Role Name: Propellant R&D; Lab Chemist

About Manastu

Manastu Space is a Space Safety and Logistics company focused on making space secure, sustainable, and accessible. We develop technologies to address critical challenges such as space debris mitigation and green propulsion, enabling safer satellite operations and long-term sustainability of the space ecosystem.

Our work sits at the intersection of advanced engineering, applied research, and mission-critical systems, requiring deep technical capability and long-term thinking.

Website: https://www.manastuspace.com |

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/manastu-space/

Email: [email protected]

Role Objective The Propellant R&D; Lab Chemist will own routine bench preparation within the Energetic Material Department, enabling the R&D; team to increase experimental throughput from one to two or more experiments per week on the MS-289C green propellant programme.

This role is responsible end to end for glassware preparation (cleaning, acid passivation, and high-temperature annealing), sample preparation, routine analytical measurements, and the accurate completion of experiment records on the day the work is done.

Role Overview

We are seeking a detail-oriented and safety-conscious laboratory Chemist, based in Navi Mumbai, with a BSc in Chemistry and hands-on experience handling corrosive and oxidising chemicals. The role sits within the Energetic Material Department and works directly alongside the R&D; scientist and engineer to execute the MS-289C stability and characterisation programme.

The central technical challenge is rigorous chemical cleanliness. Our propellant, an H₂O₂-based green monopropellant, is highly sensitive to trace metal contamination at the parts-per-million level.



Every vessel that contacts the propellant must be cleaned, acid-passivated, and annealed to a documented standard before use; any deviation introduces a variable that cannot be corrected in data analysis after the fact.

You will work at the intersection of chemical laboratory practice, analytical measurement, and meticulous record keeping, supporting experiments that feed directly into mission-life qualification and programme gate decisions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Perform glassware cleaning, acid passivation with 20% HNO₃, and furnace annealing at 580°C to prepare vessels for propellant experiments in accordance with the team SOP.
2. Prepare H₂O₂ working solutions, HNO₃ dilutions, stabiliser-spiked samples, and buffer stocks under the direction of the engineer.
3. Operate and calibrate pH meters, refractive index meters, and conductivity meters; record all readings, calibration data, and instrument IDs in the experiment log before proceeding.
4. Set up stability test ovens at specified temperatures; monitor and record temperature and humidity at each check interval.
5. Remove samples at the designated stop time, cool to ambient temperature, and perform the full measurement suite (visual inspection, photographs, mass, RI, pH, conductivity).
6.



Transfer all offline data to the stability-test Excel tracking sheet on the day of measurement; attach photographs and sign off the completed record.
7. Maintain the glassware and breakage register, logging every item used, cleaned, or damaged on the day it occurs.
8. Support consumable and reagent stock checks; flag items approaching reorder level to the engineer before stock runs out.
9. Maintain the laboratory workspace in a clean, chemically segregated, and orderly condition at all times, and dispose of chemical waste in accordance with the department hazardous-waste procedure.

Experience and Background

1. BSc in Chemistry or a closely related science discipline.
2. Practical laboratory experience including solution preparation, gravimetric measurement, and instrument operation (minimum 6 months, including final-year project laboratory work).
3. Demonstrated experience handling corrosive or oxidising chemicals, with knowledge of appropriate PPE selection and emergency response procedures.
4. Familiarity with pH measurement, refractive index, and conductivity measurement, including basic two-point instrument calibration.
5. Ability to maintain accurate, complete, and legible paper and electronic records, including correct error-correction practice (single line-through, not correction fluid).

Ideal Candidate Profile

- A precise, safety-first bench chemist who follows SOPs exactly and flags deviations rather than working around them.
- Works reliably on repetitive preparation tasks without supervision once trained, and completes records on the same day the work is done.
- Brings genuine curiosity about why each step in a protocol matters, not just how to do it, and asks questions when something looks unexpected.

📌 Propellant Lab Chemist (Navi Mumbai)
🏢 Manastu Space
📍 Navi Mumbai