Lab Specialist: Catalyst Testing & Characterization

About Umicore

Reducing harmful vehicle emissions. Powering the cars of the future. Giving new life to used metals. We are the leading circular materials technology company fulfilling its mission to create materials for a better life. With ambitions like this, imagine what you could do?

About Fuel Cell and Stationary Catalysts

High-performance stationary catalysts. Next generation fuel-cell technologies. With clean air and green mobility playing a vital part in protecting the world of tomorrow, our design and production of these sustainable solutions has never been more crucial. Developing innovative products for a broad range of industries, we’re creating a better future by helping customers reach zero emission mobility and power supply. To keep improving the way the world moves we cannot stand still. We need to find new ways to do things, discover new solutions and develop new ideas. Which is where you come in.

What you will be doing

1. Customer & Internal Sample Testing

Execute customer or internal catalyst sample tests according to approved protocols. Prepare, run, and document activity tests and ICP/XRF analyses. Ensure all test data is accurate, reproducible, and defensible. Coordinate tests at external lab when needed.

2. Data Integrity & Documentation

• Record and communicate test data, observations, and deviations accurately and promptly
• Maintain clear, complete test records suitable for customer, audit, and internal review
• Support preparation of technical inputs for customer reports

3. Ownership of instruments and test protocols

• Maintain full ownership of catalyst synthetic gas test bench and testing protocols, ensuring they are operated, calibrated, and maintained according to standards
• Monitor instrument performance, identify abnormalities, and proactively coordinate corrective actions to prevent data quality issues
• Perform immediate troubleshooting steps when issues arise. Escalate when troubleshooting exceeds defined boundaries or acceptance criteria
• Support investigation of abnormal results with disciplined, fact-based analysis
• Assist test protocol development, but is able to implement developed test protocols independently

4. Lab Discipline & Collaboration

• Maintain clean, organized, and disciplined test environments
• Coordinate with QC analysts, lab management, and plant personnel is required

5. Guided laboratory experiment

Execute well-defined development or exploratory tests under guidance from technical leadership

Who we are looking for

Education & Experience

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or related field
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with catalyst activity testing using synthetic gas test bench or similar equipment
• Proven track record of instrument ownership: uptime, maintenance, troubleshooting, and calibration
• Working experience with catalyst activity testing and catalyst post-mortem analysis at R&D lab, applied technology lab or third-party testing lab is a strong plus
• Experience with catalyst characterization technique (e.g., XRF, ICP and etc) and gas analyzers (e.g. FTIR) is a plus

Technical Competencies

• Familiarity with catalyst performance metrics and degradation mechanisms is a must
• Strong experimental planning and execution
• Attention to the details
• High sense of ownership for the catalyst activity test instrument, including troubleshooting, maintenance, and calibration
• Ability to support protocol development, as well as make continuous improvement

Personal Skills

• High sense of ownership for data accuracy and credibility
• Comfortable escalating issues and stopping work when required
• Able to work effectively and independently under intermittent high workload
• Clear communicator with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Disciplined, methodical, and detail-oriented

What we offer

We aim to lead the way. Not just for our customers, but for our employees too. That is why we strive to create a collaborative environment in which we can all succeed, and a culture through which we can all share ideas, develop our expertise and advance our careers. We engage in building an inclusive work culture that offers equal opportunities for all employees irrespective of their diverse backgrounds. As you would expect from a world-leading organisation, we will also reward your contribution with a competitive salary and benefits. With all this and more, imagine what you could do?

If my expertise can help us reduce global emissions, IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD DO?