Senior Scientist, Polymer Chemist

The Role:

Our site in Aurora is seeking a Senior Scientist, Polymer Chemist to join our team. Entegris is a world-leading supplier for the semiconductor industry. We have accomplished this by having a world class, diverse, and creative Research and Development team that includes scientists and engineers from many different disciplines who collaborate within Entegris to develop leading edge technologies. To continue to grow as the industry grows, we are looking for a hardworking, innovative, Polymer Chemist to join our team! 

What You’ll Do:

• Design, synthesize, isolate, and purify polymers and small organic molecules to meet defined performance targets for semiconductor applications.

• Characterize synthesized materials and interpret the resulting data — for example, molecular weight and distribution (GPC/SEC), structure confirmation (NMR, FTIR, MS), thermal behavior (DSC, TGA)

• Apply structure–property relationships to systematically tune material performance, and design experiments that separate the variables that matter from the ones that don't.

• Plan, execute, and document your own research program, including maintaining clear and complete records suitable for internal review, technology transfer, and intellectual property filings.

• Partner with process and manufacturing engineers to scale promising chemistries from laboratory to pilot and production, including raw material selection, process parameter definition, and troubleshooting.

• Work with internal stakeholders to understand development needs and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Prepare and deliver technical presentations to R&D colleagues, internal stakeholders, and suppliers, and translate technical findings for non-technical audiences.

• Collaborate within a team that includes chemists, engineers, customer representatives, quality specialists, and production engineers across multiple Entegris sites.

• Contribute to our safety-first culture by following and helping improve laboratory safety practices.

What We Seek:

• Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry, Chemistry, or Material Science

• Demonstrated experience designing, synthesizing, isolating, and purifying polymers and small organic molecules.

• Hands-on expertise characterizing materials you have made, with the ability to select appropriate techniques, interpret the data, and explain what it means for material performance.

• Experience adjusting chemical and physical properties using knowledge of structure–property relationships.

• A track record of research contributions, evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, patents or patent applications, conference presentations, internal technical reports, or products advanced to commercialization.

• Demonstrated ability to plan, execute, and document a defined set of research activities on schedule.

• Clear written and verbal communication with both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Commitment to laboratory safety and participation in safety initiatives.

Outstanding Candidates Will Have:

• Post-doctoral experience, in university or industry, with examples of independent research in diverse areas is preferred

• Experience with rheology and interfacial science

• Demonstrated collaboration with team members of different levels or career stages

• Six Sigma GreenBelt or Blackbelt with knowledge and application of statistical tools like DOE analysis and programs to analyze results (e.g., Minitab, JMP, etc.)

• Strong communication skills – able to easily communicate with peers, research associates, and non-technical collaborators both written and in presentation formats