Technical Officer, Critical Minerals: Automated Laboratory Processing

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Technical Officer, Critical Minerals:
Automated Laboratory Processing
Priority may be given to the following designated employment equity groups: women, Indigenous Peoples* (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities and racialized persons*.

* The Employment Equity Act, which is under review, uses the terminology Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

Candidates are asked to self-declare when applying to this hiring process.

Organizational Unit:
Clean Energy Innovation

Classification: TO-3

Work arrangements:

Due to the nature of the work and operational requirements, this position may be eligible for a limited hybrid work arrangement (combination of working onsite and telework).

At the NRC, we recognize that Indigenous candidates may have important connections to their communities and you may be eligible for an exception to this work arrangement. Alternative work arrangements may also be considered to accommodate candidates as required. To learn more about these options, please contact the NRC Hiring team using the contact information below.

Discover the possible
The role
We are looking for a Technical Officer for laboratory automation for critical minerals processing to support the Clean Energy Innovation Research Centre’s research facility in Mississauga. You will support the goals of NRC and the Clean Energy Innovation Research Centre through research and the development and application of advanced technologies. You will be working in a team environment with researchers and technical experts in world-class facilities, while sharing our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.

You will participate in a wide range of activities relating to the development, implementation, and operation of a self-driving laboratory for critical minerals processing. Duties will include:

Undertake, independently or under the supervision of other technical officers or researchers, technical work on the wet chemistry, characterization, and laboratory automation for critical minerals processing and testing, including hydrometallurgy / battery recycling.

Contribute and/or lead activities related to laboratory automation and/or automated data analysis, in particular as it relates to material and process characterization, including the operation of custom, automated, high-throughput wet-chemistry and solid-chemistry equipment.

Contribute, in collaboration with project managers to project planning, developing work plans, writing experimental and safety procedures and laboratory test protocols.

Recognizing and solving issues related to equipment, experimental and analytical techniques and capture, analyze, validate and report on experimental results. Knowledge of experimental design principles and/or statistics will be considered an asset.

Conduct technical and scientific information reviews in order to identify and apply relevant concepts needed for critical minerals processing, characterization and testing.

Lead or contribute to the design, installation, modification, set-up, risk assessment and launch of new experimental set-ups or equipment; propose or recommend the purchase of and participate in procurement and installation of new lab equipment, materials and supplies; ensure operational continuity of equipment by developing operating procedures, executing required maintenance, performing troubleshooting, overseeing scheduling and utilization, and maintaining inventory of consumable.

Coordinate efficient operations of a multi-user lab by overseeing general consumables, chemical inventory management, lab cleanliness and hazardous waste disposal in compliance with regulations. Actively engage in the organizational health and safety programs by complying with all NRC occupational health and safety policies and regulations.

Screening criteria
Applicants must demonstrate within the content of their application that they meet the following screening criteria in order to be given further consideration as candidates:

Education
College diploma or Bachelors of Science or Engineering in Chemistry, Materials Science or Chemical Engineering or in a relevant field.

Recent experience in wet-chemistry based research laboratories in the development, evaluation and characterization of engineered materials and/or hydrometallurgical processes.

Recent experience in writing automated data analysis/data handling scripts in Python.

Recent experience in working with automated laboratory equipment, including familiarity with associated software and/or hardware to parallelize experiment and/or directly working with robotics.

Experience with the design, integration, and implementation of test pieces, and custom laboratory prototyping equipment.

Experience with mechatronics and/or working in a machine shop will be considered an asset.

Recent experience in any of the following will be considered assets:

Laboratory automation (physical integration and workflow development, API development, coding…