Sr. R&D Engineer, Analytical XRD

Pittsburgh Glass Works • Cheswick, PA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Vitro Architectural Glass manufactures a broad range of industry-leading, energy-efficient products such as Solarban®, Sungate® and Starphire Ultra-Clear® glasses. Throughout our storied history, collaboration and innovation have been central to our advancements. Today, the key to our success continues to lie in the strength of our partnerships. With a foundation formed on trust, teamwork and shared excitement, the possibilities for impactful innovations in glass are truly endless. With manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and Mexico, Vitro Architectural Glass is committed to sustainable manufacturing processes and products. Vitro also operates one of the world’s largest glass research and development facilities in Pittsburgh, PA and has four residential glass fabrication plants in Canada. The Sr. Engineer is responsible for supporting Vitro glass and glass coating R&D, process, and production through characterization of materials and by providing timely, insightful reports to internal customers. The position is part of the Analytical Services group of Vitro Architectural Glass R&D. The position will receive internal customer samples, prepare and then analyze them using XRD and, after being trained, using XPS, write analytical reports, interpret measurement results in a way that can lead to new product development and production problem solving, provide X-ray analytical consultation to internal customers, and present findings in R&D technical meetings.

Requirements

• MS in Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Geochemistry, Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline plus 5-12 years' experience
• Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Geochemistry, Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline plus 0-10 years' experience
• Direct professional experience with X-ray techniques; X-ray diffraction (XRD) required
• Ability to describe x-ray characterization results in terms of fundamental material parameters and the structure/processing/properties paradigm
• Ability to interface with and seek out external resources at universities and contract labs and maintain those relationships to compliment in-house capabilities
• Ability to collaborate with other analytical scientists with specialties in surface analysis, microscopy, X-ray techniques, glass optical property characterization, and glass physical properties to support new product development and effective plant problem solving
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and peers to provide excellent customer service, both oral and technical written documents
• Strong communication, technical leadership, and people leadership skills

Nice To Haves

• X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) preferred
• Experience with ceramic materials characterization, specifically glass preferred
• Experience with multi-layer thin film materials preferred

Responsibilities

• Follow written and verbal instructions to create and maintain a safe work environment
• Communicate efficiently and timely with customers to determine analytical needs and schedules
• Receive and log samples into LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System)
• Analyze samples and write reports, log samples out of LIMS
• Communicate reports to customers and respond timely to questions
• Communicate with universities and contracted testing labs to identify and complete selected testing not done on-site, and to handle the reporting and purchasing details
• Purchase lab supplies, parts, equipment service contracts and approved capital purchases
• Longer term, may have opportunities to supervise analysts and lead a team in specialized areas
• Decision making authority over technical details related to testing and lab operations; will be guided by scientific principles, customer needs and business considerations; will be supervised by the Senior Group Leader

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree