Head of Research And Development

Job Description

Are you ready to join Connecticut Innovation’s vibrant community of innovators? Connecticut Innovations (“CI”) is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm, and we are passionate about serving our portfolio of 220+ companies across various industries, with strengths in life sciences, technology, and climate tech.

Come join one of our quickly growing portfolio companies, Home | CREW Carbon !

CREW Carbon Overview

CREW’s technology and services make wastewater treatment cheaper and more efficient, while permanently sequestering CO₂.

Leveraging advanced chemistry, natural minerals, and AI, we’ve developed and are deploying a category-defining process intensification technology, with decarbonization at its core. Today, we help wastewater treatment facilities and operators:

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• Stabilize pH & alkalinity 24/7
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• Eliminate hazardous chemicals & cut costs
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• Avoid $100M+ infrastructure upgrades
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• Capture & Store CO2
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We are currently deploying this technology across the US and Europe. In addition, we’ve signed $30M+ in carbon removal offtake agreements with leading corporations looking to meet their climate goals, supercharging geographical CREW’s expansion.

CREW has offices and labs in New Haven, CT and offices in Brooklyn, NY.

We are funded by Counteract, ReGen, Ponderosa, Connecticut Innovations and others. We've secured large contracts with the premier buyers of carbon credits through the Frontier Climate Fund (Stripe, Shopify, Autodesk, McKinsey, among others) and have been selected by the Department of Energy as one of the few potential suppliers of high-quality carbon credits to the federal government.

About The Role

As Head of R&D and Lab Ops at CREW Carbon, you will serve as a technical authority on the science underlying CREW’s wastewater process optimization and decarbonization solution. This role requires a wastewater treatment and aqueous chemistry expert who can interpret complex data to drive internal R&D and lab operations, working in close partnership across functions to ensure that science translates cleanly into what CREW designs, deploys, and delivers.

You will play a pivotal role in accelerating the application of CREW’s technology by translating biological treatment process data from laboratory studies and full-scale deployments into rigorous, defensible technical insight. You will quantify and articulate the value CREW delivers through process intensification within biological treatment systems — including the carbon removal performance that underpins CREW’s MRV work — and you will drive the internal data collection, analysis, and modeling required to support those conclusions and enable scale across treatment facilities.

This role will work closely with CREW Carbon’s world-class Advisory, Commercial, and Technical Solutions teams to define scientific priorities, mentor lab and R&D team members, and drive CREW’s mission through innovative research and rigorous analysis.

This position is a full-time role. Location is onsite at CREW’s New Haven, CT or Brooklyn, NY offices. Remote considered only for exceptional candidates, with regular travel to New Haven and Brooklyn expected.

Responsibilities

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• Serve as CREW’s senior technical authority on biological nutrient removal (BNR), aqueous chemistry, and process performance, applying this expertise directly to CREW’s deployments and R&D.
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• Analyze operational and experimental data, identify the metrics that matter, and drive process and product decisions using mass/energy balances and process modeling.
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• Lead and mentor CREW’s lab/R&D team, setting experimental protocols and data collection standards that rigorously validate process performance.
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• Apply process engineering expertise to translate lab-scale findings into improvements CREW can deploy at scale.
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• Collaborate closely with CREW’s Platform and Technical Solutions teams to leverage CREW’s data infrastructure and turn experimental and operational data into actionable product decisions.
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• Support carbon removal quantification methodology and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) for CREW’s deployments.
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• Serve as a process-engineering resource to Technical Solutions and Operations when a field issue needs deeper root-cause analysis — diagnosing the underlying process science and feeding fixes back into R&D.
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• Author technical reports and internal R&D documentation that capture CREW’s process engineering rigor.
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Experience Requirements

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• Bachelor’s degree (required) in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a related field.
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• 10+ years of hands-on experience in biological wastewater treatment process engineering — process evaluation, design, or modeling.
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• Strong understanding of wastewater treatment processes, including nutrient removal, solids handling, and pH and alkalinity control.
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• Comfortable leading and growing a technical team.
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• Exceptional technical writing skills, with the ability to translate complex process science into clear, defensible documents.
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• Experience with process modeling tools (BioWin, SUMO, GPS-X, ASM libraries, or equivalent).
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• Familiarity with analytical methods used in wastewater and aqueous chemistry system characterization (e.g., IC, TIC, ICP) and ability to interpret analytical data.
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• Comfortable working in a rapidly evolving environment and able to quickly synthesize new information to proactively adjust focus.
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• Professional Engineer (PE) license is a plus.
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• You practice extreme ownership (no task is too small).
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• You love being in the trenches with your team and working with high empathy.
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• You have a growth mindset.
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Compensation

Compensation at the time of offer is unique to each candidate and based on a variety of factors such as skill set, experience, qualifications, and work location. Salary is one part of the total compensation and benefits package. Other benefits for eligible employees may include: equity through the form of option grants, flexible paid time off, 401(k) plan, well equipped office environment, and health benefits offerings.

The expected base salary range for this role is $120,000 – $180,000. This range represents the company’s estimate for this position at the time of posting however actual compensation may vary based on skills, experience, location, role scope, and business needs.

CREW Highlights

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• Signed a carbon credit offtake agreement with the Frontier Climate Fund in 2024
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• Selected as 1 of 24 companies by the US Department of Energy in 2024 to be a potential supplier of high-quality carbon credits to the federal government
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• Highlighted as an “Innovator of the Month” by US Senator Chris Murphy in 2024
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• Selected by ImagineH2O, the leading water sector innovation accelerator in 2024
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• Highlighted by Business Insider as “One of the Most Promising Climate-Tech Startups of 2023
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CREW Carbon is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We have strict wage minimums, generous benefits, and personal leave policies. Our goal is to provide safe, rewarding, and empowering work environments for all who interact with our company.