Chemist

Allonnia’s purpose is the pursuit of imaginative solutions to solve the world’s toughest waste challenges through biology. Allonnia is leveraging the power of biotechnology and engineered systems to degrade or sequester pollutants and upcycle waste. Our ethos at Allonnia is to work in harmony with nature, combining biology and technology to fast forward time and bring Nature’s future solutions to the present day. Through this collaboration we will unlock the potential in waste and enable a world where nothing is wasted. Allonnia is backed by Battelle, Ginkgo Bioworks, Viking Global, General Atlantic, EVOK and Cascade Investments.

Mission of the Position

The primary objective of this role, as part of Allonnia’s product development team, is to develop sustainable solutions that decarbonize the mining industry. Check out the 2-minute video of our D-Solve solution and see the impact you can have if you join our team!

As part of the D-Solve team, your primary role will be to design and implement innovative experimental plans that result in new products that selectively remove impurities and gangue materials from targeted mining ores/concentrates/tailings.

This is a full-time position, with approximately 85% of the time dedicated to hands-on laboratory work and 15% allocated for project management, data analysis, and reporting duties.

Key Criteria/Requirements

• A Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry
• Candidates with other Ph.D.’s will also be considered (e.g. mineral aquatic chemistry, chemical engineering, material science, geochemistry, biochemistry, geology, mineralogy, or a related field.)
• Candidates with a master's degree and equivalent experience will also be considered.
• 5-10 years of industry experience
• Experience in and a strong understanding of organic chemistry, polymer material sciences or a similar discipline is required.
• Experience in mining is preferred.
• Experience in data processing and analysis is preferred.
• Preferred experience in chemical or biochemical extraction of metal ions from mining ores, such as acid or heap leaching.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully managing projects to achieve their objectives, or the ability to make informed decisions regarding project discontinuation when necessary.
• Willingness to commit approximately 85% of working hours to laboratory activities, including research, experimentation, and analysis.
• Proficiency in project management, including planning, execution, monitoring, and reporting, to ensure successful project outcomes.

Measurable Accountabilities

Project Scoping

• Collaboratively design scope of all technical projects using experimental design principles
• All projects have clearly defined fast fail milestones with kill criteria
• All projects have documented risks and mitigation plans

Project Execution & Management

• Manage 2-3 laboratory projects at the same time
• Achieving 80% of key milestones on time and on budget or go/no go decision
• Document work, procedures, observations, and results

Communication

• Develop cadence and clear communication of progress on experiments
• Embrace transparency; communicate early and often even for bad news
• Consistent and clear communication to Allonnia technical team
• Demonstrate good written communication skills for findings and reports

Brand Advancement

• Present at 1-2 conferences/associations per year
• Represent Allonnia with outside labs
• Foster technical relationships with development partners

Debrief and Learning

• Documentation of work, procedures, observations, and results done throughout the project
• All experiments upon completion (or at critical phases) will have a debrief with the team
• Debrief summary and learnings will documented

Reporting and Papers

• Contributing to 1 technical paper per year

Allonnia Core Values

Purposeful

Committing to work on the right things as individuals & as a company, delivering impactful results as a team

Entrepreneurial

Taking initiative, innovating and acting with urgency and adaptability, driving to win in the market

Transparent

Fostering a high trust environment that embraces constructive debate, achieving success together