Associate Investigator

About the Role

Qnity is seeking an Associate Investigator - Electroplating Technology to support electroplating process development, laboratory operations, product validation, and technical investigations for advanced metallization technologies. This role involves hands-on laboratory work, electroplating process optimization, materials characterization, and data-driven problem solving.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare, maintain, analyze, and optimize electroplating baths and chemical solutions.
• Plan and execute laboratory plating trials, process evaluations, and scale-up activities.
• Monitor coating performance through thickness, adhesion, appearance, and related test methods.
• Analyze bath chemistry and process data to identify trends, troubleshoot issues, and implement corrective actions.
• Calibrate, maintain, and operate laboratory instrumentation for process control and analysis.
• Document experimental procedures, observations, data, and conclusions.
• Communicate technical findings and recommendations to project teams and technical leaders.
• Collaborate with R&D teams to develop, improve, and validate electroplating processes and technologies.
• Maintain compliance with all environmental, health, safety, chemical handling, and waste management requirements.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Prior electroplating or surface characterization experience.
• Experience preparing plating solutions, maintaining bath chemistry, operating plating equipment, and troubleshooting plating defects or process variation.
• Working knowledge of electrochemical principles and common plating systems, including nickel, copper, silver, and tin.
• Ability to work safely with wet chemistries while following laboratory safety, chemical hygiene, PPE, and waste-handling procedures.
• Strong experimental organization, technical documentation, and data analysis capabilities.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven problem-solving skills with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

This role is 100% onsite at our Marlborough, MA facility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with multiple electroplating chemistries or surface-finishing technologies.
• Experience supporting pilot-scale or production-scale electroplating operations.
• Hands-on experience with XRF, SEM, XRD, spectroscopy, microscopy, wet-chemical analysis, or similar characterization techniques.
• Knowledge of coating thickness, adhesion, corrosion, and surface performance testing methods.
• Familiarity with ASTM or ISO standards, statistical process control (SPC), and quality systems.
• Experience with corrosion science, surface science, formulation development, or Design of Experiments (DOE).
• Lean Six Sigma training or certification.