{"id":1962191,"url":"https://alion.io/job/exponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5","title":"Scientist/Associate (Ph.D.)","company":{"id":452188,"name":"Exponent","domain":"exponent.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/exponent-5","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"iCIMS","truth_index":null},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":null,"employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Menlo Park, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":140000,"max":162000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":162000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-06T16:01:33Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-06","last_verified_at":"2026-10-09T02:41:16Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":2,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":2},"description":"About Exponent\nExponent is the only premium engineering and scientific consulting firm with the depth and breadth of expertise to solve our clients’ most profoundly unique, unprecedented, and urgent challenges.\nOur vision is to engage multidisciplinary teams of science, engineering, and regulatory experts to empower clients with solutions that create a safer, healthier, more sustainable world. For over five decades, we've connected the lessons of past failures with tomorrow's solutions to advise clients as they innovate technologically complex products and processes, ensure the safety and health of their users, and address the challenges of sustainability.\nJoin our team of experts with degrees from top programs at over 500 universities and extensive experience spanning a variety of industries. At Exponent, you’ll contribute to the diverse pool of ideas, talents, backgrounds, and experiences that drives our collaborative teamwork and breakthrough insights. Plus, we help you grow your career through mentoring, sponsorship, and a culture of learning. Thanks for your interest in joining our team!\nKey statistics:\n950+ Consultants \n640+ Ph.D.s \n90+ Disciplines \n30+ Offices globally \nOur Opportunity\nWe are currently seeking a Polymer Scientist for our Polymers & Chemistry Practice in Menlo Park, CA. In this role you will work as part of an interdisciplinary team contributing to a diverse set of projects from industries such as pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer products, construction, infrastructure and automotive. This position requires some travel and will involve collaborating with scientists and engineers from other Exponent offices and practices. A long-term goal for a successful candidate will be to develop business by obtaining new projects and bringing new clients to the firm.\nYou will be responsible for\nInspecting, testing and analyzing various polymeric materials to assess their specifications and/or reliability in a variety of applications from a wide range of industries\nPerforming root cause investigations on failing or underperforming materials/components by scientifically examining the development, manufacturing or end-use environment of products specified for use in the construction, medical device, consumer electronics, and consumer products\nAnalyzing information and conveying technical conclusions to individuals in engineering, business, law, and industry, as well as communicating testing rationale in the context of product development, product defect claims, and intellectual property disputes\nYou will have the following skills and qualifications\nPh.D. in Materials Science, Polymer Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field \nWell-developed understanding of polymer and materials characterization\nKnowledge of polymer bulk physical properties, structure-property relations, mechanics, polymer fracture analysis, and/or polymer processing preferred\nStrong background and hands-on experience in polymer/chemical characterization techniques, such as FTIR, DSC, TGA, DMA, and GPC. Experience characterizing non-conductive materials using electron microscopy (SEM) is a plus\nExperience testing and characterizing elastomer materials preferred\nExperience with the design, assembly, and execution of novel or non-standard testing \nExcellent verbal and written communications skills \nMust be able to convey complex technical information to individuals in engineering, business, legal and related industries\nAbility to work within project teams with strong desire to contribute; have potential for technical and project managerial leadership\nSuperior problem-solving abilities \nStrong educational and publication credentials\nThis is a Menlo Park, CA based position. The successful applicant must live in (or be willing to relocate to) the Menlo Park, CA area AND be enthusiastic about regularly working in the office \nPresently legally authorized to work in the United States. No immigration sponsorship or processing required\nApplicants are encouraged to submit a CV (Curriculum Vitae) with publications (feel free to include publications that are in review or pending) [not restricted to 1 page].\nLife @ Exponent\nTo learn more about life at Exponent and our impact, please visit the following links:https://www.exponent.com/careers/life-exponent https://www.exponent.com/company/our-impact\nAttracting, inspiring, developing, and rewarding exceptional people with diverse backgrounds and expertise are central to our corporate culture. Our diverse team allows us to provide better value to our clients and enjoy an enriched work environment.\nOur firm is committed to offering a variety of programs and resources to support health and well-being. We believe that providing competitive benefits as well as compensation and recognition programs empowers our staff to do work that makes a difference.\nWork Environment\nAt Exponent, we have found that in-person interactions deepen employee engagement and are crucial for development, for realizing the full potential of our talented and diverse teams, and for building a more inclusive workplace where all have a sense of belonging. In our offices, you can expect a supportive culture and a collaborative, dynamic, multi-disciplinary work environment. Our consultants engage in-person in the office unless they are traveling for client work or other business activities.\nWe value the rich lives our colleagues enjoy outside of work and understand that work/life balance is critical to our employees and their well-being. Consultants have the autonomy to balance their work and personal schedules so you can meet with clients, visit inspection sites, attend conferences, and make time for priorities outside of work, too. It is this flexible, agile work style and working hours that allow our teams to drive innovation and results in their own ways, while meeting the needs of clients. #LI-Onsite\nCompensation\nOur consultants are rewarded for their technical and business contributions and have an opportunity to plan for future success and career growth. Exponent's total compensation plan is consistent with its expectations of the quality and quantity of work performed and with the professional standards set by Exponent. At the Associate and Senior Associate level, total compensation includes base salary, bi-weekly bonuses for high-intensity efforts, annual bonus and 401(k) employer contribution of 7% of base salary.\nThe base salary range for this position is dependent on experience and capabilities which will be assessed during the interview process.\nSalary Range\nUSD $140,000.00 - USD $162,000.00 /Yr.Benefits you will enjoy\nAccess benefits information on our Life@Exponent page:\nhttps://www.exponent.com/careers/life-exponent\nExponent is a proud equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status.\nIf you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may email us at .\nJob Locations\nUS-CA-Menlo Park","description_format":"text","description_chars":7174,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Consumer Goods"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-06T16:01:33Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 8 · green card filings: 3","filings_12m":8,"filings_prev_12m":15,"green_card_filings_12m":3,"median_offered_wage_usd":117500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:08:04+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":1,"expected_fill_days":15,"reasons":["conf:0","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-08T05:49:30Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":162000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/exponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/exponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-09T04:05:47Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3545,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":1455,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-10T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":452188},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=452188"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fexponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fexponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fexponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/exponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fexponent-scientistassociate-ph-d--5"}]}