Open positions
Principal Process Engineer: ALD Deposition and Scale-Up
About the role
You’ll own the path from a recipe that works once to a process that runs consistently, taking ALD/MLD into high-aspect-ratio, non-planar structures.
What you’ll do
- Take ALD and MLD processes from lab demonstration to repeatable manufacture: saturation windows, uniformity, defectivity, cycle time
- Define what “in spec” means for our films, and build the metrology and process control to hold it
- Own reactor qualification, tool matching, and maintenance strategy as we add capacity
- Throughput and cost directly: cycle time, precursor utilisation, cost
- Work with reactor vendors on tool specification and modification
- Work with our reactor team on tool specification and production
What we’re looking for
- You’ve owned an ALD deposition module and carried it through a production ramp. Module development engineer, thin film development engineer, or process development engineer.
- Experience with process windows, uniformity control, defect reduction and yield learning on real tools
- Experience specifying, qualifying, or modifying deposition hardware
Nice to have
- Conformal deposition into high-aspect-ratio or non-planar geometries
- Time at an equipment maker, a national lab or a chip manufacturer
- Catalysis or electrochemistry exposure
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
ALD Process Integration and Yield Lead
About the role
You’ll own the whole flow: substrate preparation through deposition to downstream processing, and the interactions between them.
What you’ll do
- Own the end-to-end process, and the trade-offs between steps that no single step owner can see
- Build the yield learning loop: failure analysis, root cause, corrective action
- Establish process robustness: repeatability, sensitivity, tolerance windows and the data infrastructure
- Work with our research scientists to keep new chemistry integrable as it develops
What we’re looking for
- You’ve run process integration or yield development somewhere real and carried a flow from development into production
- Strong statistical grounding
- Failure analysis and characterisation
Nice to have
- Semiconductor background though displays, photovoltaics or medical devices – with ALD
- Prior startup experience
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
Head of Lab Operations
About the role
You’ll be the first person on the ground in Berkeley and you’ll own the lab. This is three jobs in sequence: build a lab from an empty shell, run it as the person every experiment depends on, then scale it from one research reactor into a multi-tool pilot line, much of it custom-built. We’re looking for someone who has done at least the first two.
What you’ll do
- Join the fit-out: power, process cooling, exhaust and make-up air, seismic anchoring, floor loading, contractor and landlord management
- Help with the regulatory path: Hazardous Materials Business Plan and CUPA registration, fire department permits, hazmat quantity limits, chemical waste contracts and EPA ID, CalARP screening where applicable
- Install and commission our Beneq TFS200, uncrate to first wafer, through to a qualified Al₂O₃ baseline with growth-per-cycle and uniformity signed off against spec
- Keep the tool running and qualified: PM schedules, chamber cleans, precursor changes, pump and MFC maintenance, RF matching, witness wafer monitoring and SPC on growth rate and uniformity
- Support the research team’s process runs and teach them to run the tool safely themselves
- Own lab procurement, vendor relationships, consumables, calibration, sample and data tracking, and the lab budget
- Specify, integrate and commission our custom reactors: chamber design input, gas delivery, controls, safety interlocks
- Take us from one research tool to a pilot line, and lay the groundwork for production: SEMI S2/S8, ISO 9001, tech transfer discipline
- Hire and manage technicians as we grow
What we’re looking for
- Five or more years hands-on with vacuum deposition equipment, in a fab, national lab or research cleanroom
- You’ve installed, commissioned and serviced an ALD system yourself — Beneq TFS200 or TFS-series is a strong preference
- Real vacuum and mechanical competence: turbos and dry pumps, foreline traps, KF/CF/VCR, helium leak detection, RGA. You diagnose from symptoms, not from a service contract
- Pyrophoric and toxic precursor handling — TMA, DEZ, TDMAT/TEMAH, silanes, ozone. You’ve handled these without incident and you know why
- Gas delivery infrastructure: cabinets, VMBs, purge sequences, gas detection, abatement, and the permitting that comes with them
- You’re willing to be the person who signs off on safety
Nice to have
- Semiconductor equipment engineering background — Applied Materials, Lam, TEL, ASM, Intel, Micron, TSMC
- You’ve built a reactor, or a significant part of one
- Metrology depth: spectroscopic ellipsometry, XRR, SEM/EDS, XPS, in-situ QCM
- Python for tool data, SPC and automation
- You’ve stood up a lab or fab in California and dealt with a CUPA before
- Electrochemistry or fuel cell / electrolyser test hardware
- Prior startup experience
Not required
- A PhD
- Fuel cell or catalysis background
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
MLD Research Chemist
About the role
Designing and running the synthesis for main materials. Mainly organic synthesis, but simple inorganic will be present. You’ll work directly with the founding team.
What you’ll do
- Design and execute ALD/MLD synthesis pipeline for organic/inorganic layered structures
- Develop and run characterisations
- Build the reporting infrastructure for closed-loop materials discovery pipeline
- Iterate on catalyst architectures targeting improved mass activity at reduced PGM loading
- Document protocols and contribute to internal application notes and IP filings
What we’re looking for
- Degree in chemistry, materials science, or a closely adjacent field
- Strong fundamentals in organic synthesis or electrocatalysis
- Comfort with experimental design and statistical analysis
Nice to have
- PhD in chemistry, materials science, or a closely adjacent field
- Hands-on experience with ALD, CVD, or related vapour-phase synthesis techniques
- Direct experience with PEM fuel cell or electrolyser MEA fabrication and testing
- Familiarity with DFT or other computational chemistry workflows
- Prior experience in industrial R&D or a deep tech startup
- Track record of high-quality publications in the relevant area
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
ML for Material Science Researcher
About the role
You’ll build the machine learning systems that close the loop between simulation, synthesis, and measurement at Amphiform. You’ll own this from day one.
What you’ll do
- Design and build active learning pipelines that propose synthesis candidates from prior experimental and DFT data
- Develop models for catalyst performance: composition, geometry, electronic structure → activity
- Work on the data platform
- Work directly with our chemists
What we’re looking for
- Strong ML fundamentals and production engineering skills
- Experience applying ML to scientific or physical-system data (materials, chemistry, biology, physics)
Nice to have
- Background in computational chemistry, DFT, or molecular dynamics
- Publications in ML for materials/chemistry venues (NeurIPS, ICML, npj Comp Mat, Nature Comp Sci)
- Prior startup experience
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
Lab Technicians
About the role
You’ll be working with ALD systems, organic synthesis, characterisation tools and synthesis workflows running reliably day-to-day. You’ll work alongside our research chemists and report to the Head of Lab Operations.
What you’ll do
- Operate and maintain ALD/MLD systems (Beneq TFS 200, Picosun R-200) for routine deposition runs
- Prepare substrates, precursors, and samples
- Run standard characterisation workflows: XRD, SEM, BET, electrochemical testing
- Maintain equipment calibration, consumables, and lab inventory
- Follow and help refine SOPs, safety protocols, and quality systems
- Flag anomalies early
What we’re looking for
- Hands-on experience in a chemistry, materials, or semiconductor lab
- BSc in chemistry, materials science, or a related discipline (or equivalent practical experience)
- Meticulous, methodical, and genuinely cares about the quality of their work
- Comfortable with vacuum systems, gas handling, and standard lab safety practices
- Clear written communication
Very nice to have
- Direct experience with ALD, CVD, sputtering, or other vapour-phase deposition
- Familiarity with electrochemical testing or fuel cell MEA fabrication
- Experience commissioning new equipment from scratch
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
Lab Manager
About the role
You’ll be the person who keeps the science running on time and on budget. You’ll work closely with our Head of Lab Operations on strategy and budget, and lead our technicians day-to-day.
What you’ll do
- Own day-to-day lab operations: scheduling, throughput, equipment uptime, consumables
- Run procurement and supplier relationships for consumables, gases, and routine maintenance
- Coordinate with research scientists to plan synthesis and characterisation campaigns
- Accurate records
What we’re looking for
- Experience in a research or production lab
- BSc or higher in chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, or related
- Strong organisational skills
Nice to have
- Experience setting up a new lab or scaling an existing one through significant headcount growth
- Background in electrochemistry, fuel cells, or catalysis
- Familiarity with ISO 9001, GLP, or other formal quality frameworks
- Prior startup experience
Apply now
Or email us with questions before applying
Chief of Staff
About the role
You’ll work directly with the founder as we build the lab out and scale from research to first commercial systems. The role is very broad – operations, fundraising, hiring, partnerships
What we’re looking for
- Background is open. Ex-consulting or banking, former founder, or early operator at a deeptech startup are all natural fits.
- Comfort working alongside scientists and engineers. Science background not required.
- Ability to work in person in London or Oxford.
Nice to have
- Direct experience running a venture fundraise.
- Operational experience scaling a team through 10 → 30 people.
- Some technical or scientific exposure, even if informal.
Apply
Or email grisha@amphiform.com with your CV and a few lines on why this role.