Materials Development Project Leader

Location: Greater London

Materials Development Project Leader | South London

We’re supporting an innovative materials technology business developing advanced materials for high-performance protective products across the sports, defence, footwear and industrial sectors.

As part of continued investment in its materials development capability, the business is looking for a Materials Development Project Leader to take ownership of international development programmes from early-stage research through to scale-up, pre-production and launch.

This is not a traditional Project Manager position. We’re looking for someone who has built their career within materials science, materials engineering, chemistry or polymer development and is now looking to take a bigger step into technical project leadership.

The Role

You’ll lead materials development projects involving technical teams, suppliers and manufacturing partners across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia.

Projects span a range of high-performance applications including protective equipment, helmet technologies, specialist footwear and other impact-protection products.

Your responsibilities will include:

Leading materials development projects from concept through to production

Defining project scope, work packages, timelines, budgets and technical deliverables

Coordinating Materials Development, Testing, Engineering, Supply Chain and Manufacturing teams

Managing relationships with external materials suppliers and development partners

Reviewing experimental plans and technical data to help guide development decisions

Leading troubleshooting and root-cause activities around material and process challenges

Balancing material performance with manufacturability, cost and project timelines

Tracking project progress, risks and key milestones

Working closely with international technical teams and suppliers

Travelling to China approximately once per quarter, typically for 7–10 days

The original specification places particular emphasis on project accountability, cross-functional leadership, technical decision-making and supplier management.

About You

You’ll need a strong technical foundation in materials development, ideally backed by a degree in:

Materials Science / Materials Engineering

Chemistry / Materials Chemistry

Polymer Science / Polymer Engineering

Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline

We’d particularly like to hear from candidates with experience in polymers, polyurethane systems, thermoplastics, TPEs, elastomers, rubbers, foams or other advanced materials.

You might already be leading materials development projects, or you could be an experienced Materials Scientist, Materials Engineer, Polymer Scientist or Materials Development Engineer who has started taking ownership of projects and is ready to move further into project leadership.

You’ll ideally bring:

Proven industrial materials development experience

Experience leading or coordinating technical development projects

Strong understanding of materials development and testing

Supplier and external partner management experience

Exposure to scale-up, manufacturing or commercialisation

Strong planning, organisation and stakeholder management skills

Confidence working across international teams

Willingness to travel regularly to China

These requirements closely reflect the original technical specification, which calls for 5+ years in industrial materials/formulation development alongside project coordination, supplier management and technical credibility.

Working Pattern

· The role is based in South London with a hybrid working pattern.

· You’ll be onsite Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with flexibility to work remotely Monday and Friday.

If you’ve built your career in materials development and are looking for an opportunity to take greater ownership of international projects, apply directly or contact me