Founding Chief Technology Officer – Materials & Industrial Scale-up

Arctic Business Incubator; Knivsta kommun; Hybrid; SEK 200,000 - 400,000; Part time

Job summary

PACK AWAY is seeking a founding CTO to lead the transition from promising seaweed-based materials to scalable industrial production. You will own technology development, drive extrusion and film processing trials, and guide IP strategy while building and mentoring the R&D team.

The role blends hands-on lab work with leadership, product development, and strategic roadmap creation for scalable manufacturing, with equity offered as funding milestones are achieved.

Qualifications

• You have demonstrated experience taking a material or product from laboratory development toward pilot or industrial-scale production.
• You hold an MSc or PhD in Polymer Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Biomaterials or a related field.
• You have practical experience with extrusion, compounding, film processing or closely related polymer-processing technologies.

Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for PACK AWAY’s technology development from material formulation through processing, pilot trials and industrial scale-up.
• Collaborate with external laboratories, universities, suppliers and manufacturing partners to establish robust testing methodologies and translate customer requirements into technical priorities.
• Shape the IP strategy and recruit/mentor future R&D and engineering talent while representing the technology with customers, partners and investors.

Skills

Material problem solving

Industrial-scale production

Leadership

Education

MSc or PhD in Polymer Engineering or related field

Tools

Extrusion

Compounding

Film processing

Job description

Help turn seaweed-based materials into industrial products.

Build the technology behind the next generation of sustainable materials. Plastic packaging is one of the world’s largest waste challenges. At PACK AWAY, we believe the answer is not simply to replace one material with another, but to develop sustainable materials that can work within existing industrial manufacturing systems.

We are building a seaweed-based materials platform, starting with applications in packaging and an initial focus on a food-contact product. The technology is already moving beyond an idea. We have patent-pending technology, access to industrial machinery for development and scale-up trials, a main B2B customer relationship and more than 20 additional commercial leads. PACK AWAY is also part of ESA BIC Sweden, Algae Accelerator, EIT Food Accelerator and Produktionsänglar.

We are now looking for a Founding CTO who can take ownership of the next stage: turning promising material development into repeatable, scalable industrial production.

The challenge ahead

This is not a corporate CTO position where you inherit a mature technology, an established R&D organisation and a finished roadmap. You will help build all three. During the next phase, the core technical challenge is to improve the material, make it reliably processable at industrial scale and demonstrate it in a real customer application.

Our three most important technical priorities for the coming year are:

• Successfully extrude seaweed-based films using industrial equipment

• Deliver a successful customer pilot

• Improve material performance toward commercial requirements

Alongside these priorities, you will help strengthen our IP position, establish a clear technology roadmap toward commercial production and build the technical capabilities required for the next stage of the company.

What you will own

You will take overall responsibility for PACK AWAY’s technology development, from material formulation and characterisation through processing, pilot trials and industrial scale-up. The role is deliberately hands‑on. Depending on your profile, you may personally be involved in formulation work, extrusion trials and technical problem‑solving while also setting the technical direction of the company.

You will work with external laboratories, universities, suppliers and manufacturing partners, establish robust testing and quality methodologies, and translate customer requirements into technical development priorities.

As the company grows, you will also help shape our IP strategy, recruit and mentor future R&D and engineering talent and represent the technology in discussions with customers, partners and investors.

You will not be building alone

You will join a small team with complementary capabilities. Nina Bilal, CEO, leads company vision, strategy and fundraising. Johan Verendel, Operations Lead, leads operations and scale‑up and currently supports the company as technical lead. Nuno Dias, Junior Product Engineer, works hands‑on with product and material development in the laboratory.

The CTO will work closely with this team and gradually take ownership of the long‑term technology roadmap and technical organisation.

Who we are looking for

We care more about your ability to turn difficult material problems into working industrial solutions than about checking every box on a traditional CTO profile.

There are three capabilities we consider particularly important:

• You have demonstrated experience taking a material or product from laboratory development toward pilot or industrial‑scale production.

• You have an MSc or PhD in Polymer Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Biomaterials or a related field.

• You have practical experience with extrusion, compounding, film processing or closely related polymer‑processing technologies.

Beyond that, we are particularly interested in people with experience in polymer or biopolymer formulation, material characterisation, rheology, manufacturing partnerships and industrial product development. Experience with packaging, food‑contact materials, biodegradable polymers, natural polymers, hydrocolloids, reactive extrusion, patents or startup environments would be highly valuable, but we do not expect one person to have done everything.

The kind of person who will thrive here

You enjoy building before everything is perfectly defined. When a technical problem appears, you create experiments and next steps rather than waiting for instructions. You are comfortable moving between chemistry, engineering and manufacturing, and you can make decisions with incomplete information while remaining rigorous about data.

You should enjoy being close to the technology. At this stage, leadership does not mean stepping away from the work, it means helping the team figure out what needs to happen next and making sure it happens.Most importantly, you should be excited by the opportunity to transform a promising biomaterial technology into something customers can actually manufacture and use.

Why PACK AWAY?

You will join at a stage where your decisions can genuinely shape the company.

You will have the opportunity to influence the material itself, the manufacturing process, the IP portfolio, the first industrial customer applications and the R&D organisation that will eventually be built around the technology. Rather than optimising an established product, you will help determine what the technology becomes.

The role starts at a minimum of approximately 8 hours per week, preferably more, with flexibility depending on the candidate and with the ambition to expand the role as the company and its funding develop.

You will receive equity and become an important part of PACK AWAY’s journey toward building a scalable seaweed‑based materials platform.

What success could look like after 12 months

Together with the team, you will have moved PACK AWAY substantially closer to commercial production: an industrially processed seaweed‑based film, improved material performance, a completed customer pilot, a stronger IP position and a clear technical roadmap for the next stage of scale‑up.

Location: Knivsta, Sweden preferred, or somewhere not too far away from there – hybrid between remote work, lab development and industrial trials

Commitment: Initially part‑time, minimum 8 hours per week, preferably more

Compensation: Equity, with salary developing as funding milestones are achieved

Candidates without any existing working Visa or legal rights to work in Sweden can not be considered