The posting
Junior Chemist
Location: Carrollton, TX (on site)
Business: PRECILAB, a Scientific Safety Alliance company
Reports to: Laboratory Director
Type: Full time, salaried
Compensation: $50,000 to $55,000/year
Schedule: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, with occasional off-hours work for customer rush
About Scientific Safety Alliance (SSA)
At Scientific Safety Alliance (SSA), we are on a mission to revolutionize how scientists experience regulation-mandated services. We provide testing, inspection, and calibration services, and supply air filters and equipment parts, to pharmaceutical, medical device, and research organizations across the U.S., the U.K., and Austria.
We are growing fast. With 24 acquisitions in less than 3 years, a customer base of 13,500+, operations across three countries, and a No. 175 ranking on Inc. Magazine's 2025 list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies, SSA is scaling quickly and looking for bold, driven talent to grow with us.
PRECILAB, based in Carrollton, Texas, is SSA's ultra-trace contamination analysis laboratory. Our customers are semiconductor and advanced electronics manufacturers who rely on us for accurate, defensible results at parts-per-billion and parts-per-trillion levels. The lab is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by A2LA.
Role Overview
The Junior Chemist runs customer samples through PRECILAB 's analytical methods, from preparation to reported data. It is a hands-on bench role and the entry point into ultra-trace analysis at PRECILAB. We train on the job.
You will prepare reagents, standards, and samples in a clean room environment, operate the lab's instrumentation under established methods, verify that instruments are producing valid results, and record everything to the standard an ISO/IEC 17025 audit expects. The work is exacting. At the concentrations we report, a single contaminated piece of labware invalidates a result, so care and discipline matter more here than speed.
The Junior Chemist works alongside the lab team, the Laboratory Director, and the Quality Management Team, and takes part in internal and external accreditation audits.
Key Responsibilities
Sample Preparation and Analysis
- Work in clean room environments wearing smock, face mask, hair net, and nitrile gloves, following contamination control discipline at all times
- Prepare ultra-pure reagents, calibration standards, and spiked samples to method specification
- Clean labware to the standard required for trace and ultra-trace work, before and after analysis
- Carry out sample preparation and treatment, including digestions and dilutions, in line with PRECILAB quality system documents
- Run analyses on PRECILAB instrumentation: ICP-MS, ICP-OES, auto-titrator, Karl Fischer titrator, ion chromatography, gas chromatography, and new instrumentation as the lab adds it
- Meet committed customer cycle times without compromising data quality
Instrument Performance and Maintenance
- Perform daily calibrations and continuing calibration verification, and confirm results sit within quality control criteria before samples are run
- Recognize when an instrument is drifting or out of specification, stop work, and escalate rather than report questionable data
- Carry out and assist with scheduled preventative maintenance
- Document maintenance, repairs, and parts used, and keep instrument records complete and current
Data, Quality, and Documentation
- Validate and report analytical data, and complete customer reports correctly and ready for review
- Review and update standard operating procedures and instrument operating procedures, and keep them under document control
- Support the Quality Management Team on method development and validation for new instruments, methods, and analytical processes
- Maintain the electronic and paper filing system covering data, calibration, maintenance, and repair records
- Retrieve records and evidence for internal and external audits, including ISO/IEC 17025 and customer audits, and take part in those audits
- Retain and dispose of records in line with company and accreditation requirements
Customer and Team Support
- Monitor the shared chemist inbox and respond to customer queries quickly, clearly, and professionally
- Keep customers updated on sample status where the lab has committed to a date, and escalate technical questions to the Laboratory Director
- Collect customer samples from sites within 25 miles of the laboratory, using your own vehicle, with mileage reimbursed
- Share the off-hours duty phone rotation for urgent customer contact
Laboratory Operations
- Keep the lab area stocked, tidy, and functioning to 5S standard
- Flag low stock of reagents, chemicals, and consumables to the administrative and quality teams before it becomes a shortage
- Take on ad hoc projects that improve how the lab runs, and see them through to completion
Safety
This role handles hazardous chemicals, including 49% hydrofluoric acid. HF is uniquely dangerous and we treat it that way.
- Full training on safe handling, PPE, spill response, and exposure first aid is provided before any independent work with hazardous chemicals, and competency is documented
- Access to all Safety Data Sheets and proper waste disposal after sample preparation
- Calcium gluconate gel is held on site
- Prescribed PPE is mandatory and not optional, including face shield, apron, and specified glove protocol
- Work safely and make responsible decisions; we would always rather a job took longer than a corner was cut
What Success Looks Like
- Daily calibrations and continuing calibration checks meet quality control criteria first time
- Samples are prepared and spiked correctly, with repreparation the exception rather than the routine
- Labware is cleaned to standard and contamination is not the reason a result is questioned
- Customer reports are complete, correct, and ready for validation in time to meet the committed cycle time
- Customers get a fast, clear, professional response every time they contact the lab
- Records are complete and easy to find, and audits pass without scrambling for evidence
- Tasks are completed without follow up or reminders
- No safety incidents, and near misses are reported rather than absorbed
Qualifications and Skills
Required
- Bachelor's degree in chemistry or a closely related science, or equivalent coursework
- Working understanding of laboratory operations and safe handling of hazardous chemicals
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook
- Valid driver's license and the ability to drive to local customer sites
Preferred
- Hands-on experience with ICP-MS, ICP-OES, IC, GC, or titration, whether from coursework, placement, or employment
- Experience in a laboratory, manufacturing, engineering, or other technical services environment
- Exposure to a quality-accredited environment such as ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 9001, or similar
- Familiarity with a LIMS or other laboratory data system
- Experience working in a clean room or under contamination control protocols
Core Competencies
- Meticulous attention to detail; at trace levels the difference between a good result and a wrong one is small and invisible
- Strong organization and the ability to manage several samples and priorities at once
- Clear, professional written and verbal communication
- Ownership and follow-through; comfortable seeing something to completion without being chased
- Problem-solving instinct; able to work out why a result does not look right rather than passing it along
- Sound judgement with confidential customer data
- A safety-first mindset under time pressure
Training and Development
This is a role you can be trained into. We expect to teach the methods, the instrumentation, and the quality system, and we document competency as you are signed off on each one.
- Structured on-the-job training on PRECILAB methods and instrumentation, with documented competency sign-off
- Hazardous chemical and HF-specific safety training before independent work
- Exposure to method development, validation, and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation audits
- A clear path to Chemist and senior technical roles as competency and scope expands
Work Environment and Physical Requirements
- On site in Carrollton, TX; this is not a remote or hybrid role
- Operating laboratory and clean room environment, with required PPE worn throughout
- Regular handling of acids, solvents, and other hazardous chemicals, including 49% hydrofluoric acid
- Standing and working at the bench for extended periods, with repetitive fine motor work such as pipetting
- Occasional lifting of laboratory and supply deliveries up to 35 lbs
- Occasional weekend and off-hours work to meet customer rush requirements
- Local driving for customer sample collection
- Precision driven and detail oriented, with high standards for safety, responsiveness, accuracy, and accountability
- Team oriented, with close collaboration across the lab, management, and SSA shared services
Why Join SSA
- Hands-on time across a broad instrument set, which is unusual at this level and builds a strong technical foundation fast
- Ultra-trace work for semiconductor and advanced electronics customers, where the analysis genuinely matters to the customer's process
- Real exposure to method development and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, not just routine sample throughput
- A growing, acquisitive business where good people get scope quickly
- Competitive salary, medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k), and paid time off
- A small, close-knit site team backed by an international organization operating across the U.S., U.K., and Austria
