Catalyst Development Expert

We are seeking a catalyst development scientist to join the Catalyst Center of Excellence (CCoE) at Aramco’s Research & Development Center (R&DC). The CCoE is responsible for developing innovative catalysts to convert oil and natural gas into higher value fuels and chemicals, in addition to sustainability catalysts which enable CO2 utilization, low‑carbon fuels production, and a hydrogen economy.

The candidate will conduct R&D research to develop novel catalysts for refining/petrochemical processes and sustainability technologies, by working closely with team members, internal business proponents, and external collaborators.

• Assess technical and business opportunities, identify potential areas for research and development, establish strategy and tactics to achieve technical and business goals; lead technology development projects including idea generation, planning, catalyst design, synthesis, evaluation, data interpretation, presentation and interaction with project scientists, technicians, management, gatekeepers, project management, engineering services, and business proponents.
• Carry out original investigative short‑term applied industrial research studies to resolve urgent, complex, and unique technical problems for which relevant published literature is lacking.
• Maintain an active portfolio of catalyst development projects in the fields of refining, petrochemicals, or sustainability applications.
• Develop technology from concept to a catalyst design freeze within a short time span.
• Develop and implement experimental plans to conduct in‑house catalyst synthesis, characterization and testing.
• Utilize advanced and routine catalyst characterization tools/instruments to gain insights about structure–activity relationships and feed into superior catalyst design and optimization.
• Improve the center’s catalyst synthesis, testing and characterization capabilities to maintain the center as a world‑class catalysis research hub.
• Build a knowledge base for R&DC’s catalyst development efforts; present research results in internal seminars, technical presentations, technical reports or external publications.
• Liaise with the academic sector of the Kingdom in applied research and with other departments and external companies’ representatives on matters related to the area of expertise.
• Generate patent applications to protect Aramco’s intellectual properties.
• Provide technical advice to other catalyst development projects when necessary.
• Interface with molecular modeling scientists and data scientists to leverage computational catalysis and artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of new catalysts.
• Mentor junior scientists and technicians to improve their technical background and skills.
• Stay current on latest catalyst technologies or discoveries related to the research projects and identify potential areas or opportunities to investigate.
• Participate in required safety activities and comply with all safety standards.
• Represent the company in industrial or technical society joint efforts as a Company technical advisor in the discipline.

• A PhD degree with minimum 16 years of professional experience including at least 5 years as a specialist with full responsibility for major technical contribution in heterogeneous catalysis or related fields. Deep understanding of reaction mechanism and experience with experimental catalyst development. Proven track record of catalyst development and deployment with publications in significant journals and active participation in technical society activities, in addition to patents.
  
  Candidate has achieved substantial industry recognition in his area of expertise. Strong communication skills to lead cross‑function teams. Normally he will have published in significant technical journals and will have a history of active participation in technical society activities.