We are a combination of designers and chemists, engineers and entrepreneurs. We’re hard to define because what we’re doing hasn’t been done before. We create advanced packaging solutions that disappear, naturally.


Revolutionary packaging solutions that naturally disappear, reducing environmental impact.

The Role At Notpla, we create disappearing packaging carefully engineered for a healthy planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best, we’re an innovative, ideas and action-oriented scale-up developing and manufacturing packaging solutions from seaweed and plants that disappear naturally.We are currently looking to recruit a Senior Material Scientist to be a part of our Innovation team. At Notpla, we strongly believe in our mission and our employees' ability to help us achieve our goals. We encourage everyone who joins us to develop and grow and take responsibility for your domain without micromanagement. Our objective is to foster a fantastic business culture that is reflected in our working policies and environment.Besides offering exciting roles and a great working environment, Notpla provides competitive salaries, the potential for EMI Share Options, a zero-carbon pension scheme, discounts with local businesses, and subsidised social activities. Our flexible working policy allows you to work at your own pace.We are a social business with regular clubs and events, and we are proud of how our diverse workplace has created a community that is all pushing towards the common goal of making plastic disappear.For this role as a Senior Material Scientist at Notpla you’ll spearhead scientific and technological breakthroughs, playing a pivotal role in innovating and developing future technologies to replace plastic. This position demands deep expertise in Material Science, with a strong technical grasp of biomaterials and green chemistry. As a key member of the Innovation team, your role as Senior Material Scientist is not only to advance innovation projects but also serve as a knowledge ambassador and advisor, offering technical guidance and improving scientific endeavours across the innovation team and the wider business.This role involves conducting feasibility studies, fast-paced discovery projects, trials, and in-depth fundamental and material development initiatives. The Senior Material Scientist will work collaboratively across disciplines on innovation projects, actively scout for new opportunities and novel technologies, and engage with an external network of scientific experts and labs to drive innovation and gain new knowledge. They will also communicate complex technical concepts effectively to diverse audiences, ensuring the dissemination and implementation of technical learnings across the business.Additionally, the Senior Material Scientist will collaborate with commercial partners and grant writers to understand needs, provide technical support, develop proposals, and unlock funding opportunities, further propelling Notpla's mission to replace plastic with sustainable alternatives.As a Senior Material Scientist in the Innovation team, you feel comfortable working with a level of ambiguity and agile ways of working. As a true innovator, you’ll be exploring the unknown and constantly learning and pushing the boundaries of science. Key Responsibilities:<ul><li>Conduct feasibility studies and fast-paced discovery projects, to scout and test directions to solve material science and packaging challenges</li><li>Collaborate closely with cross-disciplinary teams, including designers, business development managers, engineers, seaweed specialists, and more</li><li>Identifying, sourcing, and testing natural materials and developing formulations to meet performance, sustainability, and cost targets.</li><li>Design and execute experiments, analyse data, and present findings to drive decision-making and project progress.</li><li>Stay up-to-date with the latest scientific advancements and industry trends, integrating new knowledge into ongoing projects.</li><li>Contribute to the development of intellectual property, including patents and trade secrets.</li><li>Technical support on developing grant and client proposals to unlock funding</li><li>Lead deep development projects to unlock a fundamental understanding of seaweed and biomaterials for packaging applications.</li><li>Characterisation of materials performance, shelf life testing, and compatibility studies of packaging solutions</li><li>Represent Notpla to external partners from time to time</li><li>Liaising with academic institutions and commercial labs to organise third-party testing as required</li></ul> Your profile Qualifications &amp; Experience:<ul><li>PhD or Master's degree in Material Science, Polymer Chemistry, or a related field.</li><li>5-7 years of experience in material science research and development, with a focus on natural materials.</li><li>Proven track record of spearheading complex research projects and delivering scientific breakthroughs.</li><li>Comfortable working in ambiguity, with agile methodologies in a fast-paced environment and adept at collaborating across various disciplines</li><li>Strong understanding of natural materials, biomaterials and green chemistry</li><li>Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to think creatively and critically.</li><li>Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences.</li><li>Demonstrated ability to work independently and as a team player</li></ul>

Senior Material Scientist

The Role At Notpla, we create disappearing packaging carefully engineered for a healthy planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best, we’re an innovative, ideas and action-oriented scale-up developing and manufacturing packaging solutions from seaweed and plants that disappear naturally.We are currently looking to bring in a Head of Formulation &amp; Process to lead our Formulation and Process Development groups. This is a senior role, with full remit over the developing of our existing and next generation of products, leading the scientific arm of the business.At Notpla, we strongly believe in our mission and our employees' ability to help us achieve our goals. We encourage everyone who joins us to develop and grow and take responsibility for your domain without micromanagement. Our objective is to foster a fantastic business culture that is reflected in our working policies and environment.Besides offering exciting roles and a great working environment, Notpla provides competitive salaries, the potential for EMI Share Options, a zero-carbon pension scheme, discounts with local businesses, and subsidised social activities. Our flexible working policy allows you to work at your own pace.We are a social business with regular clubs and events, and we are proud of how our diverse workplace has created a community that is all pushing towards the common goal of making plastic disappear.As the Head of Formulation &amp; Process, you will be part of our newly formed Technology and Operations group. This multidisciplinary team is responsible for bringing new formulations from the lab to the market by scaling up manufacturing processes to deliver cost-competitive packaging solutions. You will lead both the Formulation group, focusing on continuous development and improvement of formulations, and the Process group, which identifies suitable manufacturing techniques and scales up formulations to industrial production. Your role will include standardising processes to ensure high-quality, cost-efficient production and collaborating closely with the Supply Chain and Operations team to transition products to continuous production. Your profile We are looking for a multi-disciplinary technical leader with a grounding in chemistry or material science. You must have experience in leading large technical groups, being able to contribute to the day-to-day scientific progress of the products but also the development and growth of those in your team. As you will be leading not just scientists but engineers and technical experts, a strong understanding of these disciplines is also incredibly important. You will need to have demonstrable experience in scaling up a technology from initial concept, to Pilot scale to full commercial scale, in order to succeed in this role. A strong understanding of natural polymers and compostable materials as well as more conventional polymeric materials and extrusion technologies is also a must.Key Responsibilities:<ul><li>Lead and manage a multidisciplinary team of 10 people, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.</li><li>Develop and optimise material formulations to meet performance and manufacturability requirements.</li><li>Identify suitable manufacturing techniques and partners, standardising processes to deliver high-quality, high-throughput, cost-efficient production capacity.</li><li>Build strong relationships with relevant manufacturing partners and manage complex industrial stakeholders.</li><li>Oversee the scale-up of material formulations from lab-scale to industrial-scale production, ensuring successful trials and implementation.</li><li>Work closely with the Supply Chain and Operations team to hand over production once products have been scaled up and are ready for continuous production.</li><li>Manage scale-up timelines and develop strategies to reduce time to market </li><li>Own the cost optimisation efforts to ensure that our packaging solutions are not only sustainable but also economically viable.</li><li>Collaborate with the Innovation Director to ensure that new innovations get smoothly integrated into the technology pipeline.</li><li>Work closely with the Science Board of Advisors, review latest scientific literature and technology breakthroughs to ensure that Notpla remains at the forefront of the natural polymer space.</li><li>Represent Notpla at external events, including panels, conferences, and industry gatherings.</li><li>Mentor and develop team members, supporting their personal development plans and career growth.</li><li>Act as a scientific and technical authority within the business, using your knowledge to up skill the team and guide project progress.</li><li>Support the Senior Leadership Team in understanding the science behind our products, enhancing their external communications with clients and suppliers.</li><li>Work with the commercial team to create a technically savvy sales team, directly impacting the immediate revenue of the business.</li><li>Manage the lab and process development space, contributing actively to the management of Notpla’s IP portfolio.</li><li>Support the Grants manager in the preparation and writing of complex funding proposals, contributing high quality, comprehensive copy and content in the relevant area.</li></ul>Qualifications:<ul><li>Advanced degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.</li><li>Proven experience in formulation development, process optimisation, and having scaled-up a technology from laboratory to industrial manufacturing.</li><li>Strong leadership and management skills, with a track record of successfully leading technical teams.</li><li>Ability to write technical content for R&amp;D-focused grants for Innovate UK and Horizon Europe.</li><li>Excellent problem-solving abilities and a strategic mindset.</li><li>Strong understanding of sustainable materials, natural polymers, and compostable materials.</li><li>Experience with conventional polymeric materials and extrusion technologies is important.</li><li>Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with cross-functional teams.</li><li>Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.</li></ul> Salary Negotiable

Head of Formulation & Process

The Role At Notpla, we are on a mission to make packaging disappear. We are an innovative sustainable packaging startup that was founded on the belief that nature knows best. We develop materials, design and manufacture a range of packaging solutions made from seaweed and plants that all biodegrade completely naturally. We are currently looking to hire a Social Media Guru to join our enthusiastic and growing marketing team.  At Notpla, we truly believe in what we are trying to achieve and we believe in the ability of our employees to help us achieve our goals. Because of this, anybody joining Notpla will be given the opportunity to develop and grow, you won’t be micromanaged, we want you to take responsibility for your domain. Our clear mission has created a fantastic business culture where you’ll be surrounded by like minded individuals who really care. We know that we work better together and this is reflected in our environment and working policies. Alongside great roles and a fun working environment, Notpla also offers competitive salaries, the potential for EMI Share Options, fantastic discounts with local businesses and a flexible working policy that allows you to work to your own flow. We are a social business with multiple clubs and events every week, and we are incredibly proud of how our diverse workplace has created a community all pushing together in the pursuit of making packaging disappear.  Your profile If you are interesting joining Notpla but haven't seen a role advertised that suits your experience. Please feel free to apply to this so we can keep your CV on file, should anything relevant come up.

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