Lead Scientist

Roadrunner Venture Studios; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care stipend

Equity opportunities

Flexible work environment

Time for self-development

Job summary

Roadrunner Venture Studios in Albuquerque is seeking a Lead Scientist to advance its R&D efforts in producing cost-competitive graphite. The role includes leading experiments, mentoring technicians, and aligning strategies for commercialization. Candidates should possess a Ph.D. in Chemical or Materials Engineering and at least 8 years of R&D experience. The salary range is $90,000 - $120,000 yearly, with benefits including health care stipends and equity opportunities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in rigorous R&D environments.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
• Strong technical literacy in engineering or materials science.

Responsibilities

• Lead installation and troubleshooting of lab equipment.
• Design and execute rigorous design-of-experiments (DOE) programs.
• Manage the lab team and mentor junior hires.

Skills

Organizational skills

Strategic planning

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or Materials Engineering

Job description

About Halo Materials

Halo Materials is a venture-backed advanced materials company pioneering novel technologies to produce domestic, cost-competitive graphite for advanced energy and manufacturing supply chains. Headquartered in New Mexico, we build a scalable, lower-emissions process to produce high-performance graphite critical to batteries, grid storage, EVs, AI datacenters, drones, and consumer electronics.

About The Role

Halo Materials is seeking a Lead Scientist to work closely with the CTO to advance our technical priorities. This high-impact role is ideal for someone who enjoys defining and executing a research plan, moves fluidly between modeling “what should be tested” and conducting hands‑on lab work, and relishes the challenge of building an R&D‑heavy company from the ground up.

You’ll own the experimental roadmap as we progress from lab‑scale testing to commercial‑scale reactor design and systems integration. Responsibilities include designing and leading experiments, setting up and troubleshooting equipment, managing lab technicians, and data analysis to feed future experiments. This hands‑on technical leadership position requires deep‑tech expertise, team leadership, and high‑level technical strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead installation, calibration, commissioning, and troubleshooting of core lab equipment.
• Design and execute rigorous design‑of‑experiments (DOE) programs to optimize graphite growth parameters.
• Identify performance drivers, bottlenecks, and failure modes to improve yield, purity, energy efficiency, and scalability.
• Build scalable systems for experimental data collection, storage, and analysis.
• Translate lab results into techno‑economic inputs for commercialization strategy.
• Develop and document SOPs for safe, repeatable, scalable lab operations.
• Co‑manage and mentor lab technicians.
• Train and develop junior technical hires.
• Collaborate with external research partners.
• Work closely with R&D scientists and executive leadership to align milestones with strategy and commercial objectives.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a closely related field.
• 8+ years of experience in rigorous R&D environments (university labs, deep‑tech startups, or corporate research).
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi‑stakeholder projects involving lab environments, infrastructure, tech transfer, or industrial scale‑up.
• Strong organizational, strategic, and analytical skills; comfortable toggling between tactical execution and high‑level planning.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success working closely with C‑level leaders and managing competing priorities.
• Technical literacy in engineering, materials science, or chemical processes.

Nice to Have

• Experience in adjacent high‑temperature, catalytic, carbon, or materials growth processes (e.g., petrochemicals, ceramics, battery materials, semiconductors, metallurgy, industrial gas processing).
• Experience with government grants, compliance reporting, or lab buildouts.

What We Look For (Beyond the Resume)

• A track record of execution: designing experiments, making decisions with imperfect data, and driving results.
• Comfort operating in both research and production environments.
• Ownership mentality with high accountability and curiosity.
• Entrepreneurial speed balanced with technical discipline.
• Grit, resilience, and the ability to turn ambiguity into actionable next steps.

Compensation

$90,000 - $120,000 a year

Why Join Halo Materials?

• Strengthen Energy & Supply Chains – Work on advanced materials that directly impact batteries, energy systems, and U.S. manufacturing resilience.
• Scale Breakthrough Graphite Technology – Help move a breakthrough technology from lab to commercial production.
• Rigorous Science, Startup Velocity – Join a mission‑driven team that values rigorous science, fast execution, and taking care of its people.
• Technical Ownership & Autonomy – Take meaningful ownership in a technically ambitious environment.
• Competitive pay, full benefits, and equity.

• An independent role with a supportive and flexible work environment.
• Time for self‑development, research, training, conferences, or certification schemes.
• Full range of competitive benefits including a health care stipend and equity.