Reports to: Director of R&D

Close collaboration with: Product Engineering team, Sr Scientist

Location: Kenilworth, NJ

Salary starts at: $125,000

Equity participation reflecting the scope and trust of the role

Competitive Benefits

Position Summary

Still Bright is bringing the first viable hydrometallurgical alternative to copper smelting to market at a moment when global copper demand is outpacing supply by historic margins. Our proprietary RACER (Rapid and Complete Electrochemical Reduction) process delivers fast, complete copper extraction while recovering precious and critical co-products, and as a closed-loop system it offers precise control over outputs and radically reduces environmental impact. Backed by top-tier investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Material Impact, the team is moving from pilot execution into the next stages of commercial deployment.

This is a hands-on role for someone equally comfortable at the bench, on the pilot system, and at the whiteboard. The Scientist III takes real ownership of assigned R&D problems, sets a strong standard for experimental rigor and data quality, and may guide technicians and junior engineers on day-to-day execution.

Key Responsibilities

Own anolyte management as a core area of responsibility: design and run experiments to characterize anolyte composition, behavior, and degradation; define and monitor operating windows; and develop strategies for anolyte conditioning, regeneration, and impurity control.
Design and execute bench- and pilot-scale experimental campaigns across assigned R&D areas, including setup, operation, sampling, data collection, and teardown.
Reduce, analyze, and interpret process and analytical data; identify anomalies, lead root-cause investigation, and recommend corrective actions.
Contribute to and maintain process flowsheets, mass and energy balances, and equipment specifications for assigned unit operations and subsystems.
Translate bench-scale results into scalable operating conditions and process inputs, flagging risks and proposing mitigations in collaboration with senior staff.
Characterize how RACER process streams affect performance and downstream recovery of copper and co-products.
Deliver clear, well-organized technical reports, experiment records, and progress updates that inform go/no-go decisions and economic models.
Support feedstock characterization and co-product recovery testwork as needed.
Provide day-to-day guidance to technicians and junior engineers on experimental execution, data handling, and safe laboratory and pilot practice.
Uphold laboratory and pilot safety standards, chemical-handling discipline, and clean record-keeping. Some travel may be required for feedstock and pilot testing.

Definition of Success

In the first 12 months, success looks like: independent ownership of anolyte management and one or more additional R&D subsystems, with reliable, well-documented data delivered on schedule and minimal rework; a clear, validated understanding of anolyte operating windows and conditioning strategies that improve process stability and economics; and a measurable contribution to RACER process optimization and the team's scale-up decisions.

Qualifications & Experience

Expected Competencies

Master's degree in chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, materials science, or a related field; or a Bachelor's with commensurate experience.
Minimum of 4 years of relevant research or process-development experience in hydrometallurgy, electrochemistry, extractive metallurgy, or a related laboratory/industrial discipline.
Strong experimental design, execution, and data-analysis skills, including the ability to take a problem from question to documented conclusion with limited oversight.
Hands-on comfort building, operating, and troubleshooting laboratory and pilot equipment.
Working command of mass and energy balances, flowsheet development, and equipment specification.
Strong documentation discipline, attention to detail, and clear technical communication.
A collaborative, self-motivated approach and comfort working in an evolving startup environment.

Strongly Preferred Experience

Direct experience with electrolyte or anolyte chemistry, electrochemical processes, or electrowinning/solvent-extraction systems.
Exposure to copper or base-metals hydrometallurgy and leaching chemistry, including complex or impurity-bearing feedstocks.
Experience with analytical characterization techniques (XRD, XRF, ICP, ICP-MS, titration, sample digestion).
Pilot-scale or continuous/semi-continuous process experience, including commissioning and troubleshooting at scale.

Nice-to-Have

Familiarity with vanadium electrochemistry, sulfide leaching chemistry, or solvent extraction–electrowinning.
Familiarity with process controls, instrumentation, and real-time performance monitoring.
Exposure to a startup or scaling organization moving from founder-led operations to formal systems.
Spanish-language proficiency.

This job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of the duties and responsibilities of the position. Still Bright provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Still Bright complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Still Bright expressly prohibits and will never tolerate any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Still Bright especially encourages applicants from historically marginalized communities to join our mission of sustainable metals extraction.

Scientist III