Fuel Cell Electrochemist - Nanostructured Electrode Research

Amphiform; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Amphiform is developing ultrathin, vapour-deposited hybrid materials for next-gen energy applications. You will build the electrochemistry lab, develop measurement methods for fragile samples, and lead early and future work on hydrogen PEM and AEM fuel cells.

On-site in Berkeley, you will work with the deposition team to test and characterise samples as we scale. You will bring a PhD with 5+ years in industry, demonstrate impedance fluency, and set up a new lab with the right fixtures and test

Qualifications

• PhD in electrochemistry, chemical engineering or materials science with depth in electrochemical devices.
• 5+ years developing electrochemical devices in industry (fuel cells, electrolysers or batteries).
• Hands-on fuel cell development and MEA experience.
• Experience measuring electrochemistry on thin or fragile samples.
• Ability to plan lab from scratch and select equipment and fixtures.

Responsibilities

• Build the electrochemistry lab and establish testing methods.
• Characterise materials electrochemically: conductivity, activity and kinetics.
• Run first working cells: performance, durability and stress testing.
• Collaborate with deposition team and feed findings back.

Skills

Electrochemistry

Lab setup

Impedance analysis

Fuel cell testing

Python for data analysis

Education

PhD in electrochemistry

PhD in materials science

Tools

MEA fabrication equipment

Test stations

Impedance spectroscopy setup

Job description

Amphiform (amphiform.com) is building next-gen energy materials for AI data centres, defence and space: light, abundant and powerful. We achieve that by creating a new type of matter: hybrid materials, built atomic layer by atomic layer, where every atom has a pre-programmed purpose.

We just closed a $5.5+1m pre-seed led by General Catalyst and Main Object, with Thomas Wolf (Hugging Face), Charlie Songhurst, and others.

The role:

We are developing a new class of electrode material for fuel cells: ultrathin, vapour-deposited hybrid materials with custom properties. This does not measure like a conventional catalyst layer. Your first job is to build our electrochemistry lab and the methods to test these early samples properly: what to measure, how to measure it on materials that are very thin, very small and easily damaged. Within a few months the role grows into leading our electrochemistry research: hydrogen PEM first, then direct methanol and anion-exchange-membrane fuel cells. You will be our first dedicated electrochemistry hire, working directly with the deposition team, on-site in Berkeley, CA.

What you'll do:

• Build the electrochemistry lab.
• Develop measurement methods for ultrathin, fragile samples: fixturing, contacting, environmental control.
• Characterise our materials electrochemically: conductivity, catalyst activity and utilisation, kinetics and impedance.
• Run the first working cells: performance, durability and accelerated stress testing, and post-mortem analysis with our characterisation partners
• Feed findings back to the deposition team.
• Hydrogen PEM, then direct methanol and AEM fuel cells.

What we're looking for:

• PhD in electrochemistry, chemical engineering or materials science (or equivalent depth), plus 5+ years developing electrochemical devices in industry: fuel cells, electrolysers or batteries at a company that ships product at scale
• Hands-on fuel cell development: you have made MEAs, run single-cell test stations etc.
• Impedance fluency: you can propose an equivalent circuit for an unfamiliar cell, assign each element to a physical process, and say where the assignment is ambiguous
• Experience measuring electrochemistry on thin, small or fragile samples, and the contacting and artefact problems that come with them
• You have set up a lab or a test capability from scratch: chose the equipment, built the fixtures, wrote the procedures

Nice to have:

• Time inside a large-scale cell or stack programme (automotive OEM, battery or fuel cell manufacturer)
• Direct methanol or AEM fuel cell experience
• Thin-film characterisation background
• Familiarity with vapour deposition or cleanroom-based sample handling
• Python for data analysis and test automation