Associate Investigator (AI) Organic Polymer Chemist

1d1 day ago

DuPont

US · Full-time · $90,000 – $120,000

About this role

At DuPont, empower the world with essential innovations including clean water for billions, materials for smartphones and electric vehicles, and worker protection. Within Electronics and Industrial, reinforce R&D for HD Microsystems joint venture with Resonac. The Associate Investigator will be a DuPont employee on-loan, based at Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.

Perform hands-on laboratory work under a technical Principal Investigator on polymer chemistry projects emphasizing polyamide and polyimide synthesis. Apply expertise in analytical characterization, formulation, and coating processes. Work as part of an interdisciplinary team while independently designing and executing sub-team projects.

Conduct synthetic and polymerization reactions at scales from grams to kilograms, isolate and purify polymers, and prepare photosensitive formulations. Coat formulations in a clean room, evaluating process conditions on film properties. Analyze samples using NMR, FT-IR, GPC, DSC, viscosity, TGA, and TMA.

Contribute to all phases of project development from planning and execution to data collection and analysis. Maintain laboratory instrumentation, ensure safety practices, and manage chemical inventories. Occasionally lead sub-projects to advance high-performance coatings for semiconductors.

Requirements

B.S. in Chemistry or related fields with 2-4 years of hands-on wet chemistry and practical laboratory experience
Knowledge of organic chemistry, general polymerization processes, and basic functional group transformations
Experience with crosslinking reagents such as acrylics, phenolics, or epoxy resins
Knowledge of methods for polymer synthesis and characterization
Exceptional knowledge of and hands-on experience with NMR, GPC, FT-IR including data interpretation
High level of creativity and productivity
Commitment to laboratory safety including PPE usage, proper chemical disposal, and inventory management
Experienced in maintaining laboratory in good working condition and ordering supplies and chemicals

Responsibilities

Independently conduct synthetic reactions including assembly, monitoring, product work-up, analysis, characterization, and documentation using electronic laboratory notebook
Conduct polymerization reactions at scale from a few grams to a few kilograms including assembling glassware, weighing reagents, and controlling reaction rate
Isolate and purify polymers
Prepare photosensitive formulations of polymers
Coat formulations in a clean room and evaluate effect of process conditions on final film properties
Analyze polymer, liquid formulations, and cured film samples using NMR, FT-IR, GPC, DSC, viscosity, TGA, TMA
Operate and maintain laboratory instrumentation
Contribute to all phases of project development including planning, execution, data collection, and analysis