R & D Lab Technician

Evolving Solution Services; Frederick (MD); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

InventWood, a DOE-backed climate-materials company in Frederick, MD, seeks an R&D Lab Technician to run bench-level experiments behind SUPERWOOD and to execute test protocols with precise record-keeping.

This hands-on role rewards patience, meticulous data discipline, and strong organization as you handle samples, calibrate instruments, and maintain reproducible datasets for ongoing projects.

Qualifications

• Associate degree or BS in a relevant science/engineering field with hands-on lab experience.
• Ability to run long, repetitive test series with consistent quality.
• Meticulous record-keeping with clean notebooks and data files.
• Proficient Excel for structured data entry, formulas, and basic charts.
• Comfort operating and maintaining lab instruments and following calibration procedures.

Responsibilities

• Executes test protocols and SOPs for mechanical testing, moisture, weathering, and density across large specimen sets.
• Prepares and conditions hundreds of samples with careful labeling.
• Records data in spreadsheets and electronic lab notebook with timestamps and instrument settings.
• Builds and maintains team spreadsheets, flags outliers or suspect values.
• Operates, calibrates, and maintains lab instruments including test frames, meters, ovens, and chambers.
• Notices drift or mislabeling and raises issues before contamination of data.
• Maintains sample traceability and inventory with orderly storage and retrieval.
• Supports quality control and failure analysis with proper documentation.
• Keeps lab organized, orders consumables, and maintains logs.
• Follows safety policies and promotes company Core Values; handles special projects.

Skills

Excel proficiency

Attention to detail

Laboratory testing

Data recording

SOP compliance

Equipment calibration

Documentation & traceability

Teamwork

Fluent English

Education

Associate degree or technical certification in science/engineering-technology

BS in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering, or related field

Tools

Universal test frames

Moisture meters

Balances

Ovens

Environmental chambers

Calipers

Micrometers

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Full Time Technical Frederick, MD, US

2 days ago Requisition ID: 1010

Summary

The R&D Lab Technician runs the bench-level experiments behind SUPERWOOD — a molecularly densified wood material. It's a hands-on technical role at a DOE-backed climate-materials company: you'll execute test protocols exactly as written, run the long repetitive test series that generate our most important data, and keep records clean enough that a result from three months or three years ago still holds up under scrutiny.

We're looking for someone methodical. A great deal of whether InventWood succeeds comes down to whether hundreds of nominally identical specimens were prepared, conditioned, and measured the same way — and whether the resulting dataset can be trusted. That work rewards patience, precision, and good record-keeping more than improvisation. This is a high-intensity, build-the-company environment; if you find real satisfaction in a well-run test series and a dataset with no gaps, this role is built for you.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Executes test protocols and SOPs exactly as written — mechanical testing, water soak and moisture measurement, accelerated weathering, dimensional and density measurement, and related characterization — across large specimen sets.
• Prepares and conditions specimens: cuts to size, labels, conditions, and tracks hundreds of samples at a time without ever losing track of which is which.
• Records data rigorously — enters results into structured spreadsheets and the electronic lab notebook with units, conditions, timestamps, and instrument settings captured, so anyone can reproduce exactly what was done.
• Builds and maintains the spreadsheets the team runs on — organizes raw data, applies formulas, produces summary tables and basic charts, and flags outliers or suspect values rather than quietly averaging them away.
• Operates, calibrates, and maintains lab instruments — universal test frames, moisture meters, balances, ovens, environmental chambers, calipers and micrometers — including routine calibration checks and upkeep.
• Notices when something is off — a drifting instrument, a specimen that doesn't match its label, a trend that contradicts the last run — and raises it before it contaminates a dataset.
• Maintains sample traceability and inventory: labels and photographs samples, keeps storage orderly and searchable, and retires samples on a defined schedule.
• Supports quality control and failure analysis, including preparing and documenting failed material for review with the R&D team.
• Keeps the lab organized, stocked, and running: cleaning, consumables ordering and procurement, and equipment and work logs.
• Follows all safety policies, standards, and regulations; upholds and promotes company Core Values and culture; takes on special projects as directed by your manager; and maintains strict confidentiality.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

• An associate's degree or technical certification in a science or engineering-technology field; a BS in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent hands-on lab experience. 2+ years in a lab, testing, or QC environment preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to run long, repetitive test series without quality drift — the two-hundredth specimen measured the same way as the first, on the last afternoon of the run as carefully as the first morning.
• Meticulous attention to detail and clean, complete records: notebooks and data files that someone else can pick up a month later and use without having to ask you a single question.
• Working proficiency in Excel — structured data entry, formulas (lookups, IF, basic statistical functions), sorting and filtering, pivot tables, and basic charting. Able to build a workbook that stays usable as it grows to thousands of rows.
• Comfortable operating and maintaining lab instruments and following calibration and measurement procedures precisely, including reading and applying test standards.
• Methodical and patient, with the judgment to stop and ask rather than improvise when a procedure doesn't fit what's actually in front of you.
• Highly organized: manages many concurrent sample sets, labels and stores them traceably, and keeps multiple deadlines straight under pressure.
• Team-oriented — brings energy, gets excited about building the company, and lifts the team, with strong emotional intelligence and humility.
• Fluent in English; able to work onsite 5 days a week in Frederick, MD, including evenings and weekends as deadlines require.

Physical Demands

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50-75% of the time, with prolonged periods standing at a lab table or operating equipment.