Postdoctoral Fellowship Polyurethane Recycling

Job Title:
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Polyurethane Recycling
Type of Position:
12-month contract position initially (the door is open for extensions / ultimately going direct hire).
Job Location:
Wyandotte, MI
Compensation:
$31.25/hr (depending on experience). Overtime paid at 1.5x over 40 hours.
Candidate Requirements:
This role is open to US Citizens, Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders), and TN visa holders. Candidates who are on F1 visas (CPT/OPT) will be considered as well, but this company isn't sponsoring on H1B. H1B visa holders will not be permitted here as this company isn't doing H1B transfers. This role is NOT open to corp2corp (C2C) or corp2hire (C2H). All candidates must be able to work directly with us on a W2. 
Benefits:
• Available (health insurance, dental, vision, 401k, etc)
• 5 days PTO (which accrues over time).
Job Description / Duties:
HRU Technical Resources has partnered with a multi-national company and the largest chemical producer in the world to find candidates for a Postdoctoral Fellowship connected to Polyurethane Recycling. This will be for a joint Postdoctoral Fellowship between the this corporation and Prof. William Dichtel’s lab at Northwestern University. The potential candidate will spend the first year at our research and development site located in Wyandotte, MI, which is part of our Performance Materials North America Division. In this role, the postdoctoral researcher will work on the development and scaling up of innovative recycling technologies for polyurethane thermosets into valuable recycled products, under the supervision of an R&D manager at our company and will be remotely co-supervised by prof-Will Dichtel at Northwestern University. The candidate will initially start with lab-scale polymer processing equipment to demonstrate feasibility, and then will move to pilot scale to scale up and optimize the recycling process conditions.
Where the Chemistry Happens:
The successful candidate will have the ability to perform quality control test methods with a high degree of accuracy, proficiency and use good laboratory standard practices in support of Batch Manufacturing. This role is responsible for adjustments made to batches, when necessary, in the support of manufacturing which includes diagnosis and experimentation of non-conforming material to meet product specifications. Other responsibilities include maintaining a clean/organized work area, laboratory equipment validation, monitoring supplies, gage R&R studies, upkeeping calibration records and responding to customer complaints and quality concerns.
Required Qualifications:
• PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, polymer engineering, or a related field, from an accredited US university
• Significant research experience in polymer synthesis. Candidates must have experience with structural, thermal, and mechanical characterization of polymer samples. Research experience with Polymers to some level is required.  
Additional Preferred Qualifications:
• Previous experience with polyurethane polymers, including synthesis, processing, and characterization is preferred
• Previous experience with polymer melt extrusion and rheology is preferred
• Previous experience with polymer characterization techniques including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT-IR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), solution and solid-state NMR, and viscosity analysis, is preferred
• Previous experience with characterizing tensile properties of polymers is preferred
Formula for Success:
• Leveraging your background in polymer chemistry and/or material science, you will be working on optimization and scaling up of a recycling method for polyurethane thermosets into valuable recycled materials
• You will use polymer macro and micro-structure analysis techniques including DSC, DMA, TGA, GPC, and solution and solid state NMR, to characterize feedstock and recyclate, and you will measure mechanical properties of recyclate using tensile studies and other physical characterization techniques
• In addition to scaling up current PU thermoset recycling technique, you will leverage your effective project and time management skills to manage a scouting project of another recycling technique in the lab-scale and demonstrate feasibility of the method to transition to pilot scale
• You will be supervised by an experienced R&D manager at our company and co-supervised by Prof. Will Dichtel at Northwestern University
Work Environment / Physical Requirements:
• This will be a standard on-site role based in Wyandotte, MI for the 1st year.
• Offer will be contingent upon passing a background check and drug screen (which does include cannabis).
• EOE (including Disability/Veterans)