Fuel Cell Research Engineer

MAJOR DUTIES/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work with multidisciplinary team of Fuel Cell scientists and engineers, to develop and screen advanced cathode electrocatalyst materials for activity, performance, and durability.
• Work and collaborate with the various academic, industrial partners and external service providers to understand the fundamentals of catalyst activity, performance, and durability.
• Support ink formulation and coating development activities for the novel electrocatalysts developed in the project and integrate with other cell components.
• Conduct design of experiments to optimize membrane electrode assembly performance. Correlate material and electrochemical properties to MEA design and process parameters.
• Develop cathode catalyst accelerated stress test protocols for heavy-duty Fuel Cell applications and evaluate cathode durability in MEAs.
• Perform post-mortem analysis of degraded catalysts to understand degradation and coalescence behavior. Perform electrochemical diagnostics and post-mortem analysis to characterize polarization behavior, transport resistances, electrochemical surface area and kinetic activities etc.
• Use performance models to simulate experimental data and identify voltage loss factors.
• Support cost reduction efforts for Fuel Cell stack components and processes.
• Attend regular team meetings with the project partners and provide catalyst design and development directions. Play a pro-active role in the project and enable meeting or exceeding the DOE target metrics for the performance and durability of the novel electrocatalyst materials. Contribute to the quarterly and annual progress reports and presentations for the project.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Master's degree in Material Science, Chemical, Chemical, or Electrochemical Engineering
• Minimum 2 years of working experience in Fuel Cells, batteries, electrochemistry required.

Preferred:

• PhD in Material Science, Chemistry, Chemical, or Electrochemical Engineering
• Working experience with Fuel Cell materials and systems, specific to membrane electrode assembly and subcomponents like catalysts, ionomer, gas diffusion layer etc.

SKILLS/ABILITY:

• Should possess hands on experience in one or more analytical tools such as BET-BJH, MIP, XRD, Raman, XPS, ICP, SEM, (S)TEM-EELS/EDS, TGA etc.
• Should possess hands on experience in catalyst ink formulations, MEA lamination and Fuel Cell testing capabilities.
• Ability to evaluate or develop technologies and tools within the materials area.
• Hands-on, independent, self-motivated contributor with strong problem-solving skills
• Strong organization skills with high level of attention to detail and interpersonal skills to work effectively with others.
• Communication: Strong oral, written and presentation skills.