Head of Manufacturing

Epoch Biodesign; City Of London; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering clean-tech company in London seeks a Head of Manufacturing. You will be responsible for leading production operations, improving processes, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in operations management, preferably within a chemical or industrial environment. This position offers a comprehensive benefits program including 30 days of paid holiday and a non-contributory pension scheme.

Benefits

30 days paid holiday plus bank holidays

EMI Share Options

Non-contributory pension of 9%

Company covered private medical insurance

Onsite gym

Cycle to work scheme

Flexible working hours

Fresh fruit, coffee, and snacks

Group Income Protection

Group Critical Illness

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ experience in production or operations management in a chemical or industrial industry.
• Experience scaling from pilot/demo plants to commercial operations.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily production at pilot and demo plants.
• Develop and improve production processes.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Manage production team members and foster a safety-conscious culture.

Skills

Process safety knowledge

Strong communication skills

Organisational skills

Project management skills

Lean or Six Sigma PM familiarity

Education

Degree in chemical engineering or related field

Job description

Epoch Biodesign

Epoch Biodesign is a well-funded, venture-backed start-up using biology to make every type of plastic recyclable - starting with Nylon.

Using a unique combination of AI, synthetic biology and green chemistry, we are scaling enzymatic recycling processes that transform unrecyclable plastics into new, virgin-quality materials. These processes yield substantial reductions in carbon emissions and prevent waste from entering landfill or the environment. They also generate disruptive unit economics, allowing us to scale our solutions quickly to solve this urgent challenge.

With our pilot plant already processing Nylon 6,6 waste at the multi-tonne level, we will imminently complete construction on our larger demo facility. This will produce material that will be used in garments for some of the world’s biggest brands, and also in components for some of the world’s largest car companies.

As Head of Manufacturing at Epoch you will:

Process Operation

• Lead daily production at our pilot and demo plant facilities
• Develop, implement and continuously improve production processes and SOPs
• Plan, monitor performance, troubleshoot issues and ensure smooth execution for production campaigns against clearly defined timelines
• Operational compliance: environmental permitting, waste handling, certification of our output
• Establish a scalable Quality Management System (policies → SOPs → records) that meets our regulatory obligations and brings discipline to how we generate, store, review, and act on data
• Perform root-cause investigations for deviations / non-conformances to identify what went wrong and what corrective / preventive actions (CAPA) are needed
• Establish feedstock and production traceability from incoming materials through each production run, including documenting batch records
• General reporting on production process performance metrics
• Plan capacity - including workweek structure and shift patterns - and scale to extended-hour or multi-shift operations when needed, while preserving quality, safety and compliance

Health & Safety

• Take direct ownership of health and safety across all production activities
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements and industry best practices
• Promote a culture of safety and accountability across the team

Feedstock and Inventory Management

• In conjunction with the Feedstock Procurement Manager, oversee feedstock receipt, handling and storage across pilot and demo sites
• Track inventory levels for raw materials, consumables and finished product
• Work with procurement and operations teams to ensure supply continuity and cost-effectiveness

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate with third-party vendors, commercial partners and service providers supporting production activities
• Coordinate with internal R&D teams for tech transfer of modifications to the process
• Act as a strong Epoch representative, maintaining excellent relationships with commercial partners and suppliers

Team Leadership

• Manage and develop production team members, providing coaching, training and support
• Foster a high-performance, safety-conscious culture

Essential qualifications and experience

• Degree in chemical engineering or related field
• 10+ years’ experience in a production, operations or plant management role within a chemical or industrial processing-oriented industry
• Strong knowledge of process safety, operational best practices and regulatory compliance
• Experience scaling from pilot/demo plants to commercial operations is highly desirable
• Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities
• Familiarity with Lean or Six Sigma PM methodologies is a bonus
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate with team members from across R&D, commercial and operations

Benefits

Epoch Biodesign offers a comprehensive benefits program. At the moment this includes:

• A generous allowance of 30 days paid holiday (plus the usual 8 bank holidays)
• Meaningful EMI Share Options
• A non-contributory pension of 9% employer contribution
• Optional company covered private medical insurance with Vitality
• Group Income Protection
• Group Critical Illness
• Flexible working around the core times of 10am to 4pm
• Cycle to work scheme
• Tech scheme
• The opportunity to be part of building something remarkable

On-the-job perks:

• Complementary fresh fruit, coffee, tea and snacks
• Onsite gym
• Various staff social activities

We are always in the process of reviewing and implementing further on-the-job perks!