Principal Officer, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Research & Development

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

Global Growth and Opportunity
The Global Growth and Opportunity (GGO) division focuses on creating and scaling market-based innovations to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic growth. We seek to catalyze sustainable transformative change in the face of inequities and market failures, to realize the potential of untapped markets, and to see the economic and social benefits of including everyone. Core areas are Agricultural Development; Digital Public Infrastructure; Global Education; Inclusive Financial Systems; Nutrition; and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. We seek solutions that are sustainable, transformative, and inclusive with an eye toward applying technology innovations as well as data evidence to inspire change in the world’s developing countries.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WSH) team’s vision is to enable widespread use of safely managed, sustainable sanitation services, contributing to positive health, economic, and gender equality outcomes for the world’s poorest. Unsafe sanitation is a massive problem that is becoming more urgent as our global population increases and trends like water scarcity and urbanization intensify. About 3.6 billion people—almost half the world’s population—either practice open defecation or use unsafe sanitation facilities and services.

The focus of the team’s strategy is on developing and commercializing transformative sanitation technologies, in particular the Reinvented Toilet (an innovation that doesn’t require a connection to a water pipe or a sewer line and kills all of the pathogens in human waste). We collaborate with technologists, the private sector and government officials to advance these transformative technologies that have high potential to improve sanitation conditions for underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. More information can be found here - https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportunity/water-sanitation-and-hygiene/ttc-partnering-information

Your Role

The Thermodynamics R&D Principal will serve as the technical lead for thermodynamic engineering within the WSH program and support other foundation program for up to 20%. This role focuses on applying deep expertise in heat and energy systems modeling to advance next-generation sanitation technologies, including decentralized waste treatment, combustion modules, and energy recovery systems. The Specialist will work closely with internal teams and external partners to evaluate, design, and optimize thermal processes that improve energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reliability in sanitation solutions.

This is an individual contributor role focused on technical excellence reporting to the WSH Director. This technical expert will provide advisory support to the WSH Director, the LT, the foundation leadership and other teams across the foundation, as needed. They will not manage direct reports but may lead specific technical projects or working groups. The role complements strategic leadership positions within the WSH program and provides expert input to guide innovation and implementation.

*This position is a limited-term position for 18 months. Relocation will be provided.

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

What You'll DO

• Technology Innovation & R&D Support

  • Identify and evaluate breakthrough thermodynamic technologies for onsite sanitation.

  • Provide technical assessments of emerging solutions such as advanced combustion systems and thermal waste-to-energy processes.

• Design & Optimization

  • Advise on thermal process design and optimization in WSH R&D projects.

  • Guide improvements in heat transfer, energy recovery, and system robustness.

• Technical Guidance & Evaluation

  • Serve as WSH’s thermodynamics authority, reviewing R&D proposals, prototypes, and field test data.

  • Conduct modeling and simulation of thermal processes to predict performance.

• Cross-Sector Collaboration

  • Collaborate with universities, startups, and corporate R&D teams on joint thermodynamics-related projects.

  • Co-design experiments and troubleshoot engineering challenges. Support, inspire and strengthen a global R&D network for combustion-based sanitation research.

• Internal Integration, Team Collaboration, and Strategy

  • Translate thermodynamic research into actionable insights for program strategy.

  • Support investment decisions with data-driven recommendations.

  • Foster an inclusive, psychologically safe, and low-ego team culture by role-modeling behaviors and actions aligned with the Foundation’s values.

  • Collaborate with and seek input from colleagues at all levels with diverse experiences.

• Project Management & Reporting

  • Oversee technical quality and milestone achievement for thermodynamics-focused R&D initiatives.

  • Report progress and insights to WSH leadership.

  • Prepare and write briefs for internal stakeholders and synthesize existing literature; fulfill data and analysis requests from the WSH Director.

• Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.

Your Experience

• Education

  • Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, or related field.

• Technical Expertise

  • Deep understanding of thermodynamic principles and energy-efficient systems.

  • Hands-on experience with combustion, heat exchangers, and waste-to-energy technologies.

• R&D Experience

  • 15+ years in research and development roles related to thermal engineering or environmental technology.

  • Experience leading high-impact R&D projects in water, sanitation, or energy domains.

  • Proven expertise in applying thermodynamics to design combustion-based onsite sanitation systems as described by ISO30500.

• Field Translation

  • Ability to bridge lab-scale research with field-ready solutions.

  • Familiarity with performance challenges in low-resource settings, the reinvent the toilets specs and ISO30500 specs.

• Collaboration & Communication

  • Strong collaboration skills across multidisciplinary teams.

  • Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-experts.

  • Ability to build and manage external relationships.

• Mission Alignment

  • Passion for applying science and engineering to global sanitation challenges.

  • Motivation to improve access to safe sanitation for underserved communities.

• Other Attributes

  • Comfort in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

The salary range for this role is $233,600 to $362,200 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle, WA and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $254,700 to $374,700 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.