Technical Programme Lead: R&D & Scale-Up

Sagana GmbH; Nottingham; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Nova Biochem in Nottingham is seeking a Technical Manager to own the planning, coordination and delivery of its R&D and technical development programme. You will turn strategic priorities into a structured plan, aligning researchers, analytics, and engineering to drive scale-up from lab to pilot demonstrations.

This role requires strong technical judgement, experience leading scientific teams, and the ability to challenge assumptions while guiding decisions toward clear next steps.

Qualifications

• Experience leading multi-disciplinary R&D programmes.
• Ability to translate strategy into structured development plans.
• Experience collaborating with external engineering or industrial partners.
• Demonstrated line management or technical leadership experience.
• Background in chemical process development or industrial chemistry.

Responsibilities

• Translate company priorities into clear R&D, process development and scale-up plans.
• Own and maintain Nova's technical development plan with prioritised, sequenced activities.
• Coordinate work across research, analytics, process ops and engineering to keep development moving.
• Review significant programmes to ensure objectives and next steps are clear.
• Plan technical work ahead including equipment, materials and external expertise.
• Lead prototype campaigns and progress developments from lab scale to TRL6.

Skills

Technical leadership

R&D planning

Chemistry/Process engineering

Experiment design

Education

MSc/PhD or equivalent in chemistry/chemical engineering

Tools

Lab instrumentation

Job description

Nova Biochem in Nottingham is seeking a Technical Manager to own the planning, coordination and delivery of its R&D and technical development programme. You will turn strategic priorities into a structured plan, aligning researchers, analytics, and engineering to drive scale-up from lab to pilot demonstrations.

This role requires strong technical judgement, experience leading scientific teams, and the ability to challenge assumptions while guiding decisions toward clear next steps.