Lead Scientist

NextGenEnergyJobs; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Halo Materials, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is seeking a highly qualified individual to lead the installation and optimization of lab processes for advanced graphite production. The role involves designing experiments, managing teams, and ensuring the scalability of lab operations. Ideal candidates will possess a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or a related field with over 8 years of experience in R&D environments.

The successful candidate will need excellent communication skills and a proven track record of managing complex projects, working closely with both technical teams and executive leadership to align research initiatives with company goals.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in research and development environments.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
• Experience in high-temperature and materials growth processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead installation and calibration of lab equipment.
• Design experiments to optimize graphite growth parameters.
• Build systems for data collection and analysis.
• Translate lab results to inform commercialization strategy.
• Develop SOPs for safe lab operations.

Skills

Leadership in projects

Technical communication

Analytical skills

Project management

Experimental design

Education

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or Materials Engineering

Job description

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.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead installation, calibration, commissioning, and troubleshooting of core lab equipment to rapidly expand experimental capacity.
• Design and execute rigorous design-of-experiments (DOE) programs to optimize graphite growth parameters such as temperature, feedstock composition, residence time, and process conditions.
• Identify performance drivers, bottlenecks, and failure modes to continuously improve yield, purity, energy efficiency, and scalability.
• Build scalable systems for experimental data collection, storage, and analysis to ensure high-quality, decision-ready insights.
• Translate lab results into techno-economic inputs (e.g. cost per kg, energy intensity, throughput) to inform commercialization strategy.
• Develop and document SOPs for safe, repeatable, and scalable lab operations.
• Co-manage and mentor lab technicians to expand experimental capacity and execution speed.
• Train and develop junior technical hires, building a culture of rigor, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with external research partners to investigate underlying graphite growth mechanisms and unlock performance improvements.
• Work closely with peer R&D scientists and executive leadership to align technical milestones with company strategy and commercial objectives.
• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or closely related field
• 8+ years of experience in rigorous research and development environments such as university labs, deep tech startups, or corporate research teams.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder projects—ideally involving lab environments, infrastructure, tech transfer, or industrial process 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.
• Experience in adjacent industries where similar high-temperature, catalytic, carbon, or materials growth processes are used — such as petrochemicals, advanced ceramics, specialty chemicals, battery materials, semiconductors, metallurgy, or industrial gas processing.
• Experience with government grants, compliance reporting, or lab buildouts.
• A track record of execution — how you design experiments, make decisions with imperfect data, and drive results matters as much as where you’ve worked.
• Comfort operating in both research and production environments; experience in one or both is valuable, but your ability to move science toward application is what counts.
• Ownership mentality with high accountability and curiosity.
• Entrepreneurial speed balanced with technical discipline.
• Grit, resilience, and an ability to turn ambiguity into actionable next steps.