Xplora is a deep-tech startup developing next-generation heat storage for sustainable energy applications. Our vision is to move energy beyond boundaries – of time and place. We are seeking a motivated Senior Materials Scientist/Engineer to support the development, optimisation, testing, and scale-up of advanced functional materials.
About the Role
This role provides hands-on experience working on real scientific challenges, from material formulation and performance evaluation to scale-up and technology development, while contributing to commercially relevant R&D.
If you’re curious, hands-on, and hungry to grow, this might be the role you’ve been waiting for. We value people who are:
· Humble – open to learning, self-aware, and collaborative
· Hungry – driven to build, explore, and get stuff done
· Smart – emotionally and interpersonally intelligent
This is a full-time (40 hours per week), permanent role based at Gracefield Innovation Quarter, Wellington, New Zealand.
The remuneration is from $110,130 to $135,534 per annum and will be dependent on skills and experience.
Key Responsibilities:
At Xplora, we are developing a novel composite material for use in thermochemical energy storage — a system that using reversible chemical reactions to store heat and releases it on demand, with minimal loss over time.
Your mission is to help design, validate, optimise and scale up this material so it:
· Achieves high energy density
· Maintains stable performance over multiply charge/discharge cycles
· Operates within target regeneration temperatures and heat output
· Retains robust structural integrity during repeated cycling
You’ll also play a key role in translating material discoveries into manufacturable components for reactor integration.
About you
We are seeking applicants who have:
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Energy Dynamics System, Thermophysics, Thermal Energy or a related discipline.
Minimum Experience
At least five years’ relevant R&D experience in functional materials or energy-related technologies, gained in academia, research institutes or industry.
Experience in material preparation, characterisation and performance testing, applying thermodynamics, kinetics, and heat and mass transfer principles.
Demonstrated experience independently designing experiments, analysing results, solving technical problems, managing research projects and collaborating across disciplines.
Desirable experience
Experience in thermochemical energy storage, material shaping or process scale-up.
Experience in porous materials, adsorption technologies, thermochemical reactions, gas-solid systems, and sustainable energy applications.
Understanding of reaction kinetics and thermodynamics, especially for endothermic/exothermic cycling processes
Proficiency with characterisation techniques such as gas sorption analysis, PXRD, DSC/TGA, SEM, and microscopy is advantageous.
Experience with pellet production, reactor testing, process scale-up, numerical modelling, or experimental system development is beneficial.
Why join us
At Xplora, you won’t just observe innovation — you’ll be part of building it. We are tackling complex energy challenges through the development of next-generation materials and technologies, where every experiment, insight, and improvement contributes to a larger mission. As part of our team, you will gain hands-on experience working on meaningful R&D projects, collaborate with scientists and engineers, and see how ideas move from the laboratory towards real-world applications.
We value courage, ownership, and growth. We are looking for people who enjoy solving challenging problems, are eager to learn, and want to contribute to building technology that can make a lasting impact.