What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior R&D Scientist – AWH Product Development position at Atoco?
Atoco, Inc. is a startup company founded by the distinguished scientist Prof. Omar Yaghi, the inventor of MOF and COF chemistry, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2025. Atoco is currently working on technologies in the fields of atmospheric water harvesting and CO2 capture.
This position will focus on the design and scale up of AWH systems that improve their overall performance.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Work with and report to the head of Product Development to achieve the department goals of scaling up commercial-grade MOF/COF-based atmospheric water harvesting technology.
- Collaborate closely with R&D scientists to process the technical and functional specifications of MOF/COFs coming out of the R&D
- Responsible for the system-level design and development of the heat management system, including optimization of heat exchangers, thermal storage, optimization of fluids transfer, pumps, fans, and filters that will operate on the MOFs/COFs.
- Design, plan and scale up the technologies from prototype stage to commercial stage
- Identify and optimize critical component and system-level parameters to improve overall product performance in terms of production capacity, energy efficiency, lifetime (reliability/durability), yield, cost, safety, and operation.
- Evaluate and manage sourcing of materials and components, taking into consideration the whole process from sourcing to final assembly and packaging
- Help set up the QC/QA processes and procedures for production
- Maintain an electronic notebook detailing all observations and measurements.
- Contribute to the intellectual property of the company by writing and participating in invention disclosures
- Perform periodic reporting to management and participate in technical meetings.
Qualifications
- PhD in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or similar field from an accredited institution, along with a demonstrated record of achievement in research
- Strong understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer
- Industry experience of 5-10 years.
- Industry experience in designing system-level prototypes
- Experience in simulation tools for thermal design, thermal analysis, and energy performance
- Familiar with health and safety procedures in production.
- Thrive in a culture that values diversity, collaboration, precision, and learning.
- Strong teamwork and collaboration skills.
- Excellent problem-solving skills.
- A track record of successful scale-up prototypes or experimentation.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills.
Find out more about this role and Atoco here: https://atoco.com/careers/jd-1007-senior-rd-scientist-atmospheric-water-harvesting/