Research Engineer

Via Separations•Watertown, MA

21h•Onsite

About The Position

Via Separations is a Boston-area startup dedicated to enabling process efficiency and intensification for the industrial sector. In 2024, Via delivered its first commercial facility and changed the narrative around market-driven energy technologies that drive value for industrial customers. At the intersection of engineering, society, and impact, our team is passionate about making a difference and building the technology and organization to do it. We are a fast-paced, interdisciplinary team backed by leading venture capital firms, and we are looking to add talented, mission-driven people to our cohort. We are passionate about transformative impact, optimistic about scientific progress, and unafraid of hard problems. We believe that our people are our unfair advantage, and drive our mission forward. We embrace the diversity of our team for creative solutions and believe the best ideas come from the intersection of disciplines and perspectives. We want you to join us! Via is seeking a hands-on Research Engineer II to join our New Applications group. This role is critical to expanding Via’s reach into new industrial sectors. You will be responsible for the "first look" at diverse industrial feedstocks, determining how our membrane technology stands up to new chemical environments. This position sits at the bridge between R&D and commercial deployment, requiring a mix of disciplined analytical testing and creative material fabrication.

Requirements

B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, or a related technical field.
3 years of experience in a laboratory or pilot plant environment.
Proficiency with wet chemistry, handling pressurized fluid systems, and basic analytical instrumentation.
A "builder" mindset with a high degree of manual dexterity; you enjoy working with your hands, troubleshooting hardware, and iterating on physical prototypes.
U.S. work authorization is required for this role.

Nice To Haves

Experience with membrane separations (RO, NF, UF) is a significant plus.

Responsibilities

Characterize and test new industrial feedstocks to evaluate safety as well as compatibility and performance with Via’s membrane platforms.
Execute bench-scale filtration experiments to measure critical metrics, specifically solute rejection, flux, and permeability.
Design and run long-term experiments to determine membrane durability, fouling rates, and cleaning effectiveness over time.
Support the R&D pipeline by performing "hand coatings" and bench-top membrane casting to iterate on novel surface chemistries.
Utilize analytical tools (e.g., GC, UV-Vis, TOC, KF, or conductivity) to provide high-accuracy data on feed and permeate streams.
Analyze experimental results, maintain rigorous documentation, and communicate findings to the engineering and sales teams to inform go/no-go decisions on new applications.