Senior Polymer Scientist

📍 London, N4
🏛️ 4 days in our office, 1 day from home (choose from Tue–Thu)
💰 £50 - 60k per annum + equity

At Shellworks, we’re on a mission to make plastic waste a thing of the past. We’re creating a new generation of materials – sustainable, high‑performing, and designed to disappear. By reimagining how materials are made, we’re tackling one of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges.

• Lead the end‑to‑end development of proprietary polymer blends and additive packages. You’ll be responsible for expanding our core material’s scope, successfully hitting commercial performance targets.
• Engineer formulations that remain robust and uncompromising during a product shelf‑life but become rapidly biodegradable the moment they reach their end‑of‑life.
• Develop a predictive framework that correlates lab‑based rheological and thermal data to real‑world machine settings. Your goal is to eliminate trial‑and‑error by predicting how materials will behave before they hit the factory floor.
• Expand our internal testing suite to connect microstructure analysis (crystallinity, melt stability, etc.) to macroscopic failure modes. You’ll deep‑dive into analysis to understand exactly why materials succeed or fail in the field.
• Collaborate daily with our manufacturing and engineering teams. You’ll ensure your formulations are “manufacture‑ready”, stable, repeatable, and optimised for industrial‑scale extrusion and moulding.
• Act as the technical bridge between our design and commercial teams. You will translate customer requirements into concrete chemical specifications, ensuring our materials meet the aesthetic and functional needs of the world’s biggest brands.
• As a member of a dynamic team, you won’t just stay in your lane. You’ll jump in wherever needed, from vetting new sustainable feedstock suppliers to identifying and researching new opportunity spaces.

• Holds a Masters or PhD in Polymer Science, Materials Science, or a related field, with at least two years of industry experience.
• Brings a solution‑focused, results‑driven mindset and a strong willingness to learn; this is a hands‑on role that requires curiosity and initiative.
• Has a deep command of polymer chemistry, with the ability to connect rheology, crystallinity, thermal behaviour, and melt stability to real processing outcomes.
• Possesses comprehensive knowledge of polymer science, formulation, and analysis – you know how to connect the microstructure of polymers to macroscopic enhancements.
• Is an independent decision maker, confident operating in ambiguity while driving clarity and momentum.
• Has a “do‑it‑yourself” / can‑do mentality – not focused on boundaries but interdisciplinary problem‑solving.

• 21 days holiday plus birthday off and 27–31 Dec (plus public holidays)
• Growth and development opportunities as we scale
• Competitive salary plus equity options
• Regular socials and daily catered lunch at the office
• A tight‑knit, mission‑driven team working on something that matters

Becoming a part of Shellworks means being part of a team that’s passionate about sustainability and innovation. Our world‑class team includes experts in materials science and visionary entrepreneurs dedicated to creating a better future. Together, we’re redefining what’s possible.