Process Engineer, Powder

Job description

ABOUT PERIODIC LABS We’re an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what’s scientifically possible. ABOUT THE ROLE As Periodic Labs scales the experimental engine behind our AI-driven materials discovery platform, we’re hiring a Process Engineer to own the end-to-end workflow of our powder synthesis lab. You’ll work directly across dispensing, mixing, pressing, reaction, recovery, and characterization — building the systems, controls, and instincts that keep a high-mix, fast-moving research process producing trustworthy data at increasing throughput. This is a hands-on, jack-of-all-trades role. You’ll move fluently between equipment troubleshooting, statistical process control, operator workflows, and the underlying science. The variation here is intentional — we run an enormous diversity of chemistries — and your job is to build the systems that absorb that intended variation while ruthlessly separating out the unintended kind. What you learn stabilizing the manual lab will directly shape how we design our automated, full-scale lab. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Own the powder synthesis workflow end-to-end — dispensing, mixing, pressing, reaction, recovery, and characterization — ensuring the process runs smoothly as throughput and complexity grow - Map failure modes across the full process flow and design comprehensive systems and controls so failures either don’t happen or are caught and recovered quickly - Apply statistical process control (SPC) and systems thinking to track key process inputs and outputs, identify drift, and bring processes into a stable, predictable state - Troubleshoot and diagnose equipment issues across the lab — dispensing heads, reaction chambers, characterization tools — and drive root-cause investigations to durable fixes - Investigate data integrity issues across the toolchain, including cases where equipment dispenses correctly but uploads data incorrectly, and partner with software and infra to adjust scripts and instrumentation - Design operator-facing workflows that prevent sample mix-ups and reduce variation introduced by human handoffs - Run design of experiments (DOE) to identify which recipe and process factors most impact outcomes, and use structured methodologies to converge efficiently - Partner with research scientists, lab engineers, and software teams to translate the lessons from the manual lab into requirements for the automated, full-scale lab - Establish quality and reliability practices that scale with us — process documentation, control plans, and feedback loops between operators, scientists, and the data systems YOU WILL THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU HAVE - A degree in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related field, with hands-on experience in solid-state chemistry, ceramics, or powder processing - Experience as a process engineer (or closely adjacent role) in a high-mix R&D, pilot, or manufacturing environment — ideally one that involved both intentional recipe variation and tight process discipline - Strong systems thinking — you can break an unfamiliar process into clear inputs, outputs, and unit operations, and quickly build mental models of how the black boxes inside actually behave - Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC), six sigma or lean concepts, and design of experiments (DOE), with comfort using tools like JMP or Minitab - Hands-on familiarity with characterization techniques relevant to powders and ceramics — e.g., X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) — and with high-temperature processing of ceramic materials - Comfort with equipment troubleshooting and a healthy bias toward getting your hands on the tool, the data, and the operator workflow when something goes wrong - Some computer savvy — enough to read and lightly modify scripts, validate data flows, and partner effectively with software engineers when instrumentation or data pipelines need adjustment - Strong ownership, bias for action, and the judgment to know when to stabilize what exists versus when to redesign it - Clear communication and the ability to work cross-functionally with researchers, lab operators, equipment vendors, and software teams ESPECIALLY STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO HAVE - Experience at companies working on battery materials, anode/cathode chemistries, or other powder- and ceramic-heavy processes (e.g., Tesla, Sila, Mitra Chem, 24M, or similar) - Background spanning multiple unit operations — you’ve had to come up to speed quickly on processes you didn’t design - Experience scaling an R&D or pilot process toward higher throughput or automation - Exposure to quality engineering, reliability engineering, or process development roles, and an interest in growing into deeper specialization over time - Familiarity with how scientific instrumentation integrates with data systems, and an instinct for separating equipment problems from data-pipeline problems MECHANICS - Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or similar experience - Location: Menlo Park, CA or Montreal, Canada. (Soon: San Francisco, too) - Compensation: $225,000-300,000 + equity - Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas. We’re building a team of the world’s best — the scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers who don’t just follow the frontier, they define it. If you’re driven to bring AI to life in the physical world and make discoveries that have never been made before, you belong here.