Job Title: Computational Chemist (Materials Development)
Location: Broomfield, CO
Reports To: Principal Materials Architect / Director of R&D
About Polaris Electro-Optics
At Polaris Electro-Optics, we are pioneering the future of optical communications. We develop cutting-edge ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals and integrate them into silicon photonics to create next-generation, high-speed modulators. Our cross-disciplinary team is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in electro-optics, and we are looking for top-tier talent to help accelerate our technology development.
The Role
We are seeking an expert Computational Chemist to support our core materials development team. In this role, you will bridge the gap between theoretical design and physical synthesis by predicting material properties before they hit the bench.
Working closely with our Principal Materials Architect and our synthetic chemistry team, you will primarily utilize the Schrödinger Materials Science Suite to screen candidate molecules. By modeling both isolated molecular properties and complex bulk behaviors, your insights will directly inform our chemical roadmap, significantly reducing R&D cycle times and accelerating our path to commercialization.
Key Responsibilities
- Electronic Structure Calculations: Utilize the Schrödinger suite (specifically Jaguar) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods to predict fundamental single-molecule properties, including thermal stability, photostability, polarizability, and absorption spectra.
- Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulations: Design and execute complex MD simulations using Schrödinger (Desmond) to predict bulk material behaviors, specifically focusing on the emergence of the ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal (FNLC) phase, glass transition temperatures (Tg), refractive indices, and dielectric constants.
- Materials Screening & Optimization: Build and maintain computational workflows within the Schrödinger platform to rapidly screen molecular candidates against stringent electro-optic and environmental stability requirements.
- Cross-Functional Support: Translate complex computational data into actionable insights for the Principal Materials Architect to guide high-level decision-making, and provide structural targets for the synthetic chemistry team.
- Methodology Advancement: Stay current with the latest computational chemistry literature to continuously improve the accuracy and speed of our predictive models.
Required Qualifications
- Education: Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Materials Science, or a closely related field.
- Schrödinger Suite Expertise: Extensive, hands-on experience utilizing the Schrödinger software suite for materials science. You should be highly proficient with Jaguar for quantum mechanics calculations and Desmond for molecular dynamics.
- Quantum Chemistry & MD Knowledge: Deep theoretical understanding of the underlying physics and chemistry driving DFT and MD simulations to ensure accurate model setup and data interpretation.
- Programming Skills: Strong proficiency in Python (including the Schrödinger Python API) or Bash to automate workflows and extract trends from large computational datasets.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience modeling liquid crystals.
- Experience integrating machine learning (ML) or cheminformatics approaches into materials discovery pipelines.
- Familiarity with the physics of electro-optic devices or photonics.
- Experience with supplementary computational packages (e.g., Gaussian, LAMMPS, GROMACS, Turbomole) is a plus.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary and equity package. Salary range $130,000-$180,000
- Comprehensive health, vision, and dental benefits.
- The opportunity to make high-impact decisions at the forefront of the optical communications industry, while being at the ground floor of developing a new class of materials.
