We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration. As NASA's largest engineering solutions provider working together with NASA at centers across the United States.
We have an exciting opportunity for a Volatile Ice Scientist Lead to join the team with Mb Solutions, a teammate company!
The Volatile Ice Scientist Lead will:
- Serve as the technical and scientific lead for volatile and icy sample research and development activities within cold curation.
- Lead the contract team in experimental and analytical investigations to characterize volatile retention, phase stability, and material behavior in icy and frozen samples.
- Support the development and implementation of cold and cryogenic curation workflows, environmental controls, and contamination minimization measures.
- Support and assist the design, testing, and operational readiness of cold curation facilities and specialized instrumentation, such as cryogenic gloveboxes and sub-zero sample processing tools.
- Prepare technical documentation, operational procedures, and research reports of experimental and operational work
- Support the creation and development of protocols for safe, contamination-controlled handling, processing, and long-term preservation of icy and volatile-bearing astromaterials.
- Collaborate with researchers, engineers, curators, and planetary scientists to ensure curation sample preservation systems meet requirements for science quality and environmental control.
Requisition Qualifications:
This position has been posted at multiple levels. Depending on the candidate's experience, requirements, and business needs, we reserve the right to consider candidates at any level for which this position has been advertised.
- A BS degree and a minimum of 5-10 years experience are typically required.
- Bachelor's degree in planetary science, geoscience, chemistry, materials science, physics, engineering, or a related field.
- Extensive hands-on experience handling icy materials, frozen geological samples, cryogenic materials, or volatile-rich specimens in laboratory or operational environments.
- Demonstrated expertise in cold or cryogenic experimental science, including instrument operation, method development, or environmental system design.
- Strong understanding of contamination control and clean lab principles.
- Proven ability to lead scientific or technical teams in laboratory, research, or mission-support settings.
- Excellent analytical, documentation, and problem-solving skills.
Requisition Preferences:
- Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline.
- Experience with volatiles preservation studies, phase-change behavior, or ice/rock interactions.
- Prior work with cryogenic gloveboxes, cryostats, ultra-low-temperature systems, or vacuum/controlled-atmosphere equipment.
- Experience supporting NASA sample return missions or other high-containment or specialized scientific operations.
- Familiarity with planetary materials, astromaterials curation, or mission requirements definition.
