About Us Every year, over 120 billion garments are disposed of, and less than 1% of textiles get recycled at their end of life. The $1T textile industry lacks modern solutions to adapt to the circular economy, which is why we started Ambercycle. Ambercycle is a material science company founded in 2015 to create a fashion industry without ‘waste’. We’re developing and scaling a breakthrough technology to manufacture yarns and fabrics from old clothes, without a sacrifice in quality, rather than from petroleum or new agriculture resources. Our apparel products avoid the use of new raw materials and go into the highest quality applications, exceeding the expectations of end customers with a fraction of the environmental footprint. Using our technology, we are fundamentally changing the fashion industry and building the infinite textile ecosystem. For more information, visit www.ambercycle.com Who You Might Be You are insatiably curious about the world around you. There is nothing more thrilling to you than getting a new piece of information, all the better if you’re the first person to see that result. You like working with your hands to construct test apparatus and mixing things together to see what happens. You know which brands of toothpaste, paint, computer monitor, and ice cream are the best, and you can explain in detail the specific physical reason why they are the best. Things that other people miss or find mundane you take immense interest and curiosity in, and find complexity and nuance where others don’t. Nothing is more satisfying than getting concrete answers, and you enjoy learning from and teaching others to achieve clarity and knowledge for all. You have a practical outlook on how to get things done and move a project forward. You’re usually the one that solves the toughest problems, and you do so by being creative, efficient, and persistent. You have the perfect mix of operational, analytical, and people skills. You are a problem solver. The Job Principal Scientist who will develop and help scale our technology for making brand new yarns from old clothing. You will help bring Ambercycle’s innovative technology out of the lab and into commercial operation. You will be responsible for experimental process design and implementation and will work closely with the R&D team and the Research and Engineering leadership. You will be working with senior leadership to understand and prioritize process improvements, design experiments to make those improvements, and execute these plans in the laboratory. You will develop analytical methods for R&D as well as scale-up and develop new products within our R&D team. This involves designing and constructing bench-scale equipment, conducting experiments, performing detailed analysis of results, and writing technical reports. You will use your chemistry know-how to work with engineers and technologists and scale-up processes from the laboratory to global commercial scale. You are detail oriented and highly enthusiastic about science and scaling a first-in-kind sustainable process. You have a strong experimental background and commanding knowledge of physical, organic, and polymer chemistry. You must be comfortable in a fast-paced, open environment with minimal direction. The successful candidate has conducted lab and pilot scale experiments, and understands how to improve process efficiency and reduce cost. The ideal candidate will be driven, confident, and will do what it takes to ensure successful development and scale-up of our process technology. Responsibilities Place safety at the top of your priority list and be responsible for safe and reliable operation of equipment for lab experiments, including when working with glassware, tube fittings (e.g., Swagelok), and laboratory reactors. Use your knowledge of chemistry and process configurations to identify and understand critical parameters to be addressed for commercialization, and move from batch processes to continuous. Design, oversee and validate research and bench-scale unit testing programs to increase efficiency and scale (e.g., improve process steps via hands-on lab work with solids/liquids in small-scale reactors, units for process unit operations, and other specialty instrumentation for chemical synthesis, purification, formulation, extrusion, etc.) Provide expertise on key engineering theories. Work with Engineering leadership to develop, plan and obtain critical engineering data for process scale-up. Deploy technology from lab and pilot scale to commercial operations in collaboration with the Engineering and R&D departments. Provide in-depth technical consultation to commercial implementation teams. Lead troubleshooting of existing processes when observations deviate from the known procedure. Evaluate the chemical and physical properties of various substances. Develop best practices, schedules, and innovative solutions to improve production rates and output quality. Coordinate equipment procurement and external analysis as necessary. Mentor scientists and research technologists to aid in research and development efforts. Maintain a laboratory notebook detailing all data measured, observations, and steps performed. Collect, analyze, and process raw data using standard software and techniques. Qualifications Ph.D. in Chemistry, Materials Science, or closely related field (preferred). 5 years industry experience, with at least 2 years of industrial experience in Process Development including hands-on experimental and lab experience. Ability to independently handle multiple complex projects simultaneously with strong problem-solving skills. Able to develop scalable, practical process solutions for plant implementation. Aptitude for leadership, able to lead and instruct other members of the team, with and without authority. Strong commitment to operational excellence in the lab, office, and chemical plant environment. Strong teamwork and collaboration skills. Demonstrated experience performing product analyses using GC, LC, and FTIR and experience with analytical method development for GC and LC. Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) Flexibility to work on a wide variety of experimental procedures. Ability to follow procedures with keen attention to detail and approach problems with critical thinking. A track record of successful scale-up experimentation or projects. Proven science professional with a track record of success in new product and process and product R&D. Passion for process chemistry, analytical chemistry, and problem solving. Mechanical aptitude and hands-on ability to independently generate hypotheses, experimental plans, setup of apparatus, and ability to execute on experimental plans and generate data. Ability to troubleshoot chemistry equipment systems and analytical instruments. Must have a strong background in chemicals/polymers manufacturing, process technologies, quality management, solids handling, and scale-up as well as a commanding knowledge of organic chemistry. Must have an incredible enthusiasm for scaling a first-in-kind sustainable process and passion for solving difficult chemistry problems. Must be comfortable in a fast-paced, open environment. Able and available to travel up to 15% for process troubleshooting, meetings, training or special projects. Able to frequently lift/push/pull/carry up to 35 pounds, and occasionally lift/push/pull/carry up to 50 pounds. Must have fine motor skills to manipulate and operate lab equipment. Benefits Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance Flexible PTO 401(k) Free Healthy Snacks & Beverages $95,000 – $125,000 a year Ambercycle is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Ambercycle is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. Position is full-time and based in Los Angeles, California ☀️