Formulation Chemist

AssetCool; Leeds; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Flexible work options

Growth opportunities

Collaborative team

Job summary

AssetCool in the United Kingdom is seeking a Formulation Chemist to design and develop functional coatings for overhead powerlines, integrated with our robotics system. This is a lab-based role focusing on novel formulations and testing to international standards.

You’ll collaborate with coatings chemists, roboticists and engineers, applying strong chemistry knowledge to expand coating technologies toward commercial deployment, while ensuring safety and documentation.

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemistry or Materials Chemistry (ideally MSc/MChem/PhD).
• Experience in formulation (coatings, inks, dyes, lubricants etc.) or significant synthetic/materials practical work.
• Good working knowledge of materials and polymer chemistry, including characterisation.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Strong investigative and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Development of novel functional coatings from first principles to lab manufacture.
• Integration with robotics and engineering to retrofit application technologies.
• Production and communication of scientific reports, literature and IP documentation.
• Health and safety: ensure safe laboratory practices and COSHH assessments.

Skills

Chemistry degree

Formulation experience

Polymer chemistry

Technical communication

Problem solving

Education

Chemistry MSc/PhD

Job description

Do you want to work with the 15th fastest-growing startup in Europe? If so, you’re in the right place.

AssetCool is one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups, building the fastest path to more power on the grid.

We’re tackling one of the most urgent challenges in the global energy transition: grid congestion. Electricity demand is rising fast; driven by electrification, AI and data centres. While traditional grid upgrades take years, demand exists today. The grid isn’t ready.

AssetCool delivers robotic grid upgrades that physically increase the capacity of existing transmission lines by up to 30%, without rebuilding infrastructure. Using advanced robotics and proprietary photonic coatings, we unlock data-centre-scale capacity in weeks to months, not years and at a fraction of the cost and disruption of conventional approaches.

Our technology goes beyond capacity. We reduce losses, prevent corrosion, cut corona noise and generate high-value operational data that supports smarter grid operation and maintenance. Our systems are already deployed globally, and we just raised a big funding round from leading energy and climate investors.

AssetCool is one of the most innovation-driven companies in the UK energy sector and we’re scaling fast! If you’re ambitious, mission-driven and excited to work on real deployments that strengthen the industry that really matters, AssetCool is where you can make it happen.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Formulation Chemist to join our growing research and development team. You will be responsible for the design and development of new functional coatings for overhead powerlines, including those to be integrated with our application robotics system. This is a predominantly lab-based role, in which you will produce novel coating formulations, test and characterise them to internal and international standards, along a pipeline to commercial deployment.

You will work closely with experienced coatings and formulation chemists, as well as a wide range of roboticists and engineers. Strong chemistry knowledge and lab skills are required to understand a wide and expanding range of coating technologies, with the exploration of new materials and dynamic problem-solving skills required.

Key Responsibilities

Development of Novel Functional Coatings

• Designing a range of coatings from first principles through to laboratory manufacture.
• Applying literature knowledge and learning to new formulation space.
• Application and characterisation of new coating formulations; benchmarking and comparative testing; testing to international standards; analytical characterisation.
• Development of research-level coatings through a productisation pathway for commercial deployment.

Integration with Cutting-Edge Application Technology

• Working closely with Roboticists and Engineers to integrate new coatings with retrofit application technologies.
• Being point of contact for engineers working with our coating technology.
• Iterative and interlocked development with engineering team.
• Supporting pilot scale deployment and manufacture.

Production and Communication of Scientific Literature and IP

• Writing of internal and external technical reports and literature, patents and IP documentation.
• Communication of coating chemistry to internal and external audiences.

Health and Safety

• Ensuring safe working practices in laboratory at all times.
• Generation and implementation of risk assessments and COSHH assessments.
• Enthusiastic contribution to continuous laboratory improvement.

Required Skills & Experience

• Degree (or higher) in Chemistry or Materials Chemistry (ideally MSc/MChem/PhD)
• Experience in formulation (coatings, inks, dyes, lubricants etc.) or significant synthetic/materials practical work.
• Good working knowledge of materials and polymer chemistry, including characterisation.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Strong investigative and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• 3+ years of industrial coatings experience.
• Experience of industrial coatings in harsh environments.

Why Join AssetCool?

• Work on groundbreaking technology revolutionizing the power grid.
• Fast-growing startup with significant industry traction and large-scale projects.
• Collaborative, innovation-driven team with exciting career growth opportunities.
• Competitive salary and flexible work options

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We’re committed to building an inclusive, supportive workplace where everyone can thrive, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

If you have a disability or any specific requirements and need adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, just let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.

We are not looking for agency support currently.