Senior Chemist

Cranleigh Scientific; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Senior Chemist to lead the development of innovative carbon materials with significant climate benefits. This role involves optimizing processes for high-value applications in energy storage and filtration, guiding product development, and ensuring safety standards in the lab.

Qualifications

• Proven industrial or research experience in carbon materials.
• Deep understanding of carbon synthesis/activation methods.
• Hands-on experience with characterisation techniques.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of high-value carbon materials.
• Characterise and optimise carbon processing methods.
• Provide supervision and mentorship to a junior chemist.

Skills

Problem-solving

Communication

Collaboration

Experiment design

Education

Degree in Chemistry

PhD in related discipline

Tools

BET

XRD

SEM

Job description

Cranleigh STEM is proud to partner with a high-growth start-up developing breakthrough technology to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

As part of its growth, the team is seeking a Senior Chemist to lead the development of high-value carbon materials derived from its proprietary process. This is a key technical role offering the opportunity to shape product applications, influence process design, and contribute to scale-up efforts for a technology with major climate impact.

Senior Chemist responsibilities

• Develop pathways to convert base carbon material into high-value forms (e.g. activated carbon, hard carbon).
• Evaluate upgraded carbon products for application in targeted markets, such as energy storage or filtration.
• Characterise carbon materials using analytical techniques including BET, XRD, SEM and others.
• Optimise carbon processing methods to maximise product quality while minimising energy and resource use.
• Collaborate with process engineers and product development teams to integrate material innovations into production.
• Contribute to scale-up activities, progressing from lab-scale (grams) to pilot and commercial quantities (kilograms to tonnes).
• Design purification and separation processes for carbon materials.
• Ensure all laboratory activities meet safety, risk assessment and COSHH standards.
• Provide day-to-day supervision and mentorship to one junior chemist.

Senior Chemist requirements

• Degree qualified (ideally to PhD level) in Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related discipline.
• Proven experience gained in a research or industrial experience focused on carbon materials or related fields.
• Deep understanding of carbon material characteristics and synthesis/activation routes.
• Hands-on experience with key characterisation techniques (BET, XRD, SEM, etc.).
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to design and iterate experiments independently.
• Familiarity with laboratory safety protocols and best practice (risk assessments, COSHH).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively in a fast-moving environment.

Desirable

• Experience with catalyst development or microwave-assisted chemistry.
• Prior involvement in early-stage or scale-up ventures.
• Familiarity with carbon applications in filtration, batteries, or adsorbents.