Scientist or Materials Engineer - Materials Sciences (Science & Technology)

Position: Scientist or Materials Engineer - Materials Sciences (Science & Technology)

Location: Lower Hutt, Wellington
Employment type: permanent, full-time
Hours of work: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm (40 hours per week, minimum guaranteed 40 hours per week)

Salary range: $85,000 - $110,000

Liquium is seeking a Scientist or Materials Engineer to join our team and help us
further develop our ammonia production catalysts to become the new industrial
standard. Our unique family of catalysts are outperforming against their
commercial counterparts, and we are working with international global leaders to
help validate and scale our technology. You'll join a team of scientists based in
Wellington, New Zealand, at our site in Gracefield, Lower Hutt. You'll actively
contribute to our scientific strategy and be encouraged to be innovative and
identify the next best thing. Your involvement will help translate scientific
discovery to real-world impact.

About the role
As a scientist or materials engineer, you will have a practical and theoretical
understanding of materials science development and characterisation tools and
methods for advanced chemistry, physics, or engineering, particularly for
ammonia synthesis and process optimisation.

You will directly contribute to the current and next-generation catalysts we are
developing for ammonia production. This involves:

• Working in chemistry laboratories with hazardous materials (Largely
  Inorganic materials).
• Developing new experimental plans with detailed safety assessments.
• Characterising materials properties with X-ray Diffraction, Topography
  assessments, and elemental analysis.
• Collaborate with the entire team on active work programmes for global
  leaders in the ammonia industry.
• Development of our catalyst materials and their physical properties to
  enhance our ammonia production capacity.
• Development of our process systems and modelling for ammonia
  production.
• Demonstrating an increase for ammonia production capacity with our
  systems or through the collaboration with external parties.

The position will be available to start from the beginning of June.
About you
We are looking for people who are (1) passionate about science and (2) motivated by
the opportunity and challenge of working in a start-up. This individual should be
highly intelligent and motivated. Our team are provided autonomy and responsibility,
so you should show initiative and be able to work with plenty of support but limited
oversight.

Our ideal candidate has:
- Master or Science/Engineering and/or Doctorate Qualifications in a
relevant study area (i.e., Physics, Chemistry, Chemical and Process
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering).
- Early career experience working in either professional labs or academic
environments (preferable).
- Excellent technical report writing skills.
- A competitive drive and a team player.
- A "Je ne sais quoi" quality for the life you lead: skills and experience
beyond the lab or university.

Liquium is an innovative developer of ammonia catalysts. Our vision and goal are
that these catalysts can become the new industry standard for current and future
ammonia plants. Liquium was spun out of research developed at Victoria
University of Wellington in 2022. Liquium was the first recipient in the southern
hemisphere to be part of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme
(established by Bill Gates). Liquium has received multiple international awards and
has just secured additional funding to support our future growth. Liquium holds
multiple patents and is working with global companies representing >20B.

Ammonia is one of the worlds largest synthetic chemicals, supporting food
production for 50% of the global population. However, ammonia as a zero-carbon
molecule has been identified as the leading candidate for the next clean fuel for
heavy applications and the hard-to-abate industries, i.e. international shipping and
coal power plants. A new, highly reactive catalyst is the most effective way to help
this industry become more productive and energy-efficient.

If this science, industry and team sound interesting, then please send us your cv and
a cover letter detailing your experience and suitability for this position.