Robyn Moss can summarize her career as a scientist and cleantech professional in one sentence. “I went from college, to snowboard instructing, to soccer coaching, to working at startups,” she says.
And Robyn’s background in sports and coaching, as much as her background in chemistry, explains why she joined Electra as an R&D Chemist.
“Electra does a very good job at building your strengths and skills by challenging you and pushing you out of your comfort zone, but always with the support of your team,” Robyn says. “The amount of collaboration, support and teamwork involved at Electra is truly awesome. I want to work harder to be the best teammate I can be – and I know my teammates are doing the same.”
Two years before joining Electra as an R&D Chemist, Robyn was completing her chemistry degree at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She wanted to work on the front lines of solving the climate crisis, but another global emergency put those plans on hold — the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I graduated during the pandemic, I couldn’t find a job anywhere,” she says. “But I knew I wanted to work in cleantech. As long as my job is addressing climate change, I’m pretty content.”
Robyn used this setback to focus on two of her other passions — outdoor sports and coaching — while she waited for her big break in cleantech.
She moved across country to Tahoe, California, where she worked as a snowboarding instructor and the coach of a youth soccer team in between shifts as a restaurant server.
“That was extremely fulfilling for me,” she says. “I really enjoy teaching people things and seeing the lightbulb go off when they get it.”
But living and working in Tahoe also gave her mission to break into cleantech with a new sense of urgency.
Robyn lived in Tahoe for the start of the 2021 California wildfire season, which burned more than 2 million acres of forest in the Golden State. The California fires also destroyed more than 2,000 homes and covered huge areas of the West with dangerous air pollution.
“The air quality was so bad it wasn’t safe to leave your house,” she recalls. “I remember thinking: What’s the point of living in Tahoe if you can’t go outside?”
Newly determined, Robyn found a job with a battery developer in Denver, Colorado, and then in 2022, she spotted a position at Electra advertised on LinkedIn.
“The recruiting process was really thorough, but also straightforward,” Robyn says. “After I ‘easy applied’ I had interviews with two of my future mentors, Steve Fatur and Colleen Wallace. The way they described the culture of teamwork and professional development at Electra really sold me.”
“Then I had the chance to come in and give a presentation about my research at Bates College, which was focused on advanced battery materials. Even though I was still a candidate, the team helped me put my best foot forward by answering all my questions as I was preparing my talk. They also allowed me to schedule the presentation around a long-planned trip to Europe, where I had worked for a summer as an undergrad, which was a lot more accommodating than I expected as a recent college graduate.”
Robyn was quickly offered the role as R&D Chemist, which she happily accepted. She says it’s hard to find cleantech companies that will give young scientists and other professionals the chance to grow and deepen their expertise on the job.
“What I like about working here is the support system,” she says. “It’s not sink or swim. Working here reminds me of the mentorship I received when I was working on my final thesis in college, and the coaching that I’ve both received and given as an athlete.”
Away from work, you’ll find Robyn playing sport – soccer, volleyball and tennis are her current favorites – going out to concerts or staying home to bake and read. Robyn’s also passionate about music: She can play piano, guitar and drums (though never in the lab, for obvious safety reasons and also the poor acoustics).