Lab Technician — Materials R&D
Omnis Building Technologies, LLC
Location
Morgantown, WV — 3710 Collins Ferry Rd, Morgantown, WV 26505
Type
Full-time, on-site
Hours
40–50 per week
Compensation
Hourly, $20–$30 per hour depending on background
Benefits
Health insurance · dental and vision · life insurance · paid time off
Reports to
Materials Sciences PhD / R&D Lead
About the role
You'll be the primary lab technician working alongside our materials sciences PhD on the development of a new precast composite panel system. This is a bench role — small-scale, hands-on, and meticulous. When there's a question to answer experimentally, you're the one who sets up the run, weighs up the materials, executes the protocol cleanly, takes the measurements, photographs the samples, writes the notes, and brings the data back so the PhD can interpret it.
You'll own the day-to-day operation of the lab: instruments calibrated, samples labeled and archived, protocols followed, equipment clean, observations logged. You'll be the person who knows exactly what was on the bench last Tuesday at 3 pm and exactly where the cubes from that pour are sitting today.
What the work looks like day to day
· Weighing materials to gram and tenth-of-a-gram accuracy against written recipes
· Mixing small batches — by hand, Hobart, Vitamix, planetary, or high-shear, depending on the protocol
· Running characterization tests: refractometer, Tyndall scattering, filter residue, viscometry, set time, slump and flow, particle sizing, microscopy, pH
· Casting test specimens — cubes, bars, sections, coupons — and curing them under controlled conditions
· Photographing samples at defined time points and labeling them so the photo is interpretable a year later
· Recording data into structured log sheets with timestamps, masses, temperatures, and direct observations of what you saw
· Calibrating and maintaining lab instruments — scales, hot plates, ovens, mixers, glassware
· Cleaning labware and keeping a tidy, organized bench
· Maintaining the sample archive — what was made when, what the result was, and where it is now
· Following our written bench protocols (and helping us refine them when you see a better way)
· Communicating clearly with the PhD and the broader engineering team
The mindset we are looking for
This role is most of all about temperament. Four things matter:
· METICULOUS. Lab work is unforgiving. You weigh to the tolerance the protocol calls out, you write down what you actually did (not what you intended to do), and you label samples so the person reading your notes a year from now — which may be you — knows exactly what they're looking at.
· CURIOUS. When something looks weird, you note it — don't paper over it. The weirdness is often the data. The most useful thing you can write in a logbook is 'this didn't look like the last one.'
· RELIABLE. Tests run on 24-hour, 48-hour, 7-day, 28-day, and 90-day schedules. They only work if someone shows up on the right day to make the measurement.
· COMFORTABLE SPEAKING UP. If you think the protocol is wrong, or you see something the PhD didn't, say so. We would rather hear about it.
Skills we'd love you to have — but will train if you don't
· Lab experience of any kind: academic, industrial, QA/QC, or R&D
· Materials characterization: scales (analytical and bench), pH meters, refractometers, viscometers, microscopes, particle sizers
· Wet-chemistry technique: pipetting, titration, dilution series, sample handling
· Concrete or cementitious testing: cube and bar casting, compression testing, slump and flow per ASTM
· Documentation discipline: lab notebooks, structured data entry, photography for documentation
· Spreadsheet work and basic data plotting (Excel, Sheets, or similar)
· Lab safety habits: PPE, chemical handling, SDS literacy
If your background is in trades, manufacturing, or general technical work and you've never worked in a lab — that's fine. We will teach you the techniques. What we can't easily teach is the temperament: careful, patient, attentive, honest about what you observed. Those you bring.
Helpful but not required
· Associate's or Bachelor's degree in chemistry, materials science, civil engineering, ceramics, or a related field
· Hands-on coursework or research-lab experience at any level
· Familiarity with ASTM testing standards (C39, C109, C191, C1437, C1602, or similar)
· OSHA-10, HazCom, or lab-safety certifications
· Valid driver's license
Working environment
You'll spend most of your time at a lab bench — on your feet some, sitting some, and occasionally lifting bags of cement, sand, or aggregate (up to 50 lb). Some moments will be quiet and analytical; others will be hectic when a test batch is racing the clock against pot life. The lab connects directly to the pilot production area, and you may occasionally help with full-scale trial runs that have lab work tied to them.
Reasonable accommodations are available — please let us know what you need.
What we offer
· Direct mentorship from a materials sciences PhD
· Real ownership of the work — your protocols, your data, your name on the bench reports
· Exposure to the full development cycle of a new product, from chemistry through cube tests through pilot trial through certification
· Variety — this isn't a run-the-same-test-every-day role; the test set evolves with the product
· Hourly compensation of $20–$30 per hour depending on background
· Health insurance, dental and vision, life insurance, and paid time off
· Schedule typically 40–50 hours per week
Pay: $20.00 - $30.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
