Senior Research Chemist

Company: Livent Corporation
Location: Bessemer City
Posted on: January 23, 2023

Job Description:

About Livent: Livent powers the things that power our lives. From the revolution in electric vehicle batteries and mobile devices to the strong, lightweight alloys and advanced polymers that take innovation further, we harness lithium technology to help the world move forward-cleaner, healthier and more sustainably. For nearly eight decades, we've been harnessing lithium's potential to change the energy landscape. We are a pioneer in the lithium industry and have a rich history of breakthrough innovations and industry achievements, including partnering with Sony Corporation to develop the first ever Lithium-ion battery for commercial use. Today, Livent builds on our heritage and is a global leader in the lithium industry with a differentiated product offering, proven track record and sustainability profile. Our customer portfolio includes some of the most dynamic companies in the world, including Tesla, and BMW Group. Our customers look to us to meet the most demanding technical requirements, drawing upon our strengths in R&D with our advanced engineering capabilities, industry-leading materials science expertise, fully integrated global supply chain, and passion for continuous improvement and excellence. Together, we work to safely and sustainably convert lithium's potential into commercial progress, driving not only incremental improvements and also next generation, transformative opportunities. For customers at the forefront of the once in a generation shift in how the world powers itself - and the fight against climate change - Livent is the lithium technology partner that's leading the way. Position Summary: The Senior Research Chemist is responsible for bringing in innovation and resolving fundamental technical challenges towards advancing Li-ion and Li-metal batteries. This role works with Livent's ERl and Product Development teams and engages in activities and trends in the external energy storage industry, specifically focused on development of lithium materials for lithium batteries for near future and long-term applications. The Senior Research Chemist will be responsible for identifying and leading strategic initiatives, conducting and designing technical development activities to enable innovation, either through executing in-house research and/or collaborating with external partners. The successful candidate for this position should be comfortable working independently and in a hands-on manner that interacts with a wide range of team members. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Promote a strong belief that all incidents are preventable and that no job is worth doing that would risk the health, safety, or welfare of the plant employees or community. Promote SHE policies and practices through participations in the safety team and through interactions with all employees. Collaborate with cross functional teams in developing future Road Maps, defining milestones and deliverables. Develop and test new rechargeable energy storage technologies that are fundamentally scalable at the Gigafactory level. Facilitate strategic decision-making processes by applying quantitative methods such as machine learning/statistics and fundamental modeling. Lead establishment of the new equipment capabilities. Provide technical leadership: design, direct and execute laboratory experiments. Interpret data and communicate clearly and proactively in formal and informal manners. Participate as member or resource to the commercial team to address technical issues with external partners. Prepare high quality and well written technical reports. Communicate insights and recommendations clearly and visually through presentations and interactive tools. Identify relevant intellectual property, including monitoring competitive activity and assist in drafting patents for Livent inventions. Lead projects and/or teams in a timely and organized manner through clear communication and through setting and monitoring goals. Supervisory Responsibility: N/A Education and Experience: M.S. or Ph.D. in a related discipline (e.g., Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Physical Chemistry, Electrochemistry) required. 3 to 6 years of experience working within the lithium battery industry is required. Experience in sourcing, applying to, and executing government/academic funding opportunities to further strategic innovation and R&D initiatives is a plus. Extensive experience and deep understanding of LiB technology including xEV is required; knowledge of LiB electrolyte additives/salts is a plus. In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with the materials characterization techniques such as Cyclic Voltammetry, Galvanostatic cycling, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), light-scattering, NMR, FT-IR, XRD, BET surface area, GC mass spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis (DSC/TGA/DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy dispersive spectrometry, electron mapping, Raman spectroscopy, surface techniques, etc. Polymer science, organic synthesis and organic compounds characterization experience is a plus. Knowledge and Skill Requirements: Demonstrated strong communication skills with the ability to build internal and external relationships with business and research personnel. Proven ability to take initiative and to perform duties in a self-directed manner. Track record of successful grant proposal writing is a plus. Demonstrated strong technical writing skills. Demonstrated portfolio of publications and/or presentations. Experience in DOE (Design of Experiment) is required. Prior experience in project management is a plus. Physical Demands: The job requires multiple hours of standing and performing laboratory tests; lifting items of up to 50 pounds in weight. Changing gas cylinders is sometimes required which involves manually manipulating a cylinder onto and off a hand-truck transportation device. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms; climb stairs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision and depth perception. Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly has the potential to be exposed to reactive, toxic, acidic, or caustic chemicals. The employee occasionally has the potential to be exposed to moving mechanical parts, and fumes or airborne particles. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; high places; outside weather conditions; vibrations; office environments; laboratories; and chemical plants. Safety Requirements: All employees are expected to carry out their work functions in a healthy and safe manner, to encourage and always support safe work practices, and to report and/or rectify any unsafe conditions that may come to their attention immediately. Participation in the sites numerous safety programs is a requirement. Housekeeping is important, and we expect the employee to maintain a clean and organized work area. Some of the chemicals we handle are reactive and they must be worked with in a safe manner. Personal Protective Equipment - Must wear PPE as required based on job duties. Travel Required: Some domestic and international travel using all forms of transportation is required. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. LIVENT employs people across a broad range of occupations in locations across the world. We are looking for people to join us in creating, developing, and improving our products, our processes, and our markets. Employees enjoy competitive compensation, a menu of work/life benefits and opportunities to continue developing their skills and building their career. LIVENT is an Equal Opportunity Employer, EEO, AAE, MFDV and supports a drug free workplace.

Keywords: Livent Corporation, Gastonia , Senior Research Chemist, Other , Bessemer City, North Carolina