Catalysis Scientist

Susteon is an advanced materials company based in the Research Triangle (Morrisville), North Carolina. We design and scale the sorbents, solvents, and catalysts that make industrial processes cleaner, more efficient, and more competitive, spanning carbon capture and utilization, carbon-free hydrogen production, and the conversion of waste into energy and valuable products.

What sets us apart is speed. Our Experimental Materials Platform (EMP) is an AI-driven, closed-loop discovery engine that pairs machine learning with automated experimentation to develop new materials in a fraction of the usual time and cost. It's how we move breakthroughs from the lab to commercial scale, and how we keep advanced materials innovation and manufacturing here in the U.S.

We work in close partnership with national labs, universities, and major industrial players to take promising chemistry out of the lab and into the field.

If you want to build the materials behind the next generation of American energy and industrial technology, we'd like to hear from you. Your work here will have real impact at scale.

About the role

We are hiring a Catalysis Scientist to anchor the lab-bench side of an industrial catalyst-discovery program in heterogeneous catalysis for renewable fuels. You will own catalyst synthesis, characterization, and reaction-product analysis end to end, and you will work directly with our platform team to deliver structured, ML-ready data. The program is the immediate scope. The capability is durable: this role helps anchor Susteon's broader materials pipeline (EcoSolvent, EcoCatalyst, EcoSorbent, EcoReactor) and our growing set of platform partnerships. The right person will help shape how we build out the bench team from here.

What you will do

• Design and synthesize heterogeneous inorganic catalysts across two families: iron-based Fischer-Tropsch systems and non-noble-metal hydrodeoxygenation catalysts.

• Own the characterization workflow end to end: XRD, BET surface area, TPR / TPD, CO chemisorption, XPS (in-house or with external partners), TGA, and TEM. Post-reaction characterization is a core part of the job, not an afterthought.

• Deliver every experiment, including negative results, into our EMP in ML-ready form

• Support 100 g scale-up synthesis and bench-pilot demonstration of lead candidates.

What we are looking for

• PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or Materials Science with 4+ years of heterogeneous catalyst R&D experience. MS with 8+ years of directly relevant industrial or national-lab experience also welcome.

• Strong hands-on catalyst-synthesis breadth: precipitation, impregnation, supported and bulk systems. The ability to transfer a target composition to a tested catalyst quickly and reproducibly is essential.

• Solid, hands-on experience across the standard catalyst-characterization suite (XRD, BET, TPR/TPD, chemisorption, XPS) and the ability to interpret results, not just collect them.

• Understanding of high-pressure fixed-bed reactor operation and process-safety competence.

• Rigorous, well-documented experimental practice. Strong instinct for capturing negative results and treating them as data, not failures.

• Prioritizes maintaining laboratory safe-practices and working environments.

Bonus

• Fischer-Tropsch or syngas-conversion catalyst development background.

• Hydrodeoxygenation, hydrotreating, or biomass-derived oxygenate upgrading experience.

• Familiarity with kinetic modeling, Bayesian experimental design, or active learning in a closed-loop lab setting.

• Experience working closely with computational or ML teams and structured data systems (SQL, time-series, or scientific data platforms).

• Prior industrial or government-funded program delivery against milestones.

Susteon is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Where molecules become opportunity.