Supervisor, Catalyst Development

FuelCell Energy•Danbury, CT

9d•$90,000 - $105,000•Onsite

About The Position

FuelCell Energy is redefining how the world produces and uses power. As a leading clean energy technology company, we're helping businesses, communities, utilities, and data centers meet growing energy demands with reliable, always-on power solutions. With nearly a gigawatt of fuel cell platforms deployed worldwide, we're accelerating the transition to a more resilient energy future. Join a team of innovators, problem-solvers, and industry pioneers who are tackling some of the world's most complex energy challenges while shaping the next generation of sustainable power. Your work here won't just power facilities. It will help power the future.

Requirements

M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Catalysis, or a closely related discipline with 2+ years of relevant academic, postdoctoral, or industrial research experience.
Demonstrated experience in heterogeneous catalyst design, synthesis, and testing, ideally within methane reforming, syngas production, or fuel cell/electrocatalysis research.
Strong hands-on experience with catalyst characterization techniques (XRD, TEM/SEM, XPS, BET, chemisorption).
Solid understanding of reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and reactor engineering principles.
Experience with reactor systems (fixed-bed, fluidized-bed, or microreactors) and gas analysis techniques (GC, GC-MS).
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and experimental design skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document and present technical findings clearly.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a cross-functional R&D environment.
Project management experience or history of leading independent research initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Experience supervising, mentoring, or providing technical direction to laboratory staff, junior scientists, technicians, interns, or research associates is preferred.
Experience translating lab-scale catalyst development into pilot-scale, supplier-supported, or commercial production environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as a hands-on technical supervisor for catalyst development activities, including planning and executing laboratory work, troubleshooting experiments, analyzing data, and ensuring timely completion of assigned deliverables.
Design, synthesize, and characterize heterogeneous catalysts for methane reforming and high temperature fuel cell applications (MCFC, SOFC), or related systems.
Conduct catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability testing using bench-scale and pilot-scale reactors under realistic operating conditions (temperature, pressure, gas composition).
Develop test and qualification plans for different concepts under evaluation.
Employ advanced characterization techniques (XRD, SEM, BET surface area analysis, GC, Mercury porosimetry, etc.) to correlate catalyst structure with performance.
Investigate deactivation mechanisms (coking, sintering, poisoning) and develop strategies to improve catalyst durability and lifetime.
Design experiments (DOE), analyze data, and apply statistical/computational tools to accelerate materials discovery and optimization.
Collaborate with manufacturing and suppliers to support scale-up from lab-scale synthesis to pilot and commercial production.
Provide day-to-day supervision, technical direction, workload prioritization, coaching, and development support for one direct report, including routine check-ins, performance feedback, and support for annual goal-setting processes.
Ensure direct report and assigned team activities follow applicable laboratory safety protocols, documentation standards, EHS requirements, and established testing procedures.
Maintain detailed laboratory records, prepare technical reports, and present findings to internal stakeholders and, where applicable, at scientific conferences.
Stay current with literature, patents, and emerging trends in catalysis, materials science, and hydrogen/fuel cell technologies.
Contribute to intellectual property development, including invention disclosures and patent applications.
Ensure compliance with laboratory safety protocols and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) standards.