Materials Engineer

PulpaTronics; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

WFH one day per week

Annual leave 28 days

Job summary

PulpaTronics is seeking a Materials Engineer to advance recyclable, bio-based substrates. You will work with the CTO and specialists to optimise performance and support scaling and commercialization of bio-based products.

The role focuses on substrate development, with opportunities to lead parts of the R&D program and collaborate with partners across academia and industry. A competitive salary and equity may be offered.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering or Chemical Engineering; PhD is a plus.
• Experience with plant-based materials and bioplastics is important.
• 2+ years in renewable, compostable or organic materials.
• Experience with polymer processing and characterisation equipment.
• Strong interest in sustainable solutions and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Develop the substrate material component based on research findings.
• Formulate, prototype, test, validate and scale-up substrate materials.
• Collaborate with academic and industrial partners.
• Support suppliers and access equipment as needed.
• Design and conduct material characterization and testing protocols.
• Summarize performance and present findings in reviews.
• Contribute to project timelines, grants and IP strategy.

Skills

Plant-based materials

Bioplastics

Polymer processing equipment

Characterisation testing

Matlab

Python

R

Team collaboration

Fast-paced work

Project ownership

Education

Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering or Chemical Engineering (PhD is a plus)

Tools

Polymer processing equipment

Lab instrumentation

Matlab

Python

R

Job description

Did you know that more than 45 billion disposable RFID tags are made annually and typically endup in landfill after a short life cycle? PulpaTronics develops fully-recyclable and metal-free RFID tagsthat are also cheaper and simpler to manufacture. PulpaTronics spent the last 3 years in R&D andwe’re looking to deliver our first pilots. We have won several research grants, numerous competitions(e.g. Dezeen Awards, SantanderX Global Challenge, H&M Foundation) and secured our first round offunding. We are looking for applicants to join our team of six, who share our passion for sustainability,have a startup "hustle" mentality, and are eager to make real change in our society.

position summary.

We are looking to grow our R&D team with a Materials Engineer joining us as a recyclable andbio-based material specialist. The main responsibility of this role is to support our organic substratedevelopment. Additionally, the Materials Engineer will work closely with our Automation, LaserTechnology and Radio Frequency Specialists as well as our CTO to optimise the overall performanceof our technology and support the industrial scaling-up and commercialisation of our bio-basedproducts. The position can also expand into developing the scaling up and commercialisation of thetechnology.

main responsibilities.

• Develop the substrate material component of our technology based on primary and secondaryresearch findings
• Responsible for substrate formulation, prototyping, testing, validation and scale-up
• Help build and maintain strong relationships with both academic and industrial partners
• Support securing and communicating with suppliers and accessing or building out equipmentwhen necessary
• Design and conduct rigorous scientific material characterisation and testing protocols.
• Generate technical performance summaries and report findings in research review sessions
• Propose new directions for further optimisation and implement improvements through rapidideation and prototyping iteration
• Support developing and designing project timelines and grant applications
• Contribute to developing our intellectual property protection strategy
• Communicate and collaborate with scientific advisors, researchers, product development, IP,legal and commercial experts

required qualifications.

• Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering or similar (PhD is aplus)
• Experience working with plant-based materials, ideally bioplastics, is important (publications inthe field are a plus)
• Preferably two or more years of relevant industry experience focusing on renewable,compostable and/or organic materials
• Demonstrated ability using polymer processing and characterisation equipment (injection andcompression molding, extrusion, film casting, tensile testing, rheology, etc.) is preferred
• Strong interest in sustainable solutions and recyclable, renewable or organic materials, ideally inthe packaging industry, is key
• Experience in using Matlab, R, Python or other programming languages is a plus
• Good understanding of health and safety-related risk assessments and reporting is essential
• Team player with good communication skills, able to explain information to technical andnon-technical audiences
• Self-motivated, with a passion for the job, and able to follow tasks through to completion withoutdirect supervision
• Experience working in a fast-paced and challenging environment and collaborate successfully ina multidisciplinary team to achieve specific objectives
• Opportunity to take full ownership and lead a significant part of the R&D development of thetechnology and vision
• Milestones tailored to personal development goals with plenty of support and training
• Access to lab and workstation, including computer-aided manufacturing tools
• 20 days of annual leave on top of the 8 bank holidays
• Competitive salary and potential equity compensation
• One work from home day per week