Scientist / Engineer
Other Engineering, Product, Operations, Quality Assurance · Full-time
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
USD 60k-90k / year
Posted on Jun 23, 2026
1. Overview
Title: Scientist / Engineer — ArborSORB™ Materials Production & Process Development
Company: Sequestro, Inc.
Location: Ann Arbor, MI (Mi-HQ, 600 S Wagner Rd)
Start-Up Stage: Pre-seed / early commercialization
Commitment: Full-time
Compensation: Salary + equity options, commensurate with experience
2. About Sequestro
Sequestro is an advanced materials startup on a mission to help fix one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: PFAS (“forever chemicals”) contamination in water. Our core technology, ArborSORB™, transforms sustainably sourced wood-based materials into high-performance adsorbents for water treatment.
We’re a small, fast-moving, science-forward team that believes doing meaningful work should also be fun, collaborative, and deeply satisfying. If you like rolling up your sleeves, learning by doing, and seeing your work make a real-world impact, you’ll feel right at home.
This is an early team role. That means the work will be hands-on, sometimes messy, often changing, and very real. You will not be buried in a corner doing isolated tasks. You will help make the material, run the equipment, ship samples, improve the process, and keep the lab moving.
3. The Role
We’re looking for a Scientist / Engineer to help run day-to-day ArborSORB™ production and technical operations in Sequestro’s lab.
This person will spend most of their time doing the work: running reactions, operating lab and pilot equipment, preparing materials, documenting batches, managing inventory, supporting shipments, and helping improve the process as we scale.
You do not need to be a senior scientist. You do not need to have seen every piece of equipment before. You do not need to have the perfect degree. What matters most is that you are dependable, hands-on, careful, curious, and willing to figure things out.
We are looking for someone who wants to contribute, wants to learn, wants to be part of the team, and does not throw their hands up when something unfamiliar happens — because unfamiliar things will happen.
4. What You’ll Do
Make ArborSORB™
Your main job will be helping produce ArborSORB™ material for internal development, customer samples, testing partners, and pilot programs.
▷ Run hands-on laboratory chemistry. Set up, monitor, and clean up reactions
▷ Handle reagents, wood-based feedstocks, adsorbent materials, purification steps, filtrations, drying, sieving, and packaging
▷ Support production at lab scale and pilot scale, by operating Sequestro’s 20-liter reactor system and supporting lab equipment
▷ Help make batch after batch, learn from each one, and improve the process along the way
Keep the Lab Moving
In an early startup, lab operations matter just as much as experiments.
▷ Prepare, label, package, and ship ArborSORB™ samples to customers, partners, and labs
▷ Track and replenish raw materials, reagents, consumables, samples, and finished material inventory
▷ Maintain organized batch records, sample IDs, shipment records, and lab notes
▷ Keep workspaces clean, safe, and ready for the next batch
▷ Support visitors, demonstrations, customer samples, and partner testing as needed
Help Improve the Process
We are still learning how to make ArborSORB™ better, faster, more consistently, and more efficiently. You will be part of that process.
▷ Support experiments on reaction conditions, reagent ratios, particle size, mixing, filtration, washing, drying, and material handling
▷ Collect practical process data such as batch size, yield, timing, moisture content, observations, and deviations
▷ Help document SOPs, checklists, and process improvements
▷ Help troubleshoot when equipment, chemistry, or materials do something unexpected
▷ Bring ideas — practical, creative thinking is very welcome here
Support Testing and Quality
You may also help prepare materials and data for internal and external testing.
▷ Prepare samples for analysis or shipment to external labs
▷ Support routine checks such as moisture content, pH, conductivity, particle size screening, or other simple quality measurements
▷ Organize experimental and batch data so others can use it
5. Who You Are
You might be a great fit if you:
▷ Like working with your hands and solving practical problems
▷ Are comfortable in a chemical lab fume hood
▷ Are willing to operate, clean, troubleshoot, and master equipment
▷ Can follow procedures carefully but also think when something does not make sense
▷ Are organized enough to take good notes and track materials
▷ Are flexible enough to work in a startup where priorities can change quickly
▷ Are dependable, hardworking, and honest when something goes wrong
▷ Like being part of a small team where everyone’s work matters
▷ Care about clean water, sustainability, and building technology that actually helps people
6. What Matters Most
▷ We care less about perfect credentials and more about ownership, attitude, and follow-through.
▷ A degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, or a related field can be helpful — but the most important thing is that you are a doer.
▷ The right person is someone who shows up, learns quickly, asks good questions, takes pride in the work, helps the team, and keeps going when the answer is not obvious.
▷ If you are the kind of person who sees a problem and thinks, “Okay, let’s figure this out,” you will probably fit in well here.
7. Nice, But Not Required
▷ B.S., M.S., or equivalent hands-on experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, polymer science, environmental engineering, or a related field
▷ Experience with wet chemistry, batch reactions, filtration, drying, solids handling, or lab-scale production
▷ Experience in an academic lab, startup lab, pilot plant, manufacturing environment, or process development setting
▷ Familiarity with lab safety, chemical handling, and basic documentation practices
▷ Experience preparing samples, managing inventory, or supporting shipments
8. What You’ll Get
▷ Real ownership of meaningful technical work
▷ A chance to be one of the first technical hires at a mission-driven startup
▷ Hands-on experience turning chemistry into a real product
▷ Exposure to process development, scale-up, customer sampling, and early commercialization
▷ Mentorship from a founder and technical team that enjoy teaching, building, and learning alongside the team
▷ A role where your work will be visible, valued, and directly connected to company progress
▷ The satisfaction of helping build something that actually matters
9. Compensation Framework
Compensation will depend on experience, fit, and level. At this stage, Sequestro does not yet provide a full benefits package, including healthcare coverage. Benefits and compensation are expected to evolve as the company grows.
Sequestro, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.