Back to jobs
New

Associate Fellow

Lexington, MA

With a strategy centered on people and sustainability, Braskem is engaged in contributing to the value chain to strengthen the Circular Economy. Braskem’s 9,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improving people's lives through sustainable solutions in chemicals and plastics. With its corporate DNA rooted in innovation, Braskem offers a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse industries, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, health and hygiene, and more. With 40 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem exports its products to clients in over 70 countries.

Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh and a New Renewable Innovation Center in Lexington, which focuses on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and chemical catalysis. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa.

Department: Innovation & Technology

Location: Lexington, MA

Travel Involved: Less than 10%

Job Type: Hybrid 

Description: 

Braskem is seeking an exceptional, highly motivated catalysis technical expert to guide research and development technical work focused on heterogeneous catalyst projects in the Global Catalysis organization.  The Global Catalysis organization discovers and develops both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic solutions to enable Braskem strategic goals in the areas of bio-based chemicals, specialty products, and polyolefins catalysis. 

The successful candidate will be expected to drive research and development on novel catalytic processes, and create new, impactful research programs to drive Braskem business strategies.  They will provide both mentoring and technical oversight to catalyst researchers and oversee technical validity of catalysis project team results.  They will also engage both internally and externally with partner technical organizations and business partners to efficiently deliver high-value technologies.

In addition, the candidate will work with the Global Catalysis management to define and implement the catalysis strategy in conjunction with the Braskem businesses and the I&T leadership.  The candidate will also establish the capability roadmap, and develop organizational competencies as needed, for the catalysis team to discover, develop and deploy novel catalysts and catalytic technologies.  This roadmap will define the internal and external capabilities necessary to efficiently develop and scaleup catalysts and catalytic processes. 

Key Responsibilities and Activities Include:

  • Mentoring and technical leadership for catalysis project teams in the research, development, and implementation of technologies that result in improved process efficiencies and new products for our clients.
  • Understands Braskem’s processes and leads research into new catalysts and processes.
  • Defines and guides execution of research activities for project teams, including establishing and supporting team deliverables, coordinating with partner groups to access needed capabilities, and mentoring researchers to ensure high technical quality for the team’s work products.
  • Coordinates multiple programs, leads interdisciplinary project teams, and coordinates their solutions toward implementation
  • Establishing catalyst development and scale-up roadmap including developing key vendor relationships to deliver lowest cost catalyst solutions to the business
  • In partnership with the global catalysis manager, create, define, and implement the Global Catalysis strategy in conjunction with the Braskem businesses and the I&T leadership.
  • Collaborate with management in the development of future research plans and gap analysis of the organization for its ability to conduct those plans.
  • Develop and strengthen the existing key technical competencies in the Catalysts Organization
  • Establish and/or oversee technological partnerships with universities, top Innovation centers, mature companies, and startup companies
  • Role model and technical mentor to junior scientists, guiding their development and growth as scientists

Requirements:

The ideal candidate needs to have strong technical and interpersonal skills with the ability to technically lead catalyst research efforts and mentor to develop capabilities in the organization.  The candidate should demonstrate a track record of developing catalyst technologies and leading teams in heterogeneous catalyst research.  The position requires close coordination and cooperation with other technical departments across the global organization. Other requirements are a high level of creativity, a disciplined approach to complex projects, strategic thinking, and the ability to collaborate across functions. 

Preferred Skills, Education, and Experience: 

  • Ph.D. Degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
  • Minimum fifteen (15) years’ experience with catalyst discovery and/or development
  • Leadership experience (either technical team or direct reports)
  • Strong safety mindset
  • Strong focus on mentoring
  • Track record of working in a team environment
  • Strong technical/problem solving aptitude
  • Initiative, a drive for results, and ability to solve complex problems by identifying and enrolling appropriate resources
  • Must be team and results oriented with the ability to lead and implement new technology improvements.
  • Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

What we offer

At Braskem, we offer more than just a competitive pay package. Our total rewards package includes a wide range of benefits you need for every stage of your life. Our benefits include:

  • Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
  • Retirement Benefits
  • Maternity and Paternity Leave
  • Life Insurance
  • Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Teladoc
  • A wide range of voluntary benefits like Pet Insurance, Legal and ID Theft Insurance
  • Flexible work schedules like 9/80 schedules for eligible team members

Depending on qualifications, the successful candidate may be offered a position at a more appropriate level and/or ladder.

Candidates must be currently eligible to work in the United States without the need for any type of sponsorship now or in the future. Braskem is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees according to applicable law. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact the Talent Acquisition team.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Braskem? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Demographic Questions

At Braskem, we are proud of our culture that promotes Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) encouraging its team members to be who they are, following the motto: “You are free to be you.” This mindset adds value to the organization by unlocking untapped potential.

To support this important value, D&I is part of our business strategy encouraging diversity and inclusive behavior within our teams. You will see some of this throughout your application process, aiming to identify and mitigate unconscious biases in our hiring process.

Below is a set of voluntary demographic questions that are part of this inclusive tool set within our recruiting process. If you choose to fill them out, the responses will be used only to help us identify areas for improvement in our process in forms of summarized anonymous reports. Your responses, or choice not to respond, will not be associated with your specific application, is not visible to anyone of the Braskem team including the hiring leader, HR and IT, and will not in any way be used in the hiring decision.

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Braskem’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.