Company Overview

Pascal is a technology company commercializing solid refrigerant heat pumps and air conditioners. The HVAC sector currently accounts for 40% of global energy usage while also directly emitting 2 Gton CO2 eq. of greenhouse gas refrigerants to the atmosphere. Pascal’s solid refrigerants undergo solid–solid phase transitions in response to pressure, and can operate within the same pressure and temperature ranges as standard gas refrigerants. Pascal’s technology eliminates the direct emission of refrigerants to the atmosphere, and offers a pathway to more efficient, more sustainable, and cheaper heating and cooling systems.

Originally spun out of Harvard, we are in the process of developing a full-scale heat pump prototype to demonstrate the commercial viability of our technology. In the long term, our technology positions us to lead a fundamental shift in the HVAC industry, revolutionizing the way we provide heating and cooling today. We are a small, founder-led company looking for motivated, talented people to join our team. For more information, visit https://www.pascaltechnology.com.

Benefits Overview

Health, dental, 20 days PTO, 11 holidays, unlimited sick days, 3 month parental leave, professional development budget, stock options and more

Job Overview

Pascal is looking for a materials scientist with 2+ years of industrial experience in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or related fields, holding at least a Master’s degree. Applicants should have prior experience synthesizing and characterizing organic or inorganic–organic hybrid materials. Specific experience with phase-change materials, battery electrode manufacturing, organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, additive manufacturing, or composite engineering is a plus.

Pascal has validated its core solid refrigerant technology in the laboratory and now seeks to develop a kW-scale heat pump prototype. The completion of this prototype requires optimization of our solid refrigerant materials and integration of the solids into our overall system.

Materials scientists will work closely with the technical founding team to improve the chemistry of our system, develop new materials, and advance our short-term and long-term R&D goals, including identifying champion solid refrigerants from our large library of compounds, optimizing their material properties, and developing chemical strategies and composite materials to improve thermal performance. They will collaborate with our thermal engineering team to incorporate solid refrigerants into the overall system and provide support for techno-economic modeling to our commercialization team.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Synthesize organic–inorganic hybrid and organic materials for use as solid refrigerants
• Characterize and evaluate existing and new materials with a variety of experimental techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction
• Construct experimental temperature/pressure phase diagrams for our materials and work with the thermal engineering team to evaluate their potential as solid refrigerants
• Invent new techniques and formulations to produce solid refrigerant composites
• Test solid refrigerant composites for thermal performance and longevity
• Work with external contract manufacturers to scale up the materials synthesis
• Provide support to the commercialization team on evaluating the costs of material production at scale
• Participate in building and growing company culture and values
• Mentor interns and co-op students on R&D-related projects

Preferred Qualifications

Research suggests that qualified people from historically marginalized groups may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who might not meet the exact requirements, but who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role.

• Deeply motivated by the climate crisis and its downstream impacts
• 2+ years of work experience in materials science, chemistry, or related fields, along with a strong educational background, holding at least a Master’s degree
• Candidates with additional experience will be considered and role designation will be commensurate with experience.
• Experience in synthetic chemistry and/or composite materials
• Familiarity with basic structural and thermal characterization of materials
• Exceptional communication and documentation skills
• Experience in one or multiple of the following:
• Working knowledge of chemistry, including basic chemical safety practices
• Familiarity with thermodynamics
• Familiarity with fluid and/or gas handling systems, including safety and compliance
• Familiarity with one or more software languages (Python, C++, MATLAB, etc.)

Why work at Pascal?

• Decarbonizing the HVAC industry has been identified as one of the single most impactful actions we can take to fight climate change. We have an opportunity at Pascal to solve this problem. Come join us!
• Work in the heart of one of the most innovative places in the country and a thriving hub for clean tech
• This position has high leadership and growth potential. You will be joining the company at a critical stage and we are backed by leading venture capital firms with strong momentum.
• We provide competitive salary, benefits, and equity package.

Pascal does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.