Weekend Electroplating Process Engineer Jobs in Pittsburgh, PA

About NovoLINC

NovoLINC is a deep-tech spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program, dedicated to creating the world's best thermal solutions to drive sustainable global technological advancement. Our universal, high-performance thermal interface material (TIM) is designed to meet the critical demands of energy-dense devices and systems. We serve a range of industries, including semiconductors, electronic devices, AI data centers, automotive, and aerospace, with best-in-class thermal interface solutions.

At NovoLINC, we believe in a people first approach to company growth where our employees are our most valuable resource and all team members are given the opportunity to contribute and grow their skills.

NovoLINC is growing its technical team in electroplating and manufacturing. We are looking for a self-motivated, detail-orientated electroplating engineer who can join us as we continue to expand our manufacturing in an entirely new electroplating process. This role is suitable for anyone with an industrial electroplating background and commitment to safety and a growth mindset.

Working directly under the Director of Technology and Manufacture as part of the electroplating engineering team, the electroplating engineer will be responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of a range of plating processes, ensuring quality standards and throughput goals are met for our customers. The role will involve significant use of electroplating lines, maintenance of ionic concentration through lab testing and plating testing as well as the handling of bulk hazardous chemicals such as acids, bases and solvents as plating scale is increased.

• Working with the Director of Technology and Manufacture and Electroplating Engineer to run electroplating processes of various scales from benchtop to production.
• Utilizing knowledge in electroplating for various metals and processes related to our products and building on those technologies to develop new methods and Chemistry.
• Working to ensure quality and throughput standards are met and maintained for customers through process improvement with lean methodology.
• Working with external suppliers and partners to ensure supply of materials and chemistry is consistent and of high quality.
• Specifying, sourcing and installing any new methods or equipment for bath maintenance and chemical testing.
• Maintaining the plating line chemistry and developing quality control and standard tests to ensure plating quality is maintained and bath health is monitored proactively using titration and Hull Cell testing.
• Showing a commitment to an exemplary level of safe and trustworthy handling of hazardous chemicals and processes and ensuring the use of all provided personal protective equipment.
• Processing quality and testing data using statistics principles to give timely and accurate reports to the Director of Technology and Manufacture.
• Maintaining a system for batch control for created samples for quality control.
• Handling of hazardous waste streams by ensuring waste is stored safely and working with approved partners for safe disposal.
• Generating written experimental reports for management.

Qualifications - Required

• BS in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science or similar chemically focused discipline.
• Must Have - At least 3 years experience in copper, nickel or similar industrial electroplating processes in an industrial environment.
• Hands on lab experience working with solvents, acid and base solutions and commitment to using safe lab practices.
• Solid understanding of chemical redox reactions, solution phase and surface chemistry.
• Must be able to work onsite 100% at our lab in Harmar, PA 15238.
• Proven technical and non-technical communication skills both verbally and in written reports.

Qualifications - Preferred

• Experience in electrochemistry, surface science or organic chemistry..
• Experience in taking bench scale chemical processes to larger scales for manufacturing.
• Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology to guide process development and optimization.
• Experience in continuous manufacturing processes, especially those involving electroplating.
• Programming experience for data handling in Python, R, MATLAB or similar for data gathering or analysis.
• Solid understanding of statistical principles and proven experience in application in statistical assessment of data using Minitab, JMP or similar.
• Knowledge of process development using tools such as Lean Six Sigma, root cause analysis, DMAIC etc.

Benefits

NovoLINC offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health care, flexible paid time off (PTO). This is an opportunity to work with a team of highly motivated individuals who are driving innovation in the thermal management industry.