AddressJob Title: Graduate R&DScientist (Carbon Removal)
Location: Centred around London with our flexible trust based work policy
Salary: Competitive
Full Time/Part Time: Full Time
Benefits:
- Employee Share Option Scheme
- Above industry standard holiday (30 days vs 22-25)
- Close office over Xmas where possible
- £500 personal development grant every year
- Unlimited mental health support
- 3 months of equal Paternity or Maternity leave
- Monthly rewilding donation on your behalf
- Cycle to Work scheme
About Mission Zero Technologies:
Mission Zero Technologies (MZT) is a hardware technology start-up pioneering a breakthrough Direct Air carbon Capture (DAC) technology that can scrub CO2 from the air using a fraction of the energy compared to incumbent technologies developed by the likes of Carbon Engineering and Climeworks. In the past three years, MZT has evolved its technology from concept to pilot plant scale, successfully raising over £8m from a mixture of private and government funding. MZT's technology is a hybrid of approaches, combining efficient solution-phase capture of CO2 with a continuous and compact electrochemical separation technology.
MZT and its work is guided by its principles of bold curiosity, problem solving acumen and hope for the future. We strive to realise a world where humanity has new tools to fight climate change, remove CO2 permanently from the atmosphere and produce everyday products such as concrete blocks or fuels from atmospheric carbon emissions. To do this, we need to realise a decentralised Gt supply chain for CO2 sourced directly from the atmosphere.
The opportunity:
You have the opportunity to join MZT at a pivotal point in our company's history - our transition from an early-stage R&D startup into a product offering, revenue-generating company poised to rapidly scale our DAC technology across the world.
You will work primarily in the technology development team focusing on creating the foundational scientific/engineering solutions to advance our current and future DAC products. You may also represent the technology development team working cross functionally with our product, engineering delivery and commercial development teams, ensuring continuity of effort, information, purpose and vision.
Specifically, MZT is hiring a R&D scientist to conduct experimental work on its direct air capture processes. This position can also be tailored as an internship, depending on the suitability for the applicant. The responsibilities will encompass two main strands of work with a primary focus on: (i) investigating and optimising the variable parameters across different aspects of the capture process, and (ii) conducting experiments involving our electrochemical separation process to understand how the parameters, materials and the solution chemistry play a role in determining the overall performance of the separation process.
Your contributions will be crucial in shaping the performance of our next-generation air contactor, thereby contributing to the development of our groundbreaking DAC technology. You will be able to rapidly witness the scale-up from early-stage R&D into real-world pilot plants. You will primarily work with other scientists and engineers in a laboratory environment, conduct experiments, test hypotheses and report findings to the technology team both verbal and written means. As our technology progresses, you may visit different emerging UK sites, suppliers and potentially international locations.
The role will be centred around our headquarters in London, primarily in-person with the option to work in a hybrid setup as appropriate.
Our vision for our early stage employees is that they own the business with us (literally), grow it with us and become part of the collective story of Mission Zero, taking a catalytic role in its early history and the fight against climate change.
What you'll be responsible for:
- Researching experimental methods and procedures.
- Conducting experiments to support and validate hypotheses.
- Optimising the operational conditions of the processes.
- Conducting long-term stability tests on the capture or electrochemical processes
- Performing necessary analytical work to comprehensively analyse experiment outcomes.
- Presenting findings clearly and efficiently to the technology team and interface with the engineering delivery and operations teams (through both written and oral communication).
- Ensuring compliance with our health & safety policy and developing methods that are climate-positive.
- Providing support for external collaborations with academic partners, contractors and suppliers.
About you:
- A BSc in chemistry, chemical engineering (or related field) or equivalent practical experience.
- Prior experience in conducting and analysing experiments.
- Proficiency in managing time and resources to drive projects to successful conclusions.
- Strong interest in the engineering aspects in scaling up laboratory experiments.
- Familiarity with analytical techniques (such as ion chromatography, gas chromatography etc.)
- Comfortable with hands-on work.
- Ability to collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
- Capability to navigate through unknown and ambiguous variables.
- Demonstrated strong sense of ownership and the capacity to work independently.
- A genuine passion for addressing climate-related challenges.
Also desirable:
- MSc in chemistry and/or chemical engineering, or related fields, or substantial industrial experience.
- A solid understanding of organic acid/base chemistry.
- Practical experience and/or understanding of electrochemical processes.
- Familiarity with gas-liquid absorption processes
- Prior exposure to CO2 capture and utilisation technologies.
At MZT, we value diversity of cultural backgrounds, experience and perspectives and leverage these qualities to create exceptional outcomes. We are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, sex, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or related condition or any other basis as protected by applicable law. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation.
