Senior/Chief Scientist

SUMMARY:

Hollingsworth & Vose is creating a dedicated scientific role for a pioneer researcher: someone who works best at the frontier of a field, defines their own questions, and is energized by the absence of a roadmap. Your mandate is to identify, investigate, and de-risk platform-level opportunities in porous media — materials and mechanisms that could define entirely new product categories for H&V. You will report directly to senior R&D leadership, operating with genuine scientific autonomy. Title depends on experience and track record in the industry.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Scan the porous media landscape — nonwovens, polymer membranes, MOFs, zeolites, aerogels, other fibrous structures — for convergence zones and white-space opportunities invisible from within a single material class.
• Formulate original research hypotheses, design experiments to de-risk them, and execute at TRL 1–3 with full scientific independence.
• Build and maintain an active presence in the external scientific community: publish, present, collaborate with academic partners, and serve as H&V’s scientific antenna in your domain.
• computational and AI-assisted tools — high-throughput experimentation, design of experiments, Bayesian optimization — to accelerate discovery cycles.
• Communicate findings clearly to senior R&D and executive leadership: what you found, what it means, and — just as importantly — what you killed and why.
• Identify opportunities to connect emerging platform concepts to H&V’s existing technical and manufacturing capabilities where genuine synergy exists.
• Lead or aid in the commercialization of platform concepts

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• PhD in STEM category – Chemical, Mechanical, Material sciences, and other porous media related disciplines or BS/MS degrees with equivalent work experience
• A track record of originating research and successful commercialization,
• First-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and/or Named inventorship (not just assignee)
• 10+ years of product development experience

STRONGLY DIFFERENTIATING:

• Cross-domain literacy across the porous media landscape. Deep expertise in one material class is expected;
• Computational and AI fluency: proficiency in design of experiments and Bayesian optimization (required); Python or equivalent scripting for data analysis (strongly preferred); familiarity with high-throughput experimentation platforms or closed-loop optimization systems (a real differentiator).
• An active, generative external scientific network — not passive literature consumption. Conference participation, invited presentations, peer-review activity, or academic collaborations.
• The intellectual disposition to propose ideas that contradict current product logic and defend them with data.
• Previous technology scouting experience

Hollingsworth & Vose is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected status.

Salary starting at $120,000