Senior Scientist - Ion Exchange
WHO WE ARE
Kunin builds advanced separation technologies to unlock critical metals from resources no one touches today.
Metals are everywhere—in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles—but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste.
The breakthrough lies in nanoscale separation that's mass manufacturable—the same leap lithium-ion batteries made from lab to global scale.
MISSION FOR YEAR 1
Kunin is commercializing a novel ion-exchange media form factor and system design that decouples kinetics from pressure-drop, unlocking orders of magnitude improvements in throughput compared to resin-in-columns systems.
This technology unlocks a new pandora’s box of processing innovations and new performance pareto front.
By the end of 2026, we expect:
· To make IX as easy as RO.
· To demonstrate novel selective elution sequencing and train configurations for multi-species partitioning.
· Release dynamic customer unit operation cost estimation tooling from internally developed CFD Multiphysics digital twins.
WHAT YOU’LL LEAD
· Ion-exchange resin synthesis, functionalization, and conditioning tied to kinetic and selectivity objectives.
· Modelling of resin backbone composition-dependent dimensional stability.
· Lead novel resin form factor qualification and stress testing protocols.
· Column testing programs optimizing mass transfer, breakthrough, regeneration, and leakage control.
· Develop novel selective elution strategies from first principles and translating to multi-species partitioning in multi-column series or parallel pilot systems.
· Lead joint development programs with novel ligand development partners.
· Execute the manufacturing scale-up of novel ion-exchange resin media.
WHO YOU ARE
· PhD in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, or Polymer Engineering.
· Ion-exchange scientist with at least five years of experience in resin chemistry, column science, and hydrometallurgical separations.
· Practitioner of polymerization, functionalization, and conditioning with measured control of crosslinking, porosity, swelling, and mechanical strength.
· Experimentalist fluent in analytical and physical testing — SEM, BET, FTIR, ICP-OES/MS, TGA/DSC.
· Modeler skilled in equilibrium, speciation, and kinetic frameworks using MetSim, HSC Chemistry, OLI Studio, PHREEQC. Executes design-of-experiments and regression in Minitab or JMP.
COMPENSATION
This role will pay $90,000 - $160,000, benefits, and equity.
Company facilities include gym, sauna, and ice bath.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
· Must be willing to relocate to Chattanooga, TN.
Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax.
· Flexibility for extended hours during critical project phases
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