Analytical Lab Specialist

Azolla Ventures; Fort Lupton (CO); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Healthcare coverage

HSA contributions

401(k) plan with match

Paid leave

Job summary

Charm Industrial, based in Colorado, seeks a hands-on Lab Specialist to lead experimental work for bio-oil behavior in subsurface conditions. You will collaborate with reservoir engineers and fellow scientists to design, build, and run tests, gather data, and support regulatory submissions as Charm expands its footprint.

The role emphasizes building reactors, troubleshooting, and producing high-quality data while coordinating with external labs and third-party sites.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Geology, or relevant scientific discipline.
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) and/or 4+ years experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and run laboratory experiments and test systems, including high pressure and high temperature systems.
• Take an experimental concept from a teammate and turn it into an executed test that generates real, usable learnings.
• Manage field samples (brine, sand, bio-oil, and other materials) at our Colorado lab, including registration, tracking, and storage.
• Manage third‑party lab relationships: send samples, track turnaround, review results, and travel occasionally to third‑party labs and Charm field sites for sample collection.
• Build and follow repeatable, well‑documented test protocols so that outside labs and colleagues can execute them consistently.
• Keep experimental data organized and reported through our electronic databases so results are traceable and easy for teammates to use.
• Flex to support other MSE lab projects as priorities require.

Job description

About Charm

Our mission is to return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂. We convert excess inedible biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into underground storage for permanent carbon removal. At scale, we can use bio-oil to make fossil-free iron.

Our carbon removal efforts began in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify, and Microsoft. Since then, we’ve scaled to thousands of tons of carbon removal, grown to over a hundred employees, and established three locations in San Francisco, Colorado, and Louisiana.

We're expanding our team of ambitious, creative, and hands‑on problem solvers. We value psychological safety, collaboration, and continuous learning. We take calculated risks and treat mistakes as opportunities to improve. If you're excited about tackling big challenges, we encourage you to explore our company values.

Come help us reverse climate change. Gigatons or bust!

About the Role

Charm injects bio-oil underground for permanent carbon removal, and we need to understand how that bio-oil behaves once it meets rock, sediment, and brine. We are seeking a hands‑on Lab Specialist to join our Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) team and own the experimental work that answers those questions.

You will work with Charm's reservoir engineers and other technical leads to design experiments, build reactors and new experimental systems, and perform experiments to gather key data for business development. These systems may involve high pressure, high temperature, porous media, or vacuum systems. The data you generate will deepen our knowledge of bio-oil properties in the subsurface and support the regulatory applications we file as we expand our operational footprint into new jurisdictions.

You will also support other critical MSE lab projects, including bio-oil and biochar analysis. This role calls for strong chemistry fundamentals and a real drive to design, build, troubleshoot, and run rigorous experiments. We are looking for an experimentalist who is energized by building things from scratch, gets satisfaction from generating high‑quality data, and treats a failed system or experiment as a problem to solve rather than a dead end.

This role is part of Charm's analytical team and reports to the Lead Analytical Scientist in Colorado. It is based onsite at our facility in Fort Lupton, CO.

Your Responsibilities

• Work closely with our reservoir engineering team to understand testing needs for exploration and permitting of new wells
• Co-design experiments with Charm's reservoir engineers for reservoir compatibility studies that feed regulatory submissions and/or support formation characterization and tracer analysis studies
• Design, build, and run laboratory experiments and test systems, including high pressure and high temperature systems
• Take an experimental concept from a teammate and turn it into an executed test that generates real, usable learnings
• Manage field samples (brine, sand, bio-oil, and other materials) at our Colorado lab, including registration, tracking, and storage
• Manage third‑party lab relationships: send samples, track turnaround, review results, and travel occasionally to third‑party labs and Charm field sites for sample collection
• Build and follow repeatable, well‑documented test protocols so that outside labs and colleagues can execute them consistently
• Keep experimental data organized and reported through our electronic databases so results are traceable and easy for teammates to use
• Flex to support other MSE lab projects (for example, filtration studies or other bio‑oil characterization work) as priorities require

You Bring

• A safety‑first approach to experiments, sampling, and equipment operation
• A commitment to rigorous science
• Bachelor’s degree is required in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Geology, or relevant scientific discipline; Advanced degree (MS or PhD) and/or 4+ years experience preferred.
• An experimentalist mindset: you like building reactors and experimental systems, running experiments, collecting data, and iterating on results
• Hands‑on experience designing, building, or operating laboratory testing equipment, ideally including high pressure and/or high temperature systems
• Solid working knowledge of chemistry fundamentals
• Strong equipment troubleshooting skills: you are comfortable diagnosing why a system or experiment isn't behaving as expected and iterating toward a fix
• Analytical and critical thinking, including sound judgement about data quality and what a result does and does not tell you
• Clear written and verbal communication, and a habit of partnering well with engineers, scientists, and outside labs
• Comfort managing samples and coordinating with third‑party labs, including tracking, documentation, and reporting
• Comfort using digital communication, database tools, and AI tools to keep your team and external partners up to date
• Ability to prioritize and work through ambiguity in a fast‑paced, ever‑changing environment
• Willingness to travel occasionally to third‑party labs or Charm field sites for sample collection and onsite support (up to 10% of time)

Bonus, if You Bring

• Experience with subsurface, geochemistry, or reservoir‑adjacent testing
• Experience with complex organic fluids such as bio‑oil, petroleum fractions, heavy oils, or reactive mixtures
• Experience with corrosion or metallurgy testing
• Experience with oil and gas topside infrastructure (oil‑water separation, blending tanks, filtration, process piping, pumps, and similar)

$85,000 - $150,000 a year

What We Offer

• Equity ownership through stock options
• 100% employee healthcare premiums covered
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with multiple plan options
• Employer‑funded HSA contributions for eligible HDHP plans
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 50% match on contributions up to 6%
• Paid leave, including parental and medical leave
• PPE and workwear allowances
• Annual professional development stipend
• Employee recognition programs that celebrate impactful work and team contributions
• Opportunities for internal growth, career development, and transition into climate from a range of industries and backgrounds

Visa Sponsorship Policy

Since we are a small startup, certain accommodations for visa sponsorship may not be within our capability. At this time, Charm Industrial is only sponsoring E3 and TN visas.

Our Commitment

Charm Industrial is an equal opportunity employer. We hire based on skills, experience, and passion for our mission. Climate challenges require a wide range of perspectives and expertise, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We’re excited to grow our team with people who bring unique strengths and help us improve as a company.