Materials Engineer

About the company:

Did you know that more than 45 billion disposable RFID tags are made annually and typically end up in landfill after a short life cycle? Pulpa Tronics develops fully-recyclable and metal-free RFID tags that are also cheaper and simpler to manufacture. Pulpa Tronics spent the last 2 years in R&D and we’re looking to deliver our first pilots. We have won two research grants, numerous competitions (e.g. Dezeen Awards, Santander

X Global Challenge, H&M Foundation) and secured our pre‑seed funding. We are looking for applicants to join our team of five, who share our passion for sustainability, have a startup "hustle" mentality, and are eager to make real change in our society.

We are looking to grow our R&D team with a Materials Engineer joining us as a recyclable and bio‑based material specialist. The main responsibility of this role is to support our organic substrate development. Additionally, the Materials Engineer will work closely with our Materials, Laser Technology and Radio Frequency Specialists as well as our CTO, to optimise the overall performance of our technology and support the industrial scaling‑up and commercialisation of our bio‑based products.

The position can also expand into developing the scaling up and commercialisation of the technology, and potentially lead to a permanent position.

• Develop the substrate material component of our technology based on primary and secondary research findings.
• Responsible for substrate formulation, prototyping, testing, validation and scale‑up.
• Help build and maintain strong relationships with both academic and industrial partners.
• Design and conduct rigorous scientific material characterisation and testing protocols.
• Generate technical performance summaries and report findings in research review sessions.
• Propose new directions for further optimisation and implement improvements through rapid ideation and prototyping iteration.
• Support developing and designing project timelines and grant applications.
• Contribute to developing our intellectual property protection strategy.
• Communicate and collaborate with scientific advisors, researchers, product development, IP, legal and commercial experts.

• Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering or similar (PhD is a plus) from a highly regarded University.
• Experience working with plant‑based materials, ideally bioplastics, is important (publications in the field are a plus).
• Preferably two or more years of relevant industry experience focusing on renewable and/or organic materials.
• Relevant portfolio of novel material development desirable.
• Demonstrated ability using polymer processing and characterisation equipment (injection and compression moulding, extrusion, film casting, tensile testing, rheology, etc.) is preferred.
• Strong interest in sustainable solutions and recyclable, renewable or organic materials, ideally in the packaging industry, is key.
• Experience in using Matlab, R, Python or other programming languages is a plus.
• Good understanding of health and safety‑related risk assessments and reporting is essential.
• Team player with good communication skills, able to explain information to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Self‑motivated, with a passion for the job, and able to follow tasks through to completion without direct supervision.
• Experience working in a fast‑paced and challenging environment and collaborate successfully in a multidisciplinary team to achieve specific objectives.

This would be an initial 12 months full‑time role, with a good chance of becoming more permanent – Salary guideline of £35,000 – £50,000 per annum.

• Opportunity to take full ownership and lead a significant part of the R&D development of the technology and vision.
• Milestones tailored to personal development goals with plenty of support and training.
• Access to lab and fully‑equipped workstation, including computer‑aided manufacturing tools.
• 20 days of annual leave on top of the 8 bank holidays.
• Competitive salary and potential equity compensation.
• One work from home day per week.

Apply to this advert and Roy Bennett our recruitment partner at ADLIB will be in touch if you have the relevant skills for the position.