Product Manufacturing Engineer Equity at Shellworks

Product Manufacturing Engineer

£35k-£50k + Equity

Shellworks is a Series A sustainable materials startup of 35 people in London replacing single‑use plastic with Vivomer, a compostable bio‑based material. Backed by top‑tier investors, they are scaling manufacturing across the UK, EU, and US to create a new generation of high‑performing materials designed to disappear.

As a Product Manufacturing Engineer, you will bridge the gap between R&D and production to scale sustainable packaging. Working in a small, high‑impact team, you'll take products from prototype through validation to volume manufacturing, ensuring quality and performance while collaborating with international manufacturing partners to eliminate plastic waste globally.

London, UK

• Join a mission‑driven Series A company scaling a proprietary, nature‑inspired material (Vivomer) that naturally breaks down to replace harmful single‑use plastics.
• Gain high‑impact ownership in a small team of three, managing the critical transition from R&D prototypes to global mass production across the UK, EU, and US.
• Access a fully equipped on‑site lab and pilot line workshop in London, offering a unique hands‑on environment for technical innovation and material experimentation.

• Own the end‑to‑end product validation process, taking packaging designs from initial prototypes to high‑volume manufacturing via injection moulding and extrusion.
• Manage technical relationships with outsourced manufacturing partners to ensure production meets strict cost, quality, and timeline expectations for global scaling.
• Implement robust quality measures and engineering change controls to streamline the development cycle across molecular biology, design, and operations teams.

• Holds a degree in Materials Science or Mechanical Engineering with 2‑4 years of experience in an industrial manufacturing or physical product development environment.
• Demonstrates deep technical proficiency in polymer processing technologies, specifically injection moulding, blow moulding, compounding, or extrusion for plastic packaging.
• Proficient in CAD software (Onshape or Solid Works) and experienced in scaling products from prototype to high‑volume FMCG production with a proactive, startup‑ready mindset.