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Senior Polymer Characterization Specialist (100%)

Zurich, Switzerland
Ready to join a team of visionaries who is dedicated to solving one of humankind’s greatest challenges?

Get to know Climeworks

Climeworks removes CO₂ from the air to fight global warming and protect future generations to come.

We develop, build and operate direct air capture (DAC) machines which capture CO₂ directly from the air. The captured carbon dioxide is removed from the air by safely storing it underground, permanently.

Founded in 2009 by engineers, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks was built with a mission to inspire 1 billion people to remove CO₂ from the air, and is now spearheading the DAC industry globally. It has the world’s largest DAC facility and storage installation in operation and a team of over 300 Climeworkers determined to contribute to a net-zero future.

A true climate pioneer, Climeworks is featured as a TIME100 Influential Company 2022 and Global Cleantech 100 Company 2022, driving a revolutionary technology engineered to solve the most pressing issue of our time.

We foster a dynamic environment and are building a global purpose driven team. We are looking for disruptive thinkers, passionate achievers and inspiring leaders that are ready to take on the world’s greatest challenge.

Will you join us? 

Your mission

Job description
  • Your mission at Climeworks is to determine physical and chemical properties of polymer materials to enable efficient material design and improvement.
  • You perform testing campaigns for new and existing sorbents, to assess their potential for the Climeworks Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology.
  • You pinpoint chemical/mechanical degradation mechanisms of polymers and develop effective strategies to mitigate polymer degradation.
  • You utilize advanced material characterization techniques to establish structure property relationships of polymer materials.
  • You develop and optimize laboratory experiments to predict sorbent behavior.
  • You will be part of our multidisciplinary team of chemists, materials scientists, and chemical engineers.
  • You instill efficient team and department collaboration, assuring continuous learning and development.
  • You manage collaborations with internal and external partners to complement Climeworks in-house R&D activities.
  • You are on top of the newest findings and publications in your field.
  • You ensure the correct, accurate, and normed maintenance of laboratory infrastructure and implement a safety-first culture in laboratories and on-site and you take the responsibility in accurately documenting your experimental work.
  • You maintain confidentiality of new concepts and designs, including in discussion with suppliers by arranging NDAs, etc. as well as ensuring that the patent responsible is informed regarding new concepts & designs so that new designs can be patented.
  • You respect Climeworks safety rules and communicate to the department head recognized risks and you participate in safety exercises, courses, and refresher courses.

Your story

Requirements
  • You have an advanced degree in materials or polymer science.
  • You have at least 5 years of hands-on experience in material characterization, preferably with high-porosity materials used for gas separation or water treatment.
  • You have advanced knowledge in characterization and understanding of solid materials, membranes, and polymers in general.
  • You are motivated to do hands-on laboratory work and train more junior colleagues.
  • You have knowledge of failure modes of materials and polymers.
  • You gathered experience with porous particle/powder characterization, such as mercury porosimetry, nitrogen adsorption or dynamic vapor sorption.
  • You are a results-oriented, independent developer.
  • You are a strong communicator who can explain both the big picture as well as technical details to a broad audience and can work in cross-functional teams.
  • You are business fluent in English and open to travel occasionally (less than 10%).


What we offer: A horizontal organization, a great team, an improvement-oriented approach, and a scale-up venture with an innovative technology. Sounds like you? We are looking forward meeting you! Apply now by filling in the online application form and uploading your complete dossier to our careers portal: https://www.climeworks.com/careers.

Our promise: At Climeworks, you are accepted for who you are.
As part of our ongoing journey towards creating a diverse and inclusive environment - we encourage everyone to apply! All qualified applicants are considered for positions, so bring along your knowledge, personal experiences, and fresh perspectives, and together we can solve one of humankind’s greatest challenges. We look forward to getting to know you!


We do not accept candidates from agencies for our positions.

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At Climeworks, we believe the people make all the difference. Discover other opportunities and learn more about our team, our technology and our culture.

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