Staff Chemist – Analytical Chemistry/Materials Science

MRI Global • Charlottesville, VA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

MRIGlobal is seeking a Staff Chemist to join its Integrated Defense Solutions Business Unit in Charlottesville, Virginia. The role supports chemical forensics and analytical research using elemental analysis, chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The successful candidate will bring strong technical expertise and scientific judgment, and work effectively as part of a collaborative laboratory team.

The Staff Chemist will support and lead research and development laboratory activities while ensuring compliance with applicable federal program requirements, quality assurance practices, safety requirements, and standard operating procedures. The position requires an understanding of spectroscopy and chromatography theory, practical experience operating analytical instrumentation, and the ability to apply scientific judgment to solve complex problems and meet client expectations. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a government security clearance, and U.S. citizenship is required.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Chemistry or a related field; or an M.S. in Chemistry or a related field with at least 3 years of related experience; or a B.S. in Chemistry or a related field with 6–8 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong organizational skills, problem-solving ability, and adaptability to changing priorities.
• Ability to maintain complete, legible, and logically organized laboratory records and documentation.
• PC skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Project, and Outlook, and ability to learn new software and systems.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Eligibility to obtain and ability to maintain a government security clearance, including a Department of Defense clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with advanced elemental analysis techniques and instrumentation such as ICP-OES and SEM-FIB or EDS.
• Prior experience with GC-MS and LC-MS instrumentation, including high-resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry.
• Experience maintaining laboratory compliance with applicable safety and security requirements.
• Prior experience leading laboratory activities, technical projects, or scientific teams.
• Experience reviewing laboratory records for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with applicable procedures.

Responsibilities

• Direct or perform standard preparation, sample preparation, and sample analysis tasks.
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot a variety of analytical instruments.
• Develop and validate analytical methods.
• Prepare standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Perform technical reviews of analytical data and reports.
• Write or contribute to technical proposals, reports, and papers for publication, presenting clear results and concise, well-supported conclusions.
• Communicate with clients to provide updates and summarize testing results.
• Support and lead research and development laboratory activities while following applicable federal program requirements, quality assurance practices, safety requirements, and standard operating procedures.

What This Job Offers

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