Chemist

Air Products•Allentown, PA

About The Position

At Air Products, our purpose is to bring people together to reimagine what’s possible, collaborate and innovate solutions to the world’s most significant energy and environmental sustainability challenges. Grow with us as we embark on building tomorrow together by being the safest, most diverse and most profitable industrial gas company in the world. Reimagine What’s Possible The Air Separation Technology team provides technical expertise in the field of oxygen, nitrogen and rare gases' production with the added mission of innovating new technologies that improve cost competitiveness, efficiency, productivity and/or on-stream availability of Air Products’ offerings. A secondary purpose of the team is to provide high level support and troubleshooting capabilities for our operating plants. The team comprises of a diverse & inclusive set of individuals who look to deliver driven cryogenic technology, adsorbent technology, materials chemistry, and vessel/equipment design advancements for all our products, including distillation column design, structured packing, heat exchangers, reboilers, and column internals. The research engineers in the team display strong interpersonal skills and work together with the entire Air Separation Technology and Product Line teams to deliver full plant solutions from the laboratory to the field. This position requires a research chemist with a strong background in experimental design and materials/process chemistry. The candidate will need to work with the Product Line, Conceptual Engineering, and other Technology organizations to develop novel and often, patentable process and materials chemistry (development, optimization and scale up) used in Air Separation plants and Hydrogen technologies to either progress into a product offering or implement immediately in a project. This role requires the candidate to have innovative and out-of-the-box thinking to generate differentiating and valuable ideas. The role also requires good organizational skills and team in driving development efforts towards completion using the thorough stage-gate approach. This role also requires the candidate to efficiently develop university/industrial partnerships as means to further develop materials of interest. Additionally, the role requires strong thermodynamic and chemistry of materials fundamentals and a sense of practicality to guide idea screening and technology development. The successful candidate needs to be comfortable with ambiguity and complexity, have a positive demeanor, and be self-motivated with a strong sense of project ownership. What's In It for You: At Air Products we further a culture of inclusion where every voice is heard, and everyone feels they belong and matter. Additionally, we offer competitive pay and great benefits for our employees. Check out some of our benefits below! Affordable Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance (day 1 of employment) 401k with 100% vested company core and match Paid Vacation, holidays + sick time Paid Parental leave (Up to 8 weeks) Backup Child and Adult Care benefit Adoption assistance Flexible spending accounts (medical, dependent daycare) Life Insurance (AD&D- Paid for by Air Products), Supplemental AD&D Legal Plan & Identity theft coverage EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Many more supplemental benefits available Nature and Scope: This is an individual contributor technologist role with a focus of materials/process chemistry and new technology development for a variety of air separation and hydrogen technologies which may include adsorbent development, adsorption-based process cycles, electrolysis/electrochemistry, ammonia cracking, hydrogen liquefaction, Partial Oxidation (POx), Auto-thermal Reforming (ATR), Carbon Collection Utilization and Storage (CCS) applications. We will look to this technologist to provide leadership in materials chemistry related processes across the Technology Organization. The ideal candidate should have demonstrated experience in designing and optimizing process chemistry solutions using experimental and or/theoretical approaches utilizing an appropriate combination of absorption, adsorption, reaction and heat exchange unit operations. Prior experience in design and characterization of new materials, scale-up, and troubleshooting of air separation/hydrogen production processes, although not required, can be a desirable differentiating qualification.

Requirements

PhD in Materials Chemistry or any Chemistry related field.
5-10 years’ experience performing experimental design and scale-up activities related to materials development.
Familiarity with reaction, adsorbents, electrochemical, solid-state, or cryogenic principles and operations a plus
Proven prior experience in developing novel processes as evidenced by patent applications or granted patents.
Strong inter-personal skills & ability to function well in a multi-disciplinary team environment.
Track record of safety in a laboratory or plant environment.
Strong verbal and written communications skills and project management skills.
Ability to collaborate optimally with team members in remote locations.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in air separation and hydrogen production processes a plus.
Proven track record of commercializing novel technologies is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Deliver all objectives safely and achieve 100% compliance with Air Products’ safety requirements.
Drive competitiveness of Air Separation products by developing, leading, and delivering new or improved technology offerings.
Drive competitiveness of Green and Blue Hydrogen products by innovating, developing and leading new or improved technology offerings.
Evaluate new insights, processes and technologies based on applicability, CAPEX, OPEX and return on investment.
For ideas evaluated to be promising, develop a reason, capture support, progress the concept rigorously through the stage gate process and drive it to conclusion/implementation.
File patent applications, if appropriate, to support our new technology development efforts.
Maintain awareness of current driven activities and the state of the development of new air separation/hydrogen production related materials by outside entities.
Work with the Product Line, other Technology organizations, procurement, and operations organizations to facilitate commercialization of new technology in the field.
Work with Technology Manager to assess new material development/technology risks and mitigations to support the needs of newly commercialized air separation/ hydrogen-based offerings.