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Bolt Threads is looking for several research associates/senior research associates to help us develop new formulations to improve material properties. Ideal candidates will have strong technical fundamentals in material science/polymers, textile engineering/nonwovens, or composites and practical experience in the design and execution of experiments, analyze mechanical performance data and build data models, as well as an ability to work in a collaborative setting. This position will play a key role in a multidisciplinary research team working to develop mycelium-based textiles. We are looking for multiple candidates which include a wide range of expertise.
Within the first 30 days you will…
● Familiarize yourself with potential safety hazards in the lab and how to mitigate these.
● Review the data generated on current formulations, processing conditions and mechanical performance, then be able to identify reactions to optimize or further explore.
● Get trained on material formulations and development protocols, as well as testing equipment/methods.
In the first 60 days you will…
● Understand how to acquire and interpret data on the above instruments or using the above methods.
● Start optimizing existing formulations to improve yield, conditions, robustness, etc.
● Begin to aid in the development and evaluation of key components in formulation, identify structure property relationship at a variety of scales.
● Start forming working relationships with teams and individuals in biology, materials and product design.
● Be able to execute experiments without direct supervision.
● Be able to communicate your experiments effectively to a broad audience within the company.
This Team will be Excited to Have You Because You Bring ….
● Undergraduate or Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. material science, chemistry/biochemistry, polymer chemistry, textile engineering/science, composites)
● 1-3 years of experience in new material development and characterization, in academic or industrial lab setting
● A willingness to learn and suggest improvements to material processing and/or characterization
● A passion and willingness to develop sustainable material solutions
● Ability to work safely in a laboratory environment
● Good organization skills, time management, written and oral communication skills.
● Experience with some of the below:
○ Composites (structure/function relationships)
○ Textile and fiber engineering
○ Non-wovens
○ Fiber/fabric/textile dyeing
○ Mechanical testing and failure analysis
○ Universal mechanical testers (Instrons or Zwicks)
○ Data science (understanding of statistics with computational modeling experience)
○ Basic programming (e.g. python) and/or statistical analysis (e.g. JMP)