Research Chemist

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. This position requires the employee to be a professing Christian and to be willing to support the Christian mission of ACU.

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ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Job Description

Position: Research Chemist

Department: NEXT Lab
 

For the purposes of ACU’s Background Check and Self-Reporting Policy, this position is classified as security sensitive.

Position Class: Exempt Full Time

The key principle of this job is to support ACU’s mission to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.

Scope: The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab at ACU is a world leader in molten salt reactor technology, whose mission is to provide global solutions to the world’s need for energy, water and medical isotopes by advancing the technology of molten salt reactors while educating future leaders in nuclear science and engineering. We are seeking to add a talented organometallic chemist to conduct synthesis and testing of materials capable of extracting fission

products or surrogates from molten salts with our multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers.

NEXT Lab Core Values

The key principle of this job is to support ACU’s mission to educate students for

Christian service and leadership throughout the world. Along with this, and the NEXT mission, our core values are the fundamental beliefs and guiding principles that shape our culture, behavior, and decisions.
 

1. Christ-like Character

We lead with humility, integrity, and wisdom. We strive to be honest mentors

who reflect Christ in our actions and relationships.
 

2. Driven to Deliver

We take initiative, work hard, and stay curious. We’re proactive, creative

problem-solvers who are always learning and pushing forward to get things done.
 

3. Better Together

We believe in the power of collaboration. We communicate openly, support one

another, and bring a spirit of respect, fun, and teamwork to everything we do.

An ideal candidate will demonstrate a strong desire to integrate into a team that shares our core values and possess the skills listed below. Candidates who align well with our values but may not yet have all of the desired skills may still be considered.

Basic Responsibilities

• Organometallic Synthesis

• Molten Salt Research

• Chemical Separations and Purification

• Safety, Compliance, and Environmental Monitoring

• Research, Development, and Technical Support

• Documentation, Reporting, and Collaboration

Essential Duties include the following. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions.

Organometallic Synthesis

• Develop various organic and metal-organic molecular/supramolecular systems and nanostructured materials.

• Characterize synthesized materials using XRD, DSC, FTIR, Raman, etc.

• Determine compatibility of synthesized materials with molten salts.

Molten Salt Research

• Design and execute experiments to determine the effectiveness of materials for extraction of species from molten salts.

• Design material forms that are compatible with insertion and removal from a molten salt reactor.

• Demonstrate the effectiveness of materials for the extraction of species from a molten salt reactor.
   

Chemical Separations and Purification

• Design and execute experiments to determine the ability to remove species from extraction materials.

• Implement processes to separate and purify fission products or surrogates after removal from a molten salt reactor.

• Optimize separation and purification procedures to maximize product yield.

Safety, Compliance, and Environmental Monitoring

• Ensure compliance with nuclear regulatory requirements and university safety protocols.

• Support radiation licensing and hazardous chemical safety, including beryllium exposure control.

• Participate in environmental monitoring and waste management related to chemical processes.

Research, Development, and Technical Support

• Contribute to ongoing R&D projects supporting a molten salt research reactor’s scientific surveillance layer (SSL).

• Provide chemical expertise to reactor operations, simulation teams, and cross-disciplinary projects.

• Mentor students in chemical techniques and laboratory practices.

Documentation, Reporting, and Collaboration

• Maintain accurate laboratory records, sample logs, and analysis reports.

• Support preparation of technical publications, safety analysis reports, grant proposals, and regulatory submissions.

• Collaborate across disciplines (nuclear engineering, physics, materials science) to advance NEXT Lab’s mission.

Professional Development Requirements

Skills

• Experience with synthetic organometallic chemistry.

• Basic knowledge of laboratory instrumentation (XRD, DSC, FTIR, Raman, etc.).

• Understanding of lab safety and good chemical hygiene practices.

• Strong problem-solving and data analysis abilities.

Professional

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.

• Undergraduate research experience.

• Experience with molten salts, separation science, or high-temperature chemistry preferred.

Personal

• Detail-oriented and committed to safety.

• Strong communicator with ability to explain complex chemistry to non-chemists.

• Collaborative, adaptable, and able to work across disciplines.

• Self-motivated with curiosity for applied nuclear research.

• Passionate about advancing NEXT Lab’s mission in innovative nuclear energy.

Physical Demands

• Able to lift 50 pounds on a regular basis.

• Able to stand 1 hour or more.

ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable state and federal law.

ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university's financial and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security sensitive positions. As a current employee, it will be determined if you need an additional background check upon your hire.