Summer Intern - Metallurgy and Chemistry

Kunin Technologies • Chattanooga, TN

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Kunin Technologies is hiring a summer intern to join its Chattanooga research team for approximately 12 weeks in summer 2027. The intern will work on either a metallurgy track or a chemistry track. The research team develops flowsheets to recover critical metals from dilute and complex feeds and develops the ion-exchange media chemistry used in those flowsheets.

On the metallurgy track, the intern will develop flowsheets and run leach, precipitation, and ion-exchange experiments on candidate resources, close mass balances, and recommend process routes. On the chemistry track, the intern will synthesize selective ligands and functional monomers, attach them to the media, and characterize the resulting materials. The summer project is expected to produce either a documented experimental campaign with a flowsheet recommendation or synthesized and tested functional chemistry for the team to advance.

Requirements

• Be an undergraduate or graduate student in metallurgical engineering, extractive metallurgy, chemistry, or chemical engineering, graduating in 2027 or 2028.
• Have strong wet-chemistry laboratory technique and an experimentalist approach.
• For the chemistry track, have organic synthesis experience, including Schlenk technique, purification, and NMR interpretation.
• Be comfortable with mass balances, speciation, and solution chemistry.
• Keep careful records and be comfortable with spreadsheets and laboratory data systems.
• Be able to work in a fast-paced and demanding atmosphere.
• Be a team player.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to hydrometallurgy for the metallurgy track.

Responsibilities

• Plan and run bench experiments, including leaching, solvent extraction, and ion-exchange tests for the relevant track, or multi-step organic syntheses and media functionalization.
• Analyze samples using ICP-OES, titration, NMR, FTIR, or other appropriate techniques, and maintain complete laboratory records.
• Build mass balances and flowsheet options from experimental data, or characterize ligand loading and selectivity.
• Present results weekly to the research team and write a final technical report.
• Handle acids, oxidants, solvents, and air-sensitive reagents safely.
• Take ownership of shared equipment and help keep the laboratory safe and organized.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed