Autonomous Catalysis Research Fellow

NU USA Northeastern University; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Northeastern University in Boston invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will design and conduct experimental heterogeneous-catalysis research within autonomous, closed-loop lab workflows.

The role integrates catalyst synthesis, high-throughput reactor testing, and in situ characterization with machine-learning methods to accelerate discovery of catalytic materials for energy and sustainability.

Qualifications

• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related field.
• Knowledge of heterogeneous catalysis, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and structure–reactivity relationships.
• Ability to design and operate catalytic reactors.
• Ability to synthesize and characterize catalysts.
• Proficiency in Python programming.
• Ability to apply machine-learning methods to scientific data.
• Ability to work independently and across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Design, synthesize, and test heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., supported metals, oxides, single-atom systems, and high-entropy metal alloy systems) and operate catalytic reactors to measure activity, selectivity, and kinetics for targeted thermo- and/or electrocatalytic reactions.
• Develop and run closed-loop autonomous workflows that couple automated synthesis, high-throughput screening, and online/in situ characterization with active-learning and Bayesian-optimization pipelines to guide experiment selection.
• Build agentic artificial intelligence (AI) workflows and FAIR experimental data infrastructure for instrument orchestration, automated data curation, and autonomous hypothesis generation linking synthesis, characterization, and performance.
• Analyze experimental and characterization data to extract structure–reactivity relationships and connect empirical findings to mechanistic and kinetic interpretation.
• Disseminate results through peer-reviewed publications and presentations, contribute to proposals and reports, and help mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers and steward shared instrumentation.

Skills

Python programming

Machine learning

Heterogeneous catalysis

Independent work

Education

PhD in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science

Tools

Catalyst synthesis

High-throughput reactor testing

Job description

Northeastern University in Boston invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will design and conduct experimental heterogeneous-catalysis research within autonomous, closed-loop lab workflows.

The role integrates catalyst synthesis, high-throughput reactor testing, and in situ characterization with machine-learning methods to accelerate discovery of catalytic materials for energy and sustainability.