Senior Chemist

Job Description

Senior Chemist

Position Overview

• Department: Materials / R&D

• Location: Colorado Lab (Boulder, CO) — On-site

• Position Level: Senior Chemist (Full-Time, Individual Contributor)

About the Role

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Chemist to invent, synthesize, purify, and characterize ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal (FNLC) and FenGlass™ electro-optic materials for next-generation silicon photonic modulators and related devices.

This role sits on the Boulder materials team and works daily with other synthetic chemists, photonic device engineers, and external custom-synthesis partners. You will design molecules, build robust routes, and generate the structure–property data that guide what we scale.

The successful candidate will have outsized impact on the materials that move from flask to device.

Key Responsibilities

Molecular Design and Synthesis

• Work with synthetic chemists and photonic device engineers to develop ferroelectric liquid crystals and related chromophores with large electro-optic coefficients (r₃₃), plus photostability and thermal stability suitable for silicon photonic integration.

• Independently design and execute multi-step organic syntheses, including route scouting, protecting-group strategy, and reaction optimization.

• Optimize reactions for yield, selectivity, reproducibility, and scalability; diagnose failed or low-yielding steps and iterate.

• Methodically generate structure–property relationships and capture design rules for the next analog series.

• Keep multiple routes and analog series moving at once; batch similar operations and use downtime (reflux, columns, overnight reactions) so bench time stays high.

• Use literature and prior art to bring new synthetic concepts into the lab.

Purification and Characterization

• Purify intermediates and final compounds using flash chromatography, prep HPLC, crystallization, and related techniques.

• Characterize reactions and products with HPLC-MS, TLC, NMR, UV-Vis, DSC, and other standard methods; interpret data independently and decide next experiments.

• Isolate and identify impurities when they affect yield, stability, or device-relevant properties; improve workups and polish steps accordingly.

• Build reliable analytical methods for new analog families so lots can be compared cleanly.

Scale-Up Partnership and Lab Operations

• Work with CDMOs and custom-synthesis partners to plan routes, transfer procedures, and troubleshoot campaigns.

• Write clear experimental procedures and notebooks that another chemist—or a vendor—can follow.

• Practice rigorous lab hygiene and chemical safety: follow SOPs and EHS requirements, keep benches and shared instruments clean and clearly labeled, handle and dispose of chemicals correctly, and flag hazards promptly.

• Maintain an up-to-date electronic notebook.

Communication and Prioritization

• Document and present results to technical and non-technical audiences, including device engineers and manufacturing/quality partners.

• Invent, shape, and document developments that support company growth; keep work on track, balancing speed and scientific rigor within budget.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry or a closely related discipline; or M.S. with 5+ years of hands-on industrial organic synthesis.

• Demonstrated multi-step synthesis, purification, and structure confirmation (NMR, LC-MS, chromatography).

• Comfort planning a week of bench work, interpreting results, and deciding the next analog or route change without heavy supervision.

• On-site in Boulder, CO.

Preferred & Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with liquid crystals, ferroelectric nematics, or conjugated push-pull organic chromophores.

• Background in optical or electro-optic materials characterization (r₃₃ or related metrics, photostability, thermal analysis).

• Strength in modern catalytic couplings, heterocycle chemistry, or other methods used to build extended π-systems.

• Prior work with CDMOs or custom fine-chemical suppliers.

• 2+ years postgraduate or industrial R&D; technical curiosity; reliability and integrity; comfort in a fast-paced startup working with external partners.

Benefits

• Equity

• Salary ($ -$ )

• Health benefits

• Opportunity for rapid advancement

About the Company

Polaris Electro-Optics develops high-speed electro-optic modulator technology for AI, datacom, and telecom infrastructure. Its FenGlass™ platform integrates a proprietary ferroelectric nematic glass material into standard silicon photonic integrated circuits, delivering 400 Gbps per lane and beyond at low drive voltage with CMOS-compatible, scalable manufacturing.

• Founded in 2021 as a spinout of the University of Colorado Boulder, Polaris develops materials in Boulder, Colorado and photonic solutions from headquarters in Carlsbad, California. Learn more at polariseo.com.