Chief Textile Scientist

SP Associates, Inc.; Groton (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

SP Associates, Inc. is seeking a pioneering researcher to lead platform-level opportunities in porous media materials. You will identify white-space areas, formulate hypotheses, and advance lab work from TRL 1–3 with scientific autonomy.

You will publish and present with external partners, apply AI-driven design of experiments, Bayesian optimization, and high-throughput methods, and help translate concepts into manufacturable processes.

Qualifications

• PhD in STEM category - Chemical, Mechanical, Material sciences, and other porous media related disciplines or BS/MS degrees with equivalent work experience.
• A track record of originating research and successful commercialization
• First-author publications and/or named inventorship
• 10+ years of product development experience
• Cross-domain literacy across the porous media landscape; deep expertise in one material class
• Computational and AI fluency: proficiency in design of experiments and Bayesian optimization; Python or equivalent scripting; familiarity with high-throughput experimentation platforms or closed-loop optimization systems
• An active, generative external scientific network; conference participation; invited presentations; peer-review activity
• The intellectual disposition to propose ideas that contradict current product logic and defend them with data
• Previous technology scouting experience

Responsibilities

• Scan the porous media landscape nonwovens, polymer membranes, Meta materials, other fibrous structures for convergence zones and white-space opportunities invisible from within a single material class
• Formulate original research hypotheses, design experiments to de-risk them, and execute at TRL 1–3 with full scientific independence
• Build and maintain an active presence in the external scientific community: publish, present, collaborate with academic partners, and serve as the scientific antenna in your domain
• Apply computational and AI-assisted tools high-throughput experimentation, design of experiments, Bayesian optimization to accelerate discovery cycle
• Communicate findings clearly to senior R&D and executive leadership: what you found, what it means, and just as importantly what you killed and why
• Identify opportunities to connect emerging platform concepts to existing technical and manufacturing capabilities where genuine synergy exist
• Lead or aid in the commercialization of platform concepts

Skills

AI fluency

Design of experiments

Bayesian optimization

Python

High-throughput experimentation

Education

PhD in STEM (Chemical/Mechanical/Material)

BS/MS with equivalent experience

Tools

Python scripting

Computational modeling

Job description

Location option - Groton, Massachusetts or Floyd, Virginia

Summar

yA leading advanced materials company is creating a dedicated scientific role for a pioneer researcher: someone who works best at the frontier of a field, defines their own questions, and is energized by the absence of a roadmap. Your mandate is to identify, investigate, and de-risk platform-level opportunities in porous media materials and mechanisms that could define entirely new product categories. You will report directly to senior R&D leadership, operating with genuine scientific autonomy. Title depends on experience and track record in the industry

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Essential Functions And Responsibiliti

es· Scan the porous media landscape nonwovens, polymer membranes, Meta materials, other fibrous structures for convergence zones and white-space opportunities invisible from within a single material clas

s.· Formulate original research hypotheses, design experiments to de-risk them, and execute at TRL 1–3 with full scientific independenc

e.· Build and maintain an active presence in the external scientific community: publish, present, collaborate with academic partners, and serve as the scientific antenna in your domai

n.· Apply computational and AI-assisted tools high-throughput experimentation, design of experiments, Bayesian optimization to accelerate discovery cycle

s.· Communicate findings clearly to senior R&D and executive leadership: what you found, what it means, and just as importantly what you killed and wh

y.· Identify opportunities to connect emerging platform concepts to existing technical and manufacturing capabilities where genuine synergy exist

s.· Lead or aid in the commercialization of platform concep

ts
Education And Experie

nce· PhD in STEM category - Chemical, Mechanical, Material sciences, and other porous media related disciplines or BS/MS degrees with equivalent work experie

nce· A track record of originating research and successful commercializati

on,· First-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and/or Named inventorship (not just assign

ee)· 10+ years of product development experie

nce· Cross-domain literacy across the porous media landscape. Deep expertise in one material class is expect

ed;· Computational and AI fluency: proficiency in design of experiments and Bayesian optimization (required); Python or equivalent scripting for data analysis (strongly preferred); familiarity with high-throughput experimentation platforms or closed loop optimization systems (a real differentiato

r).· An active, generative external scientific network, not passive literature consumption. Conference participation, invited presentations, peer-review activity, or academic collaboratio

ns.· The intellectual disposition to propose ideas that contradict current product logic and defend them with da

ta.· Previous technology scouting experie

nce