Senior Scientist - Battery Materials

Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a leading global specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Our businesses deliver a broad range of products and solutions to customers in every corner of the globe, serving the transportation, infrastructure, environment and consumer industry sectors. We bring the power of innovative chemistry to solve customers' challenges today while preparing them to meet tomorrow’s needs. Our commitment to innovation is driven by a passion to advance our customers' businesses through our deep understanding of their applications and the global trends that impact their operations.

If you do not meet every requirement, or your experience is slightly different that what we have listed, we still encourage you to apply!

Your Role at Cabot:

Cabot Corporation is seeking a Senior Scientist to join the Battery Materials team at the Billerica, MA Technology Center location.

The Senior Scientist is an independent technical contributor who leads battery materials research and electrochemical evaluation programs of moderate to high complexity and business impact. Additionally, professional proficiency in Korean is strongly preferred to support technical communication and collaboration with Korea-based customers, partners, and industry stakeholders. 

Main areas of focus for this role are:

• Develops mechanistic understanding of how conductive additives, active materials, binders, electrolytes, interfaces, formulation, and electrode structure influence cell performance.
• Converts hypotheses and high-quality experimental data into material design rules, product/application recommendations, intellectual property, and customer-relevant technical solutions.
• Provides technical leadership across projects, guides junior team members, and collaborates with analytical science, product/process development, manufacturing, marketing, Sales/Technical Service, external laboratories, and customers.
• Closely collaborates with North American customers, including Korean battery manufacturers investing in the US.

How You’ll Make an Impact: 

• Lead independent research programs to solve complex battery materials and electrochemistry problems that are important to new product development, application development, and commercial growth. 

• Define project objectives, technical success criteria, hypotheses, experimental strategy, resource needs, risks, and decision points with R&D management and relevant business partners. 

• Design and execute statistically sound studies linking material properties, formulation, processing, electrode architecture, and cell design to electrochemical performance. 

• Develop, adapt, and validate electrochemical test methods for screening and mechanistic studies, including coin-cell and other relevant cell formats, formation/cycling, rate capability, pulse-power or fast-charge testing, self-discharge, calendar/cycle-life evaluation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), as appropriate to the program. 

• Interpret electrochemical results together with physical, chemical, structural, rheological, dispersion, and electrode characterization data to identify root causes, establish structure-property-performance relationships, and recommend next experiments or material changes. 

• Apply rigorous controls to cell build quality, test repeatability, data integrity, sample traceability, and statistical interpretation. Distinguish fact from inference and clearly communicate uncertainty, limitations, and alternative explanations. 

• Partner with synthesis, process, analytical, modeling, application, and manufacturing teams to translate laboratory learning into scalable material specifications, formulation guidance, processing windows, and product value propositions. 

• Prepare concise technical reports, project reviews, presentations, and decision recommendations for R&D leadership, cross-functional business teams, and customers. 

• Support selected customer-facing technical exchanges, including translating customer cell requirements into test plans, explaining performance trade-offs, and defining follow-up work while protecting confidential information and Cabot intellectual property. 

• Monitor scientific and patent literature related to battery materials, conductive additives, electrode design, interfaces, and electrochemical diagnostics. Identify invention opportunities and contribute to disclosures and patent applications. 

• Provide day-to-day technical guidance and training to scientists, engineers, research associates, technicians, co-ops, or external partners assigned to project work. Review experimental quality and promote strong technical documentation. 

• Maintain safe laboratory operations and integrate hazard assessment into work involving powders, nanomaterials, solvents, electrolytes, electrode processing, cell assembly, and electrochemical testing. Participate in incident/root-cause investigations and continuous SH&E improvement. 

• Strictly follows and complies with all SH&E procedures, standards and regulations and constantly strives for Excellence in the fields of sustainability and Safety, Health and preservation of the Environment. 

• Supports efforts to implement and maintain the Responsible Care® Management System in line with the requirements of the RC14001® technical specification, as applicable to the site/region. 

What You’ll Bring to Cabot:

• Ph.D. in electrochemistry, materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related discipline, generally with 2+ years of relevant industrial or applied research experience; OR 
• Master’s degree in a related technical discipline, generally with 6+ years of relevant experience; OR 
• Bachelor’s degree in a related technical discipline, generally with 10+ years of relevant experience. 
• Professional proficiency in Korean is preferred to support technical communication and collaboration with Korea-based customers, partners, and industry stakeholders. 
• Demonstrated battery materials R&D and hands-on electrochemical testing experience is required. Industrial product-development experience is strongly preferred. 
• Experience working with battery manufacturers, automotive OEMs, energy-storage companies, or strategic technical partners is desirable. 
• Experience supporting customer interactions in a technology environment and translating technical results into product/application value is highly desirable. 
• Deep knowledge of lithium-ion battery materials and electrochemistry, with demonstrated ability to connect material chemistry and electrode structure to cell-level performance. 
• Hands-on expertise in electrode formulation/processing and electrochemical cell testing. Experience should include experimental design, cell assembly quality, formation protocols, cycling data analysis, and failure-mode troubleshooting. 
• Strong command of electrochemical principles, including thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, mass transport, charge transfer, interfacial phenomena, impedance, polarization, degradation, and performance trade-offs. 
• Experience with one or more battery material classes such as conductive carbon black, carbon nanotubes or other conductive networks, graphite or silicon-based anodes, cathode active materials, binders, separators, electrolytes, or solid-state interfaces. 
• Demonstrated skill in design of experiments, statistical analysis, visualization, and management of large cycling datasets. Proficiency with battery cycler software and analysis tools. 
• Ability to assess literature and patents critically, build mechanistic hypotheses, design discriminating experiments, and synthesize results into actionable technical and business recommendations. 

How We’ll Support Your Success:

• The pay range for this role is from $128,300 to $186,100. The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate will depend on the candidate's skill, qualifications, experience and location. In addition, all positions are eligible for health benefits on the first day of employment, 401K savings plans, vision, dental and annual bonus based on company performance.
• Dynamic, Flexible, Hard Working, Team Environment – We are busy, collaborative, growing, and we are doing really meaningful work.
• Growth –Training, great peer coaching and support, and the ability to personally grow your influence, your position, and your compensation.
• Meaningful Work that is Valued – Customers are demanding sustainable solutions without compromising quality or performance. The work we do is visible, and is helping to create a more abundant, affordable, and cleaner future. It is an awesome feeling to know you’re making a living by making a positive impact in the world; and to be able to say, “I was a part of that.”
• Benefits, Vacation, Etc. – We offer a competitive package of benefits. Benefits begin on first day of employment. Cabot Benefits
• Feedback – We are committed to giving and receiving feedback in a direct and open fashion.
  

#LI-ONSITE

At Cabot, we bring the power of innovative chemistry and a spirit of partnership with our customers to advance solutions that will enable a sustainable future. Our strength in research and development is a major reason why we have been an industry leader for more than 135 years in products such as reinforcing and specialty carbons, battery materials, aerogel, fumed metal oxides, inkjet colorants, masterbatches and conductive compounds.

Our employees around the world are united by our shared purpose: Creating materials that improve daily life and enable a more sustainable future. Through our corporate strategy, “Creating for Tomorrow,” we are focused on our core strengths to lead in performance and sustainability – today and into the future.

EEO/AA Employer/Vet/Disabled/RC14001
Realizing we function better together than individually, Cabot Corporation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that embraces our differences and to empower employees to achieve exceptional results, without consideration of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected categories. This includes providing reasonable accommodation for employees’ and applicants’ disabilities or religious beliefs and practices, in accordance with applicable law.

Cabot is committed to supporting and maintaining a safe and environmentally focused working environment. All employees are expected to uphold this commitment in every position.

Nondiscrimination Policy with Respect to Discussion of Pay
This is to advise that it is the policy of Cabot Corporation not to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because such employee or applicant has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed the compensation of the employee or applicant or another employee or applicant. This policy, however, shall not apply to instances in which an employee who has access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as part of that employee's essential job functions (such as in payroll or HR) discloses the compensation of such other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such information, unless that disclosure is in response to a formal complaint or charge, in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing or other action, including an investigation conducted by Cabot, or otherwise as required by law.

Pre-Employment Drug Testing and Background Checks
Cabot is proud to operate as a drug-free workplace. All applicants conditionally offered a position must (a) complete and pass a background check and (b) complete a drug test and receive an acceptable test result. For certain manufacturing, quality and production positions, a pre-employment physical may be required.