Manufacturing Development Engineer Equity at Shellworks

Job Title

Manufacturing Development Engineer

£35-£50k + Equity

Shellworks is a London-based startup creating Vivomer, a revolutionary sustainable material made by bacteria that behaves like plastic but breaks down naturally in the environment.

As a Manufacturing Development Engineer at Shellworks, you will pioneer the transition from concept to production for sustainable materials. You will design, prototype, and validate innovative manufacturing routes for Vivomer, working closely with external partners to scale high-performance alternatives to petroleum-based plastics and directly combat the global plastic pollution crisis.

London, UK

• Work with Vivomer, a breakthrough material that mimics plastic performance but is fully broken down by natural microbes.
• Move beyond incremental optimization to build entirely new manufacturing processes and equipment from the ground up.
• Join a mission-driven, tightly-knit team of experts in materials science and engineering dedicated to solving plastic waste.

• Lead early-stage manufacturing projects from initial concept through prototyping, equipment specification, and pilot validation.
• Serve as the technical interface with co-manufacturers to ensure innovative processes meet strict quality and scalability standards.
• Travel to partner facilities and trial sites to troubleshoot and accelerate the deployment of new production routes.

• Strong background in plastics and polymer processing, including hands-on experience with moulding, extrusion, or assembly techniques.
• Mechanical engineering expertise with a grasp of process fundamentals, tooling design, and the ability to prototype machines.
• A self-starter comfortable with technical ambiguity and travel, thriving in high‑autonomy, fast‑paced startup environments.